PROJECT 3: IMPOSSIBILITIES OF BEING

PROJECT BRIEF

Compose a one-minute video sequence in landscape format, HD resolution (1920 x 1080) pixels of the chosen location with the soundscape.

LOCATIONS

I listed down thirty places that I had never been to in Singapore. Haw Par Villa is the place that made me curious. I heard about it long time ago but had no chance to visit. Therefore, Haw Par Villa was chosen as the location for this project. Haw Par Villa is famous public park because of its range of Chinese folklore status. The status includes Monkey Mountain, Courts of Hall and etc.

I visited Haw Par Villa on a Saturday afternoon. The whole place is relatively quiet and, there was only a few foreign tourist visiting. I was attracted to the vibrant colours of the statues. The outdoor area of Haw Par Villa is bright with the blue sky, while the indoor area only has some spotlights shining on the statues. The contrast inspired me of my video. I did around 70 test shots with my phone when I first visit to try out different angles and scales.

SOUNDS

I started recording sounds before visiting the place. It is because interviewed some people about their opinions of hell. Most of them told me that their stressful daily life is like hell. Thus, I recorded thirty sounds with zoom recorder from our daily life, such as the sound of the curtain, door lock, turning off the switch, the MRT train moving and etc.

RESEARCH ON THE VISUALS

The video contents both still images and videos. Wide shots are used to show the environment at Haw Par Villa, while close-up shots are used to capture the facial expression and emotion of the statues. Both overexposure and underexposure are applied to show the peace and darkness. Flashing light effects are used to direct audience’s attention. Further, distort visions are used to evoke chaos.

Lastly, I referred to some experimental videos on Vimeo. Some are simply using colours to create the mood, for example, the video above (https://vimeo.com/143827409). Therefore, I applied colour theory to create visual contrast just like my first encounter of the location, the peace of the outdoor area and the darkness of the indoor area. Blue associated with stability. It symbolizes peace and heaven and has the calming effect. It forms a strong contrast with red, which associate with danger and power.

RESEARCH ON THE SOUNDS

Many say that horror movie is less scary when you mute the sound. Sounds play an important part in a video, and also has perspective like images. My video contents foreground and background sounds to create space of sounds. The rhythm will be regular and irregular at different parts, while the intensity will transfer from soft to loud to achieve the acceleration of the emotion. Also, there will be sudden changes of pitch, and speed to create chaos.

LOW-FI STORYBOARD

I did a low-fi storyboard and a draft video to determine the rough sound effects and the timing of each sense. The video starts with peaceful sense with soft cicada sounds like the morning. The sound gradually speeds up while the senses become dark and cruel. Several feedbacks are gathered after the first presentation, and it helped me to understand what still images, videos and sounds I need to add in and improve to achieve the idea effects.

EMOTIONAL GRAPH

After experimenting with images and sounds, I realized that the purpose of my video is to evoke certain emotion. Therefore, I rethink about the structure of my video and came up with an emotional graphic.

REFINEMENTS

Further, I added in flash of the scary image and random sounds at the beginning based on the emotional graph. Keyboards and some other sounds are added to boost the emotion of the video. According to research, the minor chords are able to evoke negative emotions, while major chords are able to evoke positive emotions. Thus, I experimented with minor chords and came up with a short background music for the last two third part of the video. Also, I punched my bed to create drums beats, as drums help to create a solid beat and rhythm.

The video is edited in Premiere Pro. Many video and audio effects are used in this video, for example, adjusting the blend mode and transpose ratio for the last one-third of the video to achieve the distorted effects.

FINAL VIDEO

I named this video HEW PAR VILLA, as ‘H’, ‘E’, ‘L’ and ‘L’ form the word HELL. This video uses visual elements and sounds to evoke fear. Yet, the senses are made to be a combination of fear and pleasure. All the sound effects are created by using the daily objects, such as plastic bag, bed, door locks. It is more like a symphony instead of horror movie trailer with jump shots. The precise structure and the uses of elements, such as colours, are able to bring the audiences to walk through a museum of hell in one minute.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as this is the first time that I creating my own soundscape. I used to edit video using existing background music, so I could follow its rhythm. However, I had to create my own rhythm. It required time and efforts for me to explore and execute. I am glad that my professor, classmates, and friends gave me constructive feedback along the way.

