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The Penny is a narrative film that incorporates both stop-motion and live-action footage. The film opens with a young man sauntering along with a gloomy look on his face.  It is clear that his day has been less than pleasant as is emphasized by the music playing in the background. We follow him along his journey and soon he spots a penny on the ground. Once he picks the penny up, it comes alive and multiplies as it cascades to the ground. The pennies then create a variety of patterns or algorithms before crawling onto the arms and body of the young man. The pennies are an analogy for luck and as the man’s mood drastically changes he continues down the road with a smile on his face. I chose to incorporate only two characters within this film, a penny and a young man. The setting of the film is outdoors in a parking lot with wetlands in the background. This plain, uneventful background allows focus to remain on the interaction between the man and the pennies. The music was created using GarageBand and the film was edited in FinalCut.

watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY&feature=fvst This music video titled, Her Morning Elegance, by Oren Lavie, was created using stop motion. Within this film variety is experienced in terms of action and setting. The first scene opens with a young girl sleeping on her bed; however, in short order we realize that we are witnessing some type of dream sequence. Her pillows and sheets become alive forming a backdrop for her dream that progresses from what looks like a windstorm, to a train station, then finally an ocean. It would appear that the entire dream is a metaphor for the girl’s life—the chaos and the joys. At one point it appears as if she is falling and lost, but then suddenly a young man shows up next to her and everything becomes more solace. And we see them interact and dance, perhaps expressing her relationship in real life and a major turning point in her life. Finally, there is a cyclical nature to this film. The dreams began with the girl curled up on the bed and ended with her in the same position. To conclude the film the artist chose to have the girl open her eyes and leave the bed, which I felt gives the audience a sense of closure.

For our meltdown project we wanted to feature a “celebrity-meltdown”, and Michael Jackson was the first name that came to mind. To express the breakdown of his life, we decided to place him in a context that could be easily recognizable and we immediately decided on the Neverland Ranch for our main setting. The theme of innocence lost was implemented through the inclusion of a garden-like atmosphere. The playful scene with its bright colors represents the Garden of Eden which has long been recognized as a symbol of innocence. Therefore, it is fitting that the now corrupt Michael Jackson was placed in such a scene.

 Inspiration for this piece was derived from the Alice in Wonderland movie.  The bright, surreal colors in this film are clearly emulated within our composition.  While the juxtaposition of the textured hand against the backdrop provides a point of focus within the piece, it is the colors that create the most tension and engagement for the viewer. Overall, I think our project was successful; it was enjoyable to work as a group and to mesh our individual styles into one piece. 

This piece, titled …Number 54…Bo!, is an example of a composition utilizing color to enhance the viewing experience.  The colors are various shades and tints of green, blue, red, orange, and yellow. This color selection suggests that the artist was attempting to use the principle known as split complementary, where the hue of the green is paired with the two hues on either side of its complement. These are the colors red-orange and pink-violet. Furthermore, blue is paired with the hues yellow and orange-red which are also placed on either side of its complement. Complementary contrast between the green and red hues adds even more variety to this piece. Variety can also be seen in the intensity or saturation of hues. The different intensities and shades of green allow the artist to overlap shapes in a way that creates a sense of perspective.  Because the overall piece is comprised in mostly lighter tones of color, the viewer feels a sense of joy—a warm emotion that is also reflected in the boys face. 

This composition utilizes Gestalt principles, such as proximity and containment. By placing the shapes making up the cube close to one another, the principle of proximity occurs, allowing one’s mind to see the separate shapes and fuse them into one cohesive cube. Containment is the most obvious principle implemented. By crafting a wooden frame out of driftwood and surrounding the entire image, one’s eye is prevented from leaving the composition’s surface. Finally, repetition is seen in the background texture of the piece. The unity of this high key pattern forms togetherness. However, by breaking the pattern up with other textures, variety is also achieved.

Symmetry as well as asymmetry is evident. The symbol is symmetrically constructed, while the asymmetrical placement of certain textures around the image allows for movement and variety.  Furthermore, the juxtaposition of the glued feathers at the bottom of the image and the wooden frame against the flat surface of the paper textures adds a heightened appeal to the overall composition. Finally, a focal point is created with the blue bird at the top of the frame.

