12 Nov 2016
After all the soul searching and stress out times where I have no idea for the final assignment, I’m finally done with it!! Really impressed with my other classmates’ work for this assignment. I can see their hard work and passion to develop their final work. And this is my version of “Ego”…
My work is base on: what other’s perceive me as, what I really feel and what causes it. At first I didn’t really have a concrete idea. I only have an idea of showing what’s known and unknown of me, and my base color scheme is blue. My classmates suggested that I do a list of “what I am” and the “ideal me”.
I did a little bit of research by asking my classmates’ their perspective of me. I had feedback like: clean, minimalist, order, smell clinical, look fierce, not very open with my feelings, seems cold but warm in the inside, etc. After collecting all the feedback, I chose the ones that I can further develop on, and decided on what kind of approach I want to execute.
When I am reviewing myself during the soul search, I find that I am calm, sometimes cold, and I hold myself responsible for the things I do. Therefore, “Blue” is the most suitable color to represent me.
Breakdown
People think that I am fierce + I want to be friendly = These factors are what I portray
For “Fierce”, I decided to use red vellum paper to cast a shadow on it. I use this method, as I wanted to show “Fierce” is not what I want to truly portray. Therefore, putting a red vellum paper in front of my fist, to show that it is just the outer layer that everyone perceive. The yellow soft toys are a representation of friendly, as yellow gives off a friendly and approachable look.
People think that I am a Minimalist + I have my Messy times = What I Create
I used a white rectangle to show Minimal. Most of my classmates feedback that I am someone who’s very systematic, and personally I also like order, therefore a rectangle is best suited to show the Minimal part of me. I used navy background for Minimal, as I find that minimal is also what I like, therefore not placing a lighter blue for the background. For messy, I used different colored strings to portray. I used strings as it can be in order, but if jumbled up, it can also cause chaos/messiness. The different colors are representation of different situations, eg. my bed, my table, the things that I have just bought, which I have caused messiness.
People think that I am a healthy eater + I like a balance diet = What I consume
In school, I often bring fruits to eat in class. Therefore, my classmates identify me as a healthy eater. But actually I just like to have a balance diet. I decided to use flat lay for “Healthy”, as it’s able to show the different types of food on the table. I overexposed my image as a lot of people have identified me as a “Healthy” eater. Therefore, I overexposed it to show the judgement people gave. I used complementary colors, green for vegetables and red for meat, to show the balance of diet. I added a white strip in the middle, to represent a balanced scale.
People think that I am cold + I love Freedom = What I distant myself from
At first glance, people think that I am a cold and unapproachable person. However, I love my freedom/alone time too much to actually care about everyone around me. Therefore I distant myself at times. I used ice as a direct interpretation for cold. I applied monochromatic colors to enhance the cold atmosphere, and the light blue background represent the exterior of me. For “Freedom”, I used Yellow – Glee, Orange – Uplifting, Turquoise – Healing, Blue – Peace. These are what I feel when I felt freedom. I blurred the image as freedom cannot be seen, therefore I used colors to represent my version of freedom.
Overall, I used very simple elements for my composition, as I feel that simple represents me best. For the last column, it is “Me” dissected into 4 sections, as this entire project is about me. Hence, I decided to associate people’s perception with each part of me.
During the review, Joy suggested that I refer to Mark Rothko as a reference artist in the future. He likes to use simple elements in his artworks too. Therefore I did a little bit of research on him.
Mark Rothko: One of the preeminent artists of his generation, he created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting. Mark Rothko’s work is characterized by rigorous attention to formal elements such as color, shape, balance, depth, composition, and scale; yet, he refused to consider his paintings solely in these terms. He explained: It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.
Examples of his artwork
Orange and Yellow – Mark Rothko
No. 61 (Rust and Blue) – Mark Rothko
Rust and Blue uses layered coloring to enrich the hues in the painting, a quality the artist Mark Rothko described as inner light. Rothko painted in such a way that at times paint can be seen flowing upward across the surface. This illusion is caused because Rothko would invert his painting toward the final stages of his work, this can be seen in No.61.
Alternately radiant and dark, Rothko’s art is distinguished by a rare degree of sustained concentration on pure pictorial properties such as color, surface, proportion, and scale, accompanied by the conviction that those elements could disclose the presence of a high philosophical truth. Visual elements such as luminosity, darkness, broad space, and the contrast of colors have been linked, by the artist himself as well as other commentators, to profound themes such as tragedy, ecstasy, and the sublime. Rothko, however, generally avoided explaining the content of his work, believing that the abstract image could directly represent the fundamental nature of “human drama.”
In conclusion, I have learnt the importance of color and how reference artist can assist me in my work. This project concludes the last assignment for Foundation 2D. I have learnt a few things during this module, and will bring it on to my future works.
Till next time! Ciao!
