Foundation 4D – Project 1 Experimentation

Building off inspiration from photographers such as Samantha Ann Francis and others that I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, I tried taking and layering my own photographs to experiment with not only their methodology, but to see what would express my theme of grief and loss more.

Though continuing on from this idea of being obsessed with grief and loss, I was led to think about “What is left behind when someone is gone?” What, I wonder, stays after the presence leaves? This formulated my ideas/story into a much more interesting exploration of a question that I am still left figuring out.

The photos below have a base of a grainy black and white appearance because I like the effect of black and white – it puts emphasis on the form of the photograph’s subject.

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At first, I wanted to layer and experiment with flowers. The reason being that their symbolism is something that I have been fascinated with for a long time. They’re beautiful and alive, but short-lived and are constantly going through seasons of change. As with their natural growth and change, I thought it was fitting for the concept of coping with grief and loss – as these two things are, after all, changes that must be accepted, just as how flowers live this way. Aesthetically however, I preferred the colour schemes of Photograph_01 over _02 and tried to make more images with these kind of red/pink warm colours as opposed to yellow and green.

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This one I played around with the dust/scratch effect on photographs to make it look older. I wanted to suggest the notion of the past being the past, and as time ages, change will come about as well.

2D Foundation: 18 Selected Emotions + Definitions

For my project, I have chosen these 18 emotions to do mark-making on.

  1. Love: A strong feeling of affection/great interest/pleasure/sexual attraction.
    1. Affection: A gentle feeling of fondness or liking.
    2. Fondness: Affection or liking for someone or something.
    3. Lust: Strong sexual desire
    4. Adoration: Deep love and respect (worship).
    5. Arousal: The feeling of evoking or awakening.
  2. Anger: A strong feeling of annoyance/displeasure/hostility.
    1. Irritation: The state of feeling annoyed/impatient/slightly angry.
    2. Rage: Violent, uncontrollable anger.
    3. Confusion: Uncertainty about what is happening, intended, or required.
    4. Resentment: Bitter indignation.
    5. Wrath: Extreme anger.
  3. Sadness: The feeling of sorrow.
    1. Disappointment: Sadness/displeasure caused by the non-fulfilment of one’s hopes or expectations.
    2. Grief: Intense sorrow.
    3. Gloom: A state of depression/despondency.
    4. Heartache: Emotional anguish or grief.
    5. Shame: A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour.

Foundation 4D – Project 1 Further Exploration

After looking at the work of Samantha Ann Francis, I came across an artist by the name of Travis Bedel who does anatomical collages by combining aspects of the human anatomy with flora and fauna.

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Though I am not particularly interested in delving into the scientific, biological side of the human body, I am very drawn to the way the flowers complement with the body through colours, shades, and tones. I think that humans and flowers go well together and flowers (to me) have always represented a certain kind of sad beauty – alive, growing, yet frail.

Additionally, Bedel and Ann Francis fuel my interest in layering photographs upon other photographs via editing and looking at the effects of those, how they can introduce nostalgia, bittersweetness, and relate to the concept of loss.

I also saw these layered images while browsing online by Emily Acosta (http://amouramelia.com/) I really like the effect of layering images one over the other and these photos will be part of my references for my own shooting.

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When I look at these photos, I interpret some sort of longing, the subject (the person’s silhouette) escaping the bounds of their outline and reaching out into the city lights, the skylines, the animals that come from the ocean. Combined with Travis Bedel’s use of flora and fauna, I want to relate humans to aspects of the world that will together tell the story I want to relay.

Foundation 4D – Project 1 Initial Ideas/Thoughts/Inspirations

For my project (Assign. 1), I want to tell the story of the emotions associated with loss and grief. Initially, I had formulated the idea of expressing a ‘corrosion of the mind’ by being overwhelmed and eventually consumed from the inside out, by obsessions such as arrogance, greed, ambition, etc. This stemmed from the movie Train to Busan, a South Korean zombie horror film I watched recently. For a few days after watching it, I was kept awake and disturbed at the complete domination of the human body by the infection/disease. Figuratively, we are all dominated by one thing or another; I wanted to bring this to light.

However, after deeper consideration of what this topic entailed, I realised that I myself am affected (and possibly in danger of being corroded by my own thoughts). Without going into too much detail, someone important to me is leaving, while not permanently, I will be without their presence. For a long time, I battled the fear of loss and of grief; when I accepted it, it did nothing to ease the burden of this pain. I found myself desperately clawing for an escape; an escape from my own mind. And as a result, I decided to specifically look into the notion of loss to the human mind from one person to another. The lingering effects of someone’s presence stay in unanimated places, a dancing relationship of the living with the non-living tied together in our memories and minds.