REFERRENCES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24957406

https://historyofdrumsandpercussion.weebly.com/role-of-drums-in-music.html

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_560_2004-12-14.html

October 22, 2017October 22, 2017

PROJECT 2: FORREST GUMP

Project Brief

To create a visual narrative that expresses each of the four movie quotes using only symbols, pictograms, dingbats (ornaments), icons and engravings as your visual vocabulary.

Research on Movie Quotes

Related image — Chinese director, Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚) http://jgospel.net/media/123432/.jpg

For this project, I decided to work on the movie quotes from the movies that made by a Chinese director, Feng Xiaogang. I watched his movie since young, and I believe in the value that he conveyed through his movie. Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚) was born in Beijing, China in 1958. He is well-known as a Chinese comedy film director, screenwriter, and actor. Also, Feng had done other films such as drama or period drama films, and he is trying different innovative way to make films. Feng started his career as a stage designer after high school at Beijing Military Region Art Troupe. He joined Beijing Television Art Center as an art designer in 1985. Then, he started to write screenplays. Feng gained fame for creating “New Year’s Celebration Films” in Chinese cinema in the late 1990s with his own kind of humor. The chosen movie quotes from his movies are as followed:

A man has a thousand faces. Which one you see depends on how you treat me. (男人千面，你给我的温度决定我对你的态度。) – Mr. Six 2015
Living is a process of self-improving and refining. (活着就是一种修行。) – If You Are The One 2011
There is no win or lose in life. You are lost once you have a winning heart. (生活本没有输赢，但如果你一旦有了胜负心，那你一定是输家。) – Cell Phone 2003
The highest level of performance is not when one with a mask, but when one’s face becomes a mask. (最高境界的表演不是带着面具，而是将自己的脸变成面具。) – The Banquet 2006

MOVIE QUOTE: A man has a thousand faces. Which one you see depends on how you treat me. – Mr. Six

1ST PRINT

I had a long journey coming out with the concept for this movie quote. At first, I took the quote too literally, so the composition had the lake of context and it was more like a movie poster.

I came up with a few refinement with fruit army vs. cat scenery. As we know that most of the cats hate fruits. In the final composition, the strawberry army burned cat’s house and stole the giant fish. The faces of the cats show the reaction when they are treated in this way which reflects the movie quote that “which face you see depends on how you treat me.”

The giant fish here is the focal point because of its scale and position. It is on the edge of the frame which creates a sense of direction. The different sizes of the strawberries create depth in the composition. The bigger ones are in the foreground while the smaller ones are in the background.

This composition was chosen for silk screening. I tried to expose the screen using my first draft, then expose the final version. I did several experiments on newsprint and started trying on the tote bag. The outcome was not ideal and the tote bag and newsprint have different textures. I tried a few times to understand the correct amount of ink for the tote bag.

MOVIE QUOTE: Living is a process of self-improving and refining.

Based on the lessons learned from the first quote, I tried to create the context for the second composition. In this composition, baby Donald Trump is playing chess, China vs. North Korea. He is still at the beginning of the process of self-improving and refining, as many do not believe that he is able to do well at his position. Further, symmetrical balance is applied in this composition to achieve harmony.

MOVIE QUOTE: There is no win or lose in life. You are lost once you have a winning heart.

In this competitive and fast-paced society, sometimes, people want to win in any situation even for small things like getting on the MRT train. In this composition, the baby is crawling on the running track towards the huge bottle of milk on the train. The light on the train door is blinking, means the train door is closing which creates the tension for the viewers that foreseeing the baby is going to lose. It illustrates the quote that you are lost once you have a winning heart from the start.

The position of the milk bottle and the baby follow the rule of third. There are a few contour lines and implied lines pointing at the milk bottle which creates the focal point.

MOVIE QUOTE: The highest level of performance is not when one with a mask, but when one’s face becomes a mask.

The last composition was inspired by Wayang, a form of puppet theatre art from parts of southeast Asia. In my composition, there is a pair of puppet hands playing the man in formal clothes. Nowadays, the best actor and actress are probably not on the stage or on the screen, but in our daily life. Sometimes, people in the business field like to put up their show to achieve their goals. Further, the shape of the light in the composition is formed by saws. It is the weapon that the man is running away from. Also, saw is the past tense of see. It is still performance, not the truth, no matter how high the level of performance is.

Lastly, man heavier elements are placed at the left and two other lighter elements are on the right to balance the composition asymmetrically. The sticks and direction of the light are pointing at the man which lead viewer’s eyes to the focal point.