The deadly sin I attempted to illustrate is sloth. Inspiration came from the familiar saying, “the early bird gets the worm. ” The birds inside the box represent laziness, or failure to go beyond the confinement of their box or cage-like cell, while the bird flying away with the worm exemplifies motivation and drive.

This image found on Deviant Art is an example of the Gestalt principles discussed in class. The background of the composition consists of yellow ovals placed within close proximity to one another to give the appearance of a solid wall or type of wallpaper. The use of containment is also evident within this piece. The yellow rings surround the Dalmatian in such a way to make the viewer’s eye perceive the dog in complete outline or enclosed. The mind fills in the missing information between the yellow spaces, allowing one to see the complete image. Although texture is not an identifiable quality of this piece, the variety in the placement and grouping of the spots on the Dalmatian’s coat causes the eye to linger on its body. Finally, the similarity and unity in a majority of the spots contrasted with the anomaly of spots on the Dalmatian’s ear creates a focal point for one’s eye.

gderanidaye.deviantart.com

Sketch 2

Sketch 3

 The sense I attempted to portray visually through this composition was the smell of blood. The smooth and splotchy lines create the flowing blood oozing from the deer’s mouth and the scratchy fine lines emulate the texture of fur on the deer’s body. By juxtaposing these varied line weights and texture I was able to create a tension between the blood and the head of the deer.  The central point of focus within the frame is the deer’s head. In pictures 1 and 2 I added significant detail to the deer’s head, causing one’s eye to linger on this point longer in order to take in every detail. Furthermore, having the deer’s eye open and in the foreground gives one the feeling of uneasiness which is a common feeling associated with exposure to death.

As I was making these sketches I tried to play with the amount of positive and negative space present on the page. In both pictures 1 and 2 I feel the amount of positive space is lacking, thus in picture 3 I made the background completely black, which I think looks pleasing to the eye. Finally, I wanted to experiment with different line characteristics. I attempted to use string and ink in picture 1 and run it across the background of the frame which added a harsh and edgy feel to the picture. Another technique I implemented was taking a brush and splattering ink to represent blood splatter as seen in picture 2.

The success of this digital work, titled Innerplex, relies heavily on the use of atmospheric perspective. Immediately one’s eye is drawn in at the lower right hand corner of the image. The extensive use of detail in the overlapping vessel-like lines creates a clear area of focus. Furthermore, the sharpness of lines combined with the juxtaposition of the straight angular lines and the soft grooved lines establish a tension that causes the viewer to take a more extensive look in an attempt to process every intricate detail before the eye moves off into the distance. Once attention has curved around the entire perimeter of the canvas, it becomes apparent that the blurring, overlapping, and angling of the lines are what create the illusion of depth. The overall composition of this work is appealing due the manipulation and variation in definition. The lower portion of the image uses dominant and defined lines while the more accentually defined lines above seem to revert back into space.

The images within this piece were purposely chosen to convey a specific environmental message. The moth juxtaposing the smokestacks illustrates the divergence between the natural world and man’s synthetic world. Man is constantly attempting to control and mold the planet to fit his own selfish desires instead of establishing a balance between natural and industrial entities. Consequently, future generations—represented by the silhouette of a sitting child—will be left to deal with the aftermath of their ancestors. This conflict is further stressed by the position of the images of the sitting child. These silhouettes are intentionally placed between the moth and the smokestack to suggest that it is the children who will pay most for the burden resulting from this mistreatment of the environment. Finally, the stature of most of the childlike silhouettes is considerably smaller than that of the moth and smokestack in order to demonstrate the immensity of this problem and its potential affect on future generations.

            Overall, the orientation of the dominant, subordinate, and accentual shapes, and the inclusion of large positive and negative elements create a composition full of movement. The dominant shape within this piece is one of the moth silhouettes located asymmetrically in the upper portion of the page. It first pulls the viewer’s eye within the piece. Once drawