self assesment

Garrett Zopfi

Billy Frieble

Digital Studio

7 May 2012

Final Self Assement

The central theme for my final project was a combination of color and composition. My inspiration comes from long standing traditions in modernism set forth by Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol. From the onset of the project I also wanted to embrace the mechanical process of digital art with its reliance on machinery and software.

My process started when I started looking at artists that had the aspects of color fields and grounded but energetic compositions. I started with a German artist named Katherina Fritsch. Katharina works with found forms and through mechanical processes she copies and colors the found forms. She then arranges the forms in clever compositions. I was drawn to her use to found forms and the appropriation of the forms to create her own compositions.

I originally intended to work in projection so I looked at Hong Kong based artist Paul Chan. I enjoyed the movement of his silhouette projection along with their instantaneous storytelling and use of color blocks to compliment the compositions. I was drawn to the compositions that had floating and vibrating elements that created a false sense of space.

With my research complete I began thinking of what I wanted to do in my exploration into color theory and composition. I began looking at Japanese Zen Rock Gardens for examples of thought-out compositions.

This led me to decided to project onto the vertical columns that hold up the skywalk that connects the two sides of Schaeffer Hall. This form offered a sculptural outlet for visual projections because a cylinder is the most sculptural form with a two-dimensional surface. This form also allowed me to work in vertical sequences that I could print out in the even of foul weather.

After I decided on my location and my intentions for the project were becoming more pronounced I began looking for images from art’s history that I could appropriate. When I was looking for images I deiced not to use commonly experienced pieces but more images that someone with a basic knowledge of art history would appreciate moving on to more niche pieces as the time periods progress. I also chose images that I was at least mildly familiar with so that I had some background knowledge on the pieces before I used them.

I wound up with all images of female-representational forms. The first image I knew I wanted to use was the Willendorf Venus. This is the form I deiced to use as a clue in to my process for individuals with a base knowledge in art history.

As the pieces go through time they get more niche in their intended audiences. The second oldest piece that I appropriated is an image of Venus with child from a wall fresco in Pompeii. After these two the next oldest image is a 16^th century German engraving of Justice. She is shown in full armor without her eyes blindfolded. This is an unusual image of Justice and it offers a unique insight into the values of the society that produces it. An 18^th century engraving of Venus at Troy is also used along with an academy painting of a bathing Venus from the same time period. The engraving of Venus at Troy is shown with a spear, which is unusual but not strikingly uncommon for 18^th century depictions of classical deities. The newest image I used in the composition was a mid 19^th century engraving of Persephone, or Proserpina. This engraving shows the ill-fated character in a rococo dress holding her iconic pomegranate. I chose this image because of its contrast to the hard lines of the other appropriated images and its thematic contrast. With exception to the fresco from Pompeii, all of the images except for Persephone have powerful emotions associated with them instead of the reminder of time and mortality.

My intent for the composition was to show a progression of representational ideals through time. I chose to use deities and devotional objects because societal expectations of women tended to be eclipsed when portrayed through the veil of Classicism.

My original plan was to present the images in such a way as to tell a story but after projection tests and playing with the compositions in the computer I decided to let the colors, forms and movements of the pieces create a contemplative environment for the viewer. I was also originally planning to make a slide-show type but this looked pretty weak on the computer and even weaker in the projection tests. Instead I began playing with GIF animations in Photoshop to make the forms of the image vibrate, flash and disappear.

The projection tests also allowed me to see how my colors were translating onto the columns. I was competing with this sickly yellow lighting of the breezeway and the cold white of the columns. As a result I used high-keyed colors and broad lines. It was also during the projection tests that I decided to use the appropriated images as abstract shapes instead of projecting them right-side-up in their entirety. Using pieces of the images allowed me greater flexibility and the resulting image is more successful because of it. Despite the high-keyed nature of the used colors the projector still wasn’t projecting the way I wanted it to. This combined with unpredictable and sporadic weather led to my decision to go with my back up plan of printing the image.

The image printed is a sequence of 4 vertical columns that correspond with the columns I was going to be projecting on. I was originally going to cut the panels apart but after putting them in a document to gang-print I decided to leave them as a whole image like they would have appeared in physical space. I also rearranged and panels in order to make a balanced two-dimensional image.