ALL IN ALL

This project is really challenging for me as I was trapped with the literal meaning of the quote and struggled with coming up with the visual narrative. I had to force myself to step out the comfort zone and think out of the box. I had received a lot of comments and suggestions from the professors and classmates which helped me with my refinements. Moreover, it was the first time that i played with silk screening. It took quite some time for me to understand the principle and adopt the skill. I think I learned to push myself to the limit through this project. Lastly, there are few parts can be improved which I will pay attention to those areas in the future projects.

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017

Clock Time

0000

Tell me how you feel

September 24, 2017October 4, 2017

PROJECT 2: THE SUBVERTED OBJECT

PROJECT BRIEF

TASK1: Convey the assigned object as a literal sign in 3 images.

TASK2: Subvert the object’s meaning and convey it as a symbolic sign in 3 images.

TASK3: Select 1 image from task 1 or 2, and create an A2 poster with this image.

TASK1: DENOTATION

The object I was assigned to is broom. As we all know, broom is a cleaning tool. It is simply formed with the broomstick, the head, and fiber. There are various types of broom, such as soft broom, hard broom, angle broom, desk broom and etc. In this project, I used two types of common brooms, which are soft broom and desk broom.

SUPER NORMAL
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/f8/69/2ef8692371e13941262845f10d88ccb8.jpg

Firstly, convey the literal meaning of broom in an eye-catching way is difficult, as this object is too normal to be appreciated to a certain extent. This reminded me a book that I browsed through years ago, called “Super Normal”. The designers Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa have compiled 204 everyday objects in search of super normal design. They believe that the normal objects exist in the here and now, it is easy to appreciate those as we just need to open our eyes. Similar concept applied to the broom. We just need to open our eyes to observe the life of broom.

Task 1 is a series of images that tells the daily life of a broom. It started from the morning to the night. The broom was waited to be used in the morning when the light shined on it. Then it got dirty with dust and hair. At night, it stayed in the corner and is nearly invisible in the dark. This scenario is commonly seen daily, and nearly no one pays attention to it. This series is to bring our attention to the super normal object around us and make it beauty visible.

I purposely kept the elements in the composition simple. Only what is needed is used. For instance, in the first photo, there r only the hand and foot of the user which is enough to show the interaction. Showing the body and face of the user might be distracting since our focus should be more on the object. Further, the second photo is a close up to the fiber and dust on the broom with a vertical and horizontal tile lines to represent the floor. Lastly, grey scale is chosen for this serious to minimise the elements. Only value is used to form images. Minimise the elements help the viewers to focus more on the main character, broom here.

TASK2: CONNOTATION

The three final images were done in different approaches, which I will further explain in the following paragraphs.

Task 2 was started with some in-class exercise to brainstorm the ‘new characters’ for the broom, as shown in the photos above.

In order to further explore, I used a website, http://relatedwords.org/ to find out the related words for more inspiration. The word “flawlessly” caught my attention. An Instagram scene flashed in my mind that a fancy broom was having high tea and taking photos to post on her/his Instagram. According to research, 68% adults touch up their photos before sharing them. It seems like people only wanna show the flawless side on their social media. This became the first concept in Task 2.

Numerous photo was taken at Lady M to achieve the best angle that meets the “Instagram standard”. The table was set for two, which is like two friends are having afternoon tea. Editing was done to blur the background, and remove the flaws.

For concept 2, I research on the meaning of broom in Chinese culture as it relates to me the most. There are many meanings of broom in Chinese culture. One is that broom is used to cleanse the body of bad luck. Hence, the desk broom is a metaphor for the lock that keeps the bad luck outside of the residence. In addition, the photo is in a circular frame because circle means harmony and perfect in Chinese culture.

By Chema Madoz http://www.museoreinasofia.es/sites/default/files/obras/AD01531_0.jpg

The last concept was inspired by photographer Chema Madoz. He creates composition only for the purpose of photography. It requires viewer’s participation in order for the photo to be complete. His photos lead the view to think.

In the last image, I used the desk broom. My intention is to create a lamp of darkness. The hair of the broom is stretched. The broom here seems like the lamp with dark light which is unconventional. It gives the viewer room for imagination. My personal interpretation is that I always stay up and do my work at night to rush for deadlines. It is like turn on the darkness when I turn on my lamp to do my work.

