September 2017 – Page 2

Processing… Part 3

I have done a few of the emotions linked with songs and gave them a physical manifestation in the form of mark making :

Emotion : Jealousy

Songs I tagged it to : SZA – Supermodel, Tricky ft Fifi Rong – If Only I knew

Ideas I wanted to portray : I wanted to portray the idea of having two sides, wanting to become each other. Therefore the thick bold line or the patches are in conflict with each other, creating a “war” between two places. The concept of jealousy causes conflict and the depiction of desire to be another being.

Emotion : Mortification

Songs I tagged it to : Dmitri Shoshtakovich – Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Major

Ideas I wanted to portray : I wanted to portray the idea of incompletion, coupled with shock and irregularity. I wanted to show that mortification is more than distress and pain. It was the idea of when you are in shock, there is a need for closure. Therefore despite the chaos, there are white our spots or places which requires insertion.

Emotion : Shame

Songs I tagged it to : Rina Sawayama – Cyber Stockholm Syndrome , Robyn – Dancin’ on my own

Ideas I wanted to portray : I layered sparse dots against a very hazy background to portray the idea of aloneness despite being in a large group. I wanted to show the idea of social shame and the idea of embarrassment for not being able to fit into the canon of others. Is it really a shame to not be able to fit in? Or is it better to stand out on your own.

Emotion : Pride

Songs I tagged it to : Bedrich Smetana – Moldau, No. 2 Vltava, Johanne Brahms – Hungarian Dance (Pick One)

The Ideas I wanted to portray : I wanted to portray the idea of standing still against the current, despite a large opposing body, pride comes before you fall. The idea of nationalism or self-pride was what I picked out from the songs and I wanted to show the idea of conformity versus deviance, how civil or international destruction comes due to the pride of politics.

Emotion : Astonishment

Songs that I tagged it to : Maurice Ravel – Piano Concerto No. 1

The idea I wanted to portray was to show that astonishment was just “great surprise”. It doesn’t mean it would be positive or negative. I wanted to use large big strokes to show the negative energy of astonishment, showing grave surprise, like disbelief. While I wanted the smaller splatter to show the good, positive surprise, like the ‘yay’ astonishment.

Emotion : Lust

Songs that I tagged it to : STWO – Virgo, Taku – Down For You

Ideas that I wanted to portray : Lust was depicted to have to aspects. One, was to show that lust was sensual and physical. The other was the monotony of lust. The idea of lust being a repetitive action with no outcome.

That is all!

Processing… Part 2

I did some permutations but it made me very frustrated because I couldn’t get what I want. What I did was visualise an image like those visualisers you see on Windows Media Player. Just that it worked with a song tagged to an emotion.

Exhibit A, I tried using the roller to give a swishing effect to show sensuality and intertwining for “lust”. But it was only concentrated on the side, it didn’t roll nicely, but the effect was still intended, I could still see a soft intertwining effect. Secondly, I tried to layer another feeling on top of the feeling of sensuality. This was because I felt that a singular stroke or line was not enough to represent the complexity of emotions, therefore I added more rigid, repetitive lines on top of the swishes. I think that it achieved an intended effect, but there is more to work on in terms of finding the right layer.

Another issue I had was the eventual cropping of the larger lines I made. In the end, the lines have to narrowed down and be framed within the guide of 380 x 72. However, for some lines it worked, it worked in which the cropping augmented the emotions that I was portraying. Like wise, for others, a large significant portion of the emotions were cut off and it needed to be re-layered with another feeling to further bring out the emotion.

This was eventually resolved. Nothing much rocket science

Processing… Part 1

So, I did a few experimentations with various mediums and felt there were very similar lines created by different objects. Some of my lines ended up like this : This line gave a more rejuvenating look, and it was very lively and very exciting. It was made with a toothbrush.This line was made with a nail in a similar fashion of witches “scrying” for people on a map with a crystal. It gave more pendular effect and the lines varied in weight. Very large spaces the lines feel very cold, but wise. If you get what I’m saying.

This line was made with charcoal and then smudging the charcoal to create implied lines. The lines are very soft and it flakes due to the softness of the paper. I like how it gives a very subtle textured look. But I need to work on smudging. It looks very forced.

These black lines were made after both, rolling paint on a piece of paper and plastering another on top, or putting it a piece of paper on top of a piece with wet Chinese ink. I think the ones with paint gives a very rugged edged but it tapers to a soft sensuality. Due to the plastering of the two pieces of paper together, it ends up having a softer, liquidised look as seen in the second piece from the left.

Reflection on “Rhetoric of the Image”

Barthes’ Rhetoric of the Image aimed to investigate the necessity of context within an image. Whether analogical representation, or a context is required to interpret images and if the interpretation of images could be decoded using a systematic detailing list of practical, national, cultural, aesthetics to be decoded.

Some key terms and concepts introduced was the idea of the signifieds (meaning) and signifiers (image) and how the idea of semiotics is brought upon via the denotational and connotational. Another concept that struck me was the idea of drawings vs photographs and how the relationship of signs contrasted between these two mediums. Expanding further, Barthes also explain how film is no longer a subset medium of photography but a completely different set of signs.

I do agree as the approach taken for image decoding is dependent on the signs and symbols and how the signified is relative to the signifier. Another concept which I agree would be the the choice of mediums. As stated, there is no drawing without style, as such the stylistic interference would already have a connotation within itself. As such, photographs are purer in providing signs and symbols as opposed to drawing, however, with photography comes with manmade interventions like framing.

In relation to the article by Barthes, the denoted image of the print ad is that of a simple burger, namely the BigMac. However, the use of text has transformed the connotations. The rhetoric used challenges the reader on their toughness to tackle the burger. While meat is usually contextualised with masculinity, the idea of the rhetoric is to influence audience to consume the BigMac to prove their own masculinity. This breakdown would have been impossible without the use of text to supplement the advertisement and thus changing the connoted message within the denoted image of the burger.

This breakdown on the connoted message provided by the text used in the advertisement is further augmented by Barthes’ idea of identifying the message through a list of practical, national, cultural, aesthetics.

Practically, a burger is just an item for consumption and sustenance. However the added context of McDonalds’ provides the idea of fast food and a fast paced consumption rate at an affordable price range. This is further pushed through with the fact that McDonalds’ stemmed from American values in which consumerism, commercialism and capitalism thrives on. The cultural context is then put into play when the rhetoric is used to influence buyers to purchase. The cultural association of beef to masculinity and the idea of the challenging the readers’ manliness is put into play. Furthermore, in terms of aesthetics, the photograph was framed to be in a luxurious red bed setting, which provides an idea of luxury and seduction, thus using human intervention (framing and setting) to give a connoted message as well.