Upon printing the image I noticed an area where strange things were happening between two colors. The area in question is in third column where the salmon color and the teal color play off each other and cause a chromatic vibration.

Once I saw this I decided to experiment with the color interaction in another image. I used the Persephone image that caused the interaction in the first print and created another four-column composition to print. This print has the same movement quality that I was trying to present in the projection so it serves as a suitable partner to the first print.

I learned allot about color interactions from this project. I had a vague idea of chromatic optical phenomenon but never actually created one. This is an interesting occurrence that I hope to explore further. I would also like to eventually print another of my composition image on a larger scale.

The flexibility of using Photoshop allowed me to take my work home with me on my own computer and work on it when I was waiting for my work in other classes to dry. This constant attention over a long period of time allowed me to constantly re-evaluate my composition and make changes to it.

Overall I think both prints are very strong. The composition print is very meditative and holds a lot of visual interest. The Persephone print is equally interesting but from almost a singly color based point of view. This is the first artwork I have created that solely relies on color. It was beneficial for me to use images that I didn’t create in order to freely play with colors and compositions.

The composition print isn’t as enveloping as I would have liked it to be. This is partly because its not projected large in space but also the print could have been larger but I was working with the area that Tara said I had for one print on the DIL printer. The second image I payed for myself. This is why it’s slightly larger and the image feels more comfortable in its size because it was specifically designed for it.

I give myself a B+ for the project. It would have been more successful to print the composition image larger but I was too cheap to make the judgment call. I also think the grade reflects the learning that happened when I was playing with the images. I think what I learned is an A and the piece is a B. this is why I think I deserve a B+ for the project. 

art event

SMP 2

The second set of SMP exhibitions and lectures were by Jenny Metz, Sam Nickey and Koko.

Jenny’s work dealt with alternative views and abstract photographs taken of familiar objects and spaces. Jenny’s work employed almost the same depth of field technique that Elise employed in her work. Both of these artists’ works were exhibited in the same space and because of this gallery attendants drew parallels between the two sets of work. Formally the two works are very similar and because of the same exhibition location in the gallery Jenny’s work was read as unoriginal and reactionary.

Sam’s work was an investigation into moth-like forms and the implications of transformation and guiding lights that the iconic form is laden with. Sam employed the use of oil painting for her work.

Upon entering the gallery to view Sam’s work, the viewer is confronted with a large panel containing a lot of her preliminary work. This gave the viewer insight into the process of creation and created this persona of the artist that matched the work that was being presented, an enigmatic fluttering being.

Sam displayed her paintings in a series, which caused the paintings to be viewed as a whole object before they were read individually. This was beneficial to the viewing of her work. Her paintings were of a modest size and were heavily laden with details and surface textures. The arrangement of the paintings in a single broad line drew the viewer to the paintings and then the fine details of the work kept them interested. If the paintings were hung more spaced apart and isolated the work would not have been received the same way. The calculated displaying of the work greatly benefited the artist. At the gallery opening the work that garnered the most attention were Sam’s paintings.

Koko’s work dealt with idea of community, wall painting and visual representations and innate human visual communication. The way her work was displayed in the gallery was very confusing and disorganized. Her work was further affected by its exhibition by its remote location away from the gallery.

I think her work would have been more successful if she painted on large panels and hung them in the commons area outside of the gallery. This would have been a more populated location for the school community to interact with the piece and it would have made the disorganized clutter in the gallery less random. I found it peculiar that the piece she wanted to represent the school community and to bring members of the community together was located in a remote location in a building that is scheduled to be demolished. There are murals in the dorms that need to be repainted and this outlet would have been more effective than hiding the work away and associating the campus community with an eminent demolition. The piece itself is very captivating and because of its presence I am even more upset by its location.

Personally I am very interested in how humans communicate visually and it was enlightening to see both Koko's interpretation and the coagulation of different views that resulted in the final mural as a result of its process. 

art event

SMP 1

The first SMP exhibition and lectures contained the work of Remina Greenfield, Elise Keilik and Laura Hausheer.

Remina’s work focused on the digital personas that, as individuals of the digital generation, we are constantly presenting to the outside world. She expressed this through digital video projections of peers that she took and processed so that their faces were made up of moving images of their browsing history and online profiles.

Remina’s work includes both the modern idea of cyber stalking with older ideas of personas and the faces we present to the outside world.

He work was isolated in a cubic area with projectors mounted on the ceiling projecting on the 4 walls of her space. This created a really interesting environment in which the viewer was enveloped by her projections. This sucked the viewer into the cyber space that she was exploring and heightened the sense of voyeurism that is present in many peoples interaction with the Internet.

Her work was interesting to me in that it created a unique and familiar but unfamiliar environment. I am interested in how people interact with space and how environmental factors like light and movement can affect a person’s interaction and experience with the space.

Elise’s work explored the everyday life of the miniature universe that she created. In the first semester we were introduced to her dollhouse of horrors. In the second semester we were given small glimpses into other aspects of her doll house and the greater outside universe that it inhabits.

She created her environment using found objects and creatively assembled them in purposes not befitting their nature to replicate familiar views. She then captured her space using a camera with a very particular depth of field.

The work itself wasn’t very original in that it reminded me of ISPY picture books that were prevalent when I was a child. In the books, the author team creates miniature environments using repurposed objects and through word play the read is guided through the space while looking for specific objects.

Laura created a children’s’ book for her smp. She also designed this whimsical reading area where people could come into the gallery and read her book.

He work had both a performative aspect when she read it to a group of children and formal aspect of environmental design and illustration.

Laura’s story dealt with a young girl who is forming her identity. The main character leaves home for the big city and tries on many hats until she finds the one that fits her best.

Laura used paper cuts for her illustrations. The quality of the paper cuts translates well to children’s illustrations and provides enough visual interest to keep the person reading the book to children interested. 

Intention Statement

Human's communicate in many languages with many symbols and gestures. In these symbols, sounds and gestures lie innate concepts of description that define the human condition. It is the goal of my work to explore these innate means of communication through pairing iconic images with colors and text. By utilizing innate human communication, my work speaks to a broader audience and sense of being. My work is not a social commentary, but an investigation into modern human culture and the innate human characteristics that foster it.

oliver laric

http://oliverlaric.com/

Artist Research

Katharina Fritsch is a German Sculptor and university professor. Katharina has work on display in the MoMA sculpture garden this summer.

Her work focuses on the multiple and the produced. She creates detailed models of her sculptures and ships them out to be fabricated according to her specific instructions. When she has received the factory fabricated objects she then casts and paints them using common production materials.

The final products are then arranged in a narrative fashion in real space. The objects do not move, they are not accompanied by anything except the occasional title, yet they still have a quality of innate human story telling mostly grounded in western mythologies.

In her work “Figurengruppe” she explores theory concepts like color, composition and thematic elements to create a unique environment that feels as grounded in a surreal realm of the arcane as any karesansui.

In her other work “Rat King” she explores how monumental scale, repetition and multiplication can be combined together to create an environment. In this Rattenfänger-channeling piece, Katharina makes use of prior knowledge of children’s tales as a clue for deciphering the narrative of her piece.

            Studying Katharina’s work will be influential in my art making for the final project because it instills in me a great desire for compositional perfection and a greater appreciation for the balance of thematic and formal juxtapositions within a composition

Paul Chan is a Hong Kong artist that has been working with light and projection and their impact on viewed environments. He showed he projection “Sade for Sade’s Sake” at the Venice Biennial, 10 years after Katharina. His work comments on social issues and mankind’s reaction with itself and with the environment where it exists.

His projections have a surreal voyeuristic quality that fulfills the visual needs of the viewer. From the videos I have seen of his projections I get a sense that the space where he is projecting becomes all encompassing. I also really appreciate the non-standard aspect ratio of his work; this lends the work a more substantial and well thought-out mystique.

What I can gain in my work from Chan is his use of color fields and non-figurative shapes to heighten the environmental sense of his work. His inclusion of these non-figurative shapes grounds the image in a reality and causes tension with pictorial semiotics, which cause the viewer to engage more in the artwork. 

final sketch