TASK3: TEXT & IMAGE

The first photo from task 2 was chosen for the A2 poster. Several texts were added in the poster to clarify and emphasize the purpose of the poster.

Firstly, the Instagram look alike layout is a signifier which signified that the poster is an Instagram post. It requires the pre-knowledge of the viewers to understand. The account owner Broomella is an influencer that has infinity likes for this post. We learned the meaning of infinity symbol to understand it represents infinity likes here. Moreover, the hashtag here denotes that this post is about plastic surgery, while the text “DrKimClinic” connotes Korean.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as it is the first time I am subverting the meaning of an object. Some of the photos require photo editing skills, while some photos need to be done off campus. Further, some photos can be improved, for instance, there are too many things need to be unpacked for the Chinese culture broom image. It required too many pre-knowledge from the viewers. Hence, I will take more considerations of the viewers in the future projects.

REFERENCES

Related Words, “broom” accessed September 14, 2017, http://relatedwords.org/relatedto/broom

Fstoppers, “68 Percent of Adults Edit Their Selfies Before Sharing Them With Anyone.” October 30, 2015 https://fstoppers.com/mobile/68-percent-adults-edit-their-selfies-sharing-them-anyone-95417

Xing Fu, “CHINESE BELIEFS ABOUT BROOMS” accessed September 14, 2017, http://shuangxingfu.blogspot.sg/2008/04/chinese-beliefs-about-brooms.html

Famous Photographers, “Chema Madoz” accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.famousphotographers.net/chema-madoz

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017

PROJECT 1 “MY LINE IS EMO”

MY EMO LINES

Guilt – Overspend

Enjoyment – Chinese Tea Culture

Satisfaction – Chilli

Annoyance – Dream

Fear – My Constraint

Torment – I Hate Laundry

GUILT – OVERSPEND

According to the dictionary, overspend means spend more than the expected amount. Overspending is one of the issues that I am trying to solve. Receipts are the evidence. I feel extremely guilty when I look at the whole stack of receipts in my wallet. Thus, I amplified my guilt by making it as one of the mark making to remind myself and others not to have unnecessary expenses.

Material: Receipts, Clear Tape & Water

This is an interesting technique that I knew years ago. This is the first time I am using it in the school project. Simply paste the clear tape on the side of the receipt that has words. Tap water on the receipt then removes the wet paper. The words will be transferred to the clear tape, and overlapped tape achieved the ideal effect.

I had done experiments with the original receipts. The value of the words transferred on the clear tape is low, which could not achieve the ideal effect. Hence, I scanned and printed the receipts, and repeated the same method.

High density is achieved by adding more elements in the space. The high value of the words forms a contrast with the white background, which emphasize the emotion.

ENJOYMENT – CHINESE TEA CULTURE

I was inspired by a Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, who is deeply influenced by his cultural background. I started to pay attention to my cultural background after knowing more about Cai. I was born in China and spent my childhood there before I moved to Singapore. Chinese tea always plays an important part in my family, for example, family gathering. Everyone sits together, having the warm tea and share the joy.

Material: Chinese tea & Watercolour Paper

I started the experiment with different type of Chinese tea. I used the tea and tea leaves to draw in different motion on different kinds of paper, and watercolour showed the best result. As the paper would not warp too much when it meets water.

I cropped the part that had the cleanest lines. In the final artwork, repetition is used to create rhythm, a sense of uniform movement, which is like the process of making Chinese tea. In addition, when elements symmetrical, the design feels harmonious formal. The low-value colour of the artwork is the original Chinese black tea. It is visually subtle that create a calm feeling. The design principles used here represent the function of tea, that ties family members together, and shows the sign of respect.

SATISFACTION – CHILLI

Chilli is my all time favourite food. It goes well with all kind of ingredients. I always feel satisfied when eating or cooking spicy food.

Material: Chilli, Chinese ink & Watercolour Paper

I had tried several methods to do mark making with chilli. I prepared a aluminium tray and ‘fried’ chilli in different shapes, as the process of frying chilli is satisfying. Moreover, I tried to dip different shapes of chilli in the ink and stamp them on different types of paper.

In the final artwork, repetition is used to create a feeling of organized movement. The gradual change of value leads the viewer’s eyes to move back and forth. The consistent movements bring a feeling of intense excitement and happiness.