While looking for photographers and researching into this topic, I came across a photo-book called Shibuya Is Calling, by Samantha Ann Francis. The images captivated me.

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They combine the presence of people with the emotionless places of the world, urban jungles or natural settings. They overlay image above image, telling vast stories in one frame. Francis has opened up the possibility of different photos combined together and I would like to look at this technique and photograph people and places that are significant to me.

 

2D – Project 1 Experimentation & Process (II)

In class, I continued to experiment with mark making methods to see what different effects could be made using regular, ordinary tools (I used a styrofoam rectangle, a toothbrush, as well as string – not pictured).

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Part of mark making is that we are not allowed to use colours other than black and white shades (including greyscale tones), which means that the emphasis is placed on how the strokes and lines are presented. I experimented different ways for this by using a mono-printing machine and linoleum boards to press out different designs onto paper, as pictured here:

  1. I laid out the black paint onto the board and then placed the mark making tool onto it, and then put the paper on top and ran it under the press. What came out was the picture on the right, which I think is a very interesting image.

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2. I then experimented with finer string and also included white paint to see what kind of greyscale effect would occur when I mixed the black with white paint. I didn’t really like the effect that came out, I thought it was too chaotic but then again, it could work for such emotions as wrath or rage.

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3. I really liked combining a rough, grungy paint background with smaller, more detailed patterns using a palette knife to scrape on or with pen once the paint dried. I like this effect more than the press, so I think I will be taking it further with the background and mixing the media used.

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2D – Project 1 Experimentation & Process

Project 1’s title “My Line is Emo” allowed me to investigate ways of showing emotion through line and patterns, which then led me to experiment with mono-printmaking and mark making in general. There was a worksheet handed out where I could practice and think about what emotions to portray with lines and patterns. IMG_2654

The three main emotions I picked were Love, Anger, and Sadness. The then subsequent emotions under those three categories were:

  1. Love: Affection, fondness, lust, adoration, arousal
  2. Anger: Irritation, rage, confusion, resentment, wrath
  3. Sadness: Disappointment, grief, gloom, heartache, shame

The above image was me trying to figure out what patterns and what kind of marks would best suit the emotion; a practice run, you could say.

3D – Personal Object

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This personal object is interesting to me because of how well it flows from one aspect to another, from the base to the legs to the actual body of the horse as well as the horizontal principal axis. I like how the medium itself is lighter in areas that would catch the light and darker in the areas that are shadowed. I think it’s quite an organic shape and it has a very harmonious shape.

The dominant shape is the main figure of the horse, where I think the sub-dominant is the base/grounding that the legs are attached to. In my opinion, there are multiple sub-ordinates, such as the details that are etched/carved into the horse as well as the colouring itself.

Class Activity 1 – Photo Scavenger

Something that you would not expect to be NTU at all.

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I chose this photo because for a university with the word “technological” in its name, its website is not very “technologically savvy”, per se, it is quite difficult to navigate.

Somebody not studying in NTU.

2

The statue itself is not studying in NTU, nor is the person depicted. However, he has contributed to the school and still has significance on its grounds.

Somebody studying in NTU.

3

The family in the background does not study in NTU, however the two freshmen do (in the foreground) and I think this has a nice contrast in the photo. In the past, when I came to visit the campus without being a student, I remember the kind of detachment that arose from not being a student there; it’s interesting to think about how as freshmen we used to be like that family, visitors.

Something useless.

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The composition of the sign is useless because of the giant red NO as well as the silhouette of the man. What it is protesting against is using plastic, however the intention is unclear by the layout of the picture. I initially thought it was saying no to intruders.

Something useful.

5

This is self-explanatory, it is very useful in emergencies that require heart defibrillators.

Nature.

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This photo contains two aspects of nature: one that is typical/conventional, natural greenery. However, I think it also shows human nature in where we have a tendency to socialise and want to be together with others.

Urban Nature.

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I think littering is a symbol of urban nature where we leave our mark on nature.

Urban.

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Urban design is intentionally beautiful, but absolutely covered and affected by the footsteps of its makers, and we leave reminders of our presence.

Singapore.

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Singapore is always full of construction sites and public transport, but also greenery (shown by the grass and trees in the distance).

Where art is shown.

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Self-explanatory, this gallery shows art.

Where art is made.

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Not only is art made in the ADM building, but also in the students that study there.

A photo with faculty.

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Taken for a humorous effect; could not find actual faculty staff and so decided to take it with the actual word.

Something that shows what the Earth Observatory might be about.

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The long hallway signifies a journey of discovery and the large earth map on the side shows that it is about the earth. The light on top tells of seismic activity/earthquakes which is what they study; and they fuel curiosity which is shown by the student