Category: Project 2 Forrest Gump

“FEEDBACK from classmates and miss ho.”

1. The amount of tentacles can be overwhelming
2. Brain can show signs of decay to further emphasize the negative health effects
3. Lip is an under representation of lust
4. Incorporated gestalt and many design principles into the composition
5. Black and white graphics make the subject more pronounced

Quotes:

2 compositions for each quote.

Silk screen & 1st composition:

“What’s in the Fucking box?”

Interpretation:

It is an open-ended question quote. The word “fucking” conveyed negative connotation, hence my image can depict something unpleasant. Fridge was the first thing that came across my mind when I saw “box”, and if anything unpleasant, it must be the mold. I was inspired by Susuwatari from Spirited Away and Totoro.

 

I did Silkscreening and realized the image is quite messy, populated with overwhelming amount of Susuwatari. Details on the food items wasn’t clear. Image lacks focal point, and the background frame on grey scale didn’t turn out too well.

I decrease the number of food items and Susuwatari in Composition V1.1 to tidy up. I added in more “species” that also varied in size to give a focal point and make the image more interactive. Susuwatari is arranged in golden ratio spiral, further emphasizing the focal point and provide a directional guide to the eyes.

First try was too dark. For the second try I decreased my strength, but it turn out too light… T^T I wasted 2 sides but by third time I was better at controlling my strength. I was satisfied because the image got translated onto the tote bag quite well. The details were clear and the amount of ink applied was adequate as well.

2nd composition:

“What’s in the Fucking box?”

Interpretation:

I kept thinking about a head in the box but Miss Ho said we shouldn’t be too literate because the image need to depict our own interpretation, and that “box” can be anything. I drew inspiration from her words and wanted my image to depict freedom of thoughts. I adopted a cosmic theme, the universe is infinite, just like our thoughts.

I added key hole to symbolize “open-mindedness” and to be the focal point. Wings from her eyes illustrates the idea that we should move away from what we see, which is the movie, hence less literate. It’s in contrasting colors to direct attention to the key hole, and more appealing to look at. Cosmic theme was maintained throughout, but instead of a 3×3 arrangement, I place them in golden ratio spiral to create a sense of direction. One of the planets is at the foreground to create depth, because it seems like the planets are not just moving in X,Y axis, but also along the Z axis. I removed the hand and the halo because they caused a sense of unbalance, and by elimination, the cosmic theme became clearer.

3rd composition:

“WHy is the rum gone?”

Interpretation:

It’s yet another open-ended question quote. “Gone” means rum is consumed. Hence my ideology is based on alcohol over-consumption. For this composition, I want to depict that over-consumption will cause one to spill words out of the mouth from their heart, without filtering them. It’s illustrated by the gramophone on the heart. Tentacles symbolized alcohol because it’s the brand image for a famous rum brand, Kraken. The intense coiling creates a sense of discomfort and suggest that alcohol is difficult to get rid of, in other words, addictive.

I shifted the gramophone to the right because there is more space. I needed something at the bottom right to balance the image so I added some tentacles, and another layer below the heart to emphasize on coiling. I incorporated more interactions between the heart and the tentacles so they look integrated and drew more veins on the heart to make details clearer after threshold.

4th composition:

“WHy is the rum gone?”

Interpretation:

Alcohol over-consumption imposes negative impacts on heath, especially on the brain which in turn also affects our mental health because it arouses lust. I was inspired by my classmate’s presentation on Gestalt and decided to incorporate it into my composition.

Variation in thickness of the lines, together with negative spaces, creates a illusion of skulls. I duplicated the skull on both sides to balance the image so it does not look heavy on the right side. Brains on the left breaks the symmetry and enhances visual interest. The focal point would be on the lips which symbolize women. With both skulls staring down at it, the image further emphasize on lust. The repetition of wine glasses signify over consumption, and brings depth to the image because now there are lines that run across and towards. The wine glass is also a play on gestalt because it’s just curved lines assemble to form a recognizable object.

Challenges faced:

1. Translating image onto silkscreen require precision and careful manipulation
2. Moving away from literal interpretation of quotes proved to be a common challenge because the scenes in the movie is ingrained in us
3. Balancing details and clarity at the same time requires delicate planning
4. Value feedback and embrace differing opinions

 

Research:

Banksy is an anonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director of unverified identity. Their satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. Banksy’s works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy’s work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that they were inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist who later became a founding member of the English musical group Massive Attack.

I admire Banksy’s work because they condense societal/ political issues into simple visual representations, yet able to effectively convey his concern to the mass. The fact that he remain anonymous and unidentified, show his disdain towards fame and commercializing art.