ANNOYANCE – DREAM

Dream reminds mysterious since the start of human history. It is a succession of emotions, images, ideas, and sensations. I always mix what happened in my dream up with the reality. It is annoying that I try to remember my dream but the memories fade so fast.

Material: Black Cloth (t-shirt), Poster Colour & Cutting Mat

At first, I was trying to use my face to do mark making, and I found out this illusionary effect I got because of different amount of pressure. It reminded me of the feeling of dreaming. Therefore, I decided to use the similar method for the final artwork.

This mark making was done while sleeping. I applied white poster colour on the cutting mat, covered with a black t-shirt and plastic bag. Then placed it on my pillow. The shapes and the value of colour were determined by the movement of my head on the pillow.

The marks on the black clothes were irregular. those shapes represent nothing other than what we see like we are always confused by the meaning of the dream. The cropped part is where my head mainly moved around, like the track of my dream. Further, the composition is not symmetrical, which creates feels of informality.

FEAR – MY CONSTRAINT

In the past few years, I always restrict myself with rules that set by the other’s opinions and forgot to listen to my heart. My deepest fear is losing freedom physically and mentally. I am eager to see the world with my own vision and follow the direction of my true feeling.

Material: String, Brush Pen & Watercolour Paper

The artwork was done unconsciously, that I blindfolded myself, tied my hands together, and hung the brush pen with the string. My vision was taken away as well as my freedom. I had down a few times and the cropped part has a dot. It was caused by accident, which represents the uncertainty of life.

The expressive curvy and ununiform lines tend to lead the viewer’s’ eyes wandering around the space to nowhere, which creates a sense of chaos like my fear towards the constraint.

TORMENT – I HATE LAUNDRY

I lived by myself since 15 years old, thus I have to do my own laundry. It is the housework that I hate the most. By right, I should do laundry at least once a week. However, I often postpone it until I have almost no clothes to wear.

Material: Clothes, Black Chinese Ink & Newsprint

I threw and rub the clothes with black Chinese ink on the newsprint.

I had done several prints. The chosen area content dark patch, sharp shapes, curvy and straight lines. The composition is not symmetrical, also not in any regular order. The mix of different elements forms no unity, which is chaotic.

ALL IN ALL

I enjoyed having this project as I experimented with different mediums to express emotions, not just the conventional ways with paper and pen. Also, I was inspired by great artists through research and the in class group exercise. Abstract art was a challenge for me, as I am more familiar with realistic drawing. Through this project, I have a better understanding of using design elements and principles to express thoughts.

RESEARCH ON ARTISTS

Cai Guo-Qiang https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/daiy0010/research-on-artist/

Hilma af Klint https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/daiy0010/research-on-artist-2/

REFERENCES

Kavanau, J.L. (2000). “Sleep, memory maintenance, and mental disorders”. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 12 (2)

http://nwrain.net/~tersiisky/design/value.html

September 4, 2017September 4, 2017

RESEARCH ON ARTIST

Taking a deep look into the mentality of a great artist

Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction?

Hilma af Klint
(October 26, 1862 – October 21, 1944)
Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilma_af_Klint

Overview

Hilma af Klint, child of a Swedish naval commander. Hilma spent summers with her family at their manor where she started to get in touch with nature in her earlier life. It deeply inspired her in the later life. Hilma’s interest for mathematics and botany were influenced by her family. She also showed her interest in visual art, She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Stockholm, which is controversial for a female to have higher studies in the beginning of the 20 century. In 1887, she graduated with honors from Royal Academy of Fine Arts. From graduating to 1908, she was mainly drawing portrait and landscape painting as a source of financial income, yet she kept her spiritual work as a separate practice.

Hilma’s artworks are mainly spiritual, which can be traced back to her sister Hermina’s death in 1880. The interest for abstraction and symbolism is from her involvement in spiritism, which is pretty popular at the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century. She also showed her interest in theosophy and philosophy.

Hilma knew Anna cassei, one of the four other women in “The Five” who shared her ideas. The five artists practice spiritistic séances regularly, and created the experimental automatic drawing in 1896. Messages from higher spirits, the High Masters form a new system of mystical thoughts, as recorded in a book. Hilma claimed that she was assigned to create the painting for the “temple” by the High Masters, and her hands were lead by a force. From her notebook:

“The pictures were painted directly through me, without any preliminary drawings, and with great force. I had no idea what the paintings were supposed to depict; nevertheless I worked swiftly and surely, without changing a single brush stroke.”

There are 193 paintings in the collection for the Temple, which describes the different phases in life.

Hilma af Klint past away in the car accident in 1944, at the age of 82 years old. She left with over 1200 paintings, and 150 notebooks of her studies and thoughts.

Artworks

Hilma af Klint, Hilma af Klint From A Work on Flowers, Mosses and Lichen, July 2 1919 © Stiftelsen Hilma af Klints Verk/Photo: Moderna Museet, Albin Dahlström http://www.modernamuseet.se/stockholm/en/exhibitions/hilma-af-klint-2/symbols/

Hilma’s work is all about symbol which represents the messages she received. Each symbol represents different meanings. For instance, the snail means development or evolution according to her notebook.

Hilma af Klint, Altarpiece, No. 1, Group X, Altarpieces, 1907 © Stiftelsen Hilma af Klints Verk. Photo: Albin Dahlström/ Moderna Museet. http://www.kunstkritikk.no/kritikk/hilma-af-klint-diagram-artist/

Criticism

Iris Müller-Westermann, the curator of international art at the Moderna https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fhevEqHaYFc/maxresdefault.jpg

“It’s pretty extraordinary to imagine this rather small woman, 157 centimeters tall or so, doing these huge paintings,”

“Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction,”

“She was doing something that was not on the retina of people at her time, in terms of size, color, composition and, of course, the abstraction — she was very much a pioneer.”

“Is she in the same box as Kandinsky and all the abstract pioneers, or maybe it’s easier to say it’s not art at all, just some woman who did something crazy? The category does not interest me so much, to be honest; what intrigues me is simply to consider what is there. What did she see, what do we see?”

Julia Voss, an art historian and art critic for the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Julia_Voss.jpg/220px-Julia_Voss.jpg

“Kandinsky was actively campaigning for himself as being the first abstract artist, constantly writing his gallery and saying, ‘Hey, you know, I was the first! I painted the first abstract painting in 1911!’. He was obviously successful, as he’s widely considered the father of 20th-century abstraction. But all the while, af Klint, much more privately, had already been creating these striking, abstract visuals for years.”

Kenneth D. Tuchman, American businessman and founder of global outsourcing company TeleTech. https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_200_200/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAJPAAAAJDBmNWM3OGVlLTQ2NDktNDg4Mi1hMjc0LWUwMWMyYjQyMmU5Mw.jpg

“To a large degree, modern art history is made by the marketplace. Af Klint hasn’t been out there to be seen and traded. She hasn’t been purchased by important collectors and more importantly, major museums,”

(Critics from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/arts/artsspecial/Giving-a-Swedish-Pioneer-of-Abstract-Art-Her-Due.html?mcubz=1)

My Inspiration

To me, art is an expression, like a language. Hilma used her language to tell the story and convey the message. Her language is inspired by her surrounding and herself. She paid attention to shapes, lines and etc. from nature. I will pay more attention to my surrounding and hopefully, I can get some inspirations.

September 1, 2017September 1, 2017

PROJECT 1: PICTURE STORY – CURATING SELF

PROJECT BRIEF

Accomplish the three tasks with various manipulation techniques in photography.

TASK1: ME

I used to be concerned very much about the judgments from others. It is like a tattoo that is indelible on my skin. I tried so hard to get it away. Eventually, I realized that the problems were not from anywhere else but myself. Happiness is my choice, which has nothing to do with others’ opinions. Why not just KEEP CALM AND EAT ICE CREAM!

In the test shots, I did experiment using a brow colour eyeliner that has a soft texture. After the consultation, I realized that the words written on my face were not harsh enough to express the emotion.

Thus, I changed the media to a black waterproof liquid eyeliner, and it looks more like tattoos. The font I used in the final shots is sharp, straight and messy. It creates an uneasy and unfriendly feeling as compared to the test shots. Further, I explored the different composition, and facial expression to achieve the best results. For instance, the first photo in this series was chosen because of its negative space that creates the focal point on my facial expression as well as its cropping below my eyes, which draws more attention to the emotion.

Inspiration from CHANEL’s Gabrielle bag campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YzMQGkgM8

Additionally, the framing and arrangement of this series are inspired by CHANEL’s Gabrielle bag campaign. The first photo in this series was taken as portrait and rotated into a landscape photo. Its composition might seems wrong as we see the human in an upright manner normally. The ‘problem’ here hints the problem that I was facing. My figure gradually turns back to upright, which shows I am back to the right track.

TASK2: Object and Representation of Self

“We think with the objects we love: we love the object we think with.”

– THE THINGS THAT MATTER

According to the dictionary, an object is a material thing that can be seen and touched. For me, it is not just something that I can use but a companion to my emotional life. The object that I attach to the most is my earpiece. I bring it along with me not just because of the good sound quality. It companied me during the long boring rides when I was eating alone, and even helped me to get away with some awkward situation.

The test shots were taken to try out the framing and emotion. Several feedbacks were gathered during the consultation, which I had improved in the final shots.

The photos in this series are in different scale which tells the different story about the object and me. The long and medium shots here is to capture the environment, and how I react to the environment when I am interacting with the object. While the close-up shots capture the emotion with some environment. Moreover, many photos were taken to test the body gesture, facial expression and etc. Some are cropped from original shots to achieve a better effect. A few scenes in the background were captured accidentally, which I think is the interesting part of this Project.

TASK3: My World

I moved to Singapore years ago by myself. Sometimes, I am confused that where I actually belong to. There is one place here that when thought the ups and downs with me, which is Chinatown. It is like my wonderland, where I can escape from the reality.

At first, I was quite stuck at this task. I went to Chinatown for several times but have no idea what to focus on. Everything seems equal and it is difficult to spot the high light until my professor pointed out some of the test shots.

Night scene in Spirited Away written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki http://www.misucell.com/group/spirited-away-wallpapers/

People visit Chinatown mainly for the food. All the sign board lighted up with different designs. Some are hung horizontally, while some are vertical. A few restaurants even have more than one sign board. It seems like a competition that everyone wants to stand out. It reminds me of the movie that I watched for hundreds time since young, Spirited Away written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. There are some scenes when night falls, and night life starts. The background is so dim, yet the street seems so alive with the lights. That was how I feel when I walked around Chinatown like walking in the movie scene.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as I need to convey the message as accurate as possible through a few photos. I was stuck at some point but able to find a solution with the suggestions from professor, classmates, and friends. Through this project, I started to pay more attention to details, the meaning behind as well as the mentality of the curator and how it can inspire me. Lastly, the techniques that I learned in class helped me to execute the tasks more accurate and efficient as I know the purposes of different scales and framing.

August 23, 2017August 29, 2017

RESEARCH ON ARTIST

Taking a deep look into the mentality of a great artist

GUNPOWDER DRAWINGS BY CAI GUO-QIANG

Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang
http://english.cri.cn/4406/2009/02/03/1141s449749.htm

Overview

Cai Guo-Qiang’s artworks made by inflaming gunpowder on sheets of special made papers, which is a new medium of contemporary artistic expression. Cai wants to look at how he can create something with destruction. His drawings give both the viewers and the artist the primordial state of chaos by making the explosion with natural energy forces. Further, gunpowder was invented in China, where Cai Guoqiang was born. For Cai, gunpowder is a cultural symbol, which similar to traditional ink paintings in ancient China.

Artworks

Summer, 2014
Gunpowder drawing on porcelain as part of installation “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter” at Power Station of Art, Shanghai.
http://www.caiguoqiang.com/projects/spring-summer-fall-winter

Self-Portrait: A Subjugated Soul, 1985-1989
Gunpowder and oil on canvas
https://syntheticzero.net/2014/03/14/self-portrait-a-subjugated-soul-cai-guo-qian/

Techniques

Sheets of special paper are placed on the floor with gunpowder fuses and loose explosive powders arranged on the top. Cardboard or paper stencils are used occasionally to create the outline of the works. He also used wooden pieces to spread the patterns created by smoke and the impact of an explosion. He lights up the fused at one end of the drawing after the setup is done. A gunpowder drawing is almost completed when the flame goes across the surface with powerful bangs. Next, the assistants need to do a quick clean up of the embers with rags. Lastly, the artwork is lifted up and hung on the wall.

My Inspiration

Exploring cultures, histories and natural mediums might be inspiring for creating artworks. Perhaps, I could get some interesting ideas from my cultural background as well as past experiences for mark making.

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017

The Story of International Klein Blue

Only color offered the path to freedom.

https://www.departures.com/art-culture/the-truth-behind-yves-klein-international-klein-blue-ikb International Klein Blue

August 4, 2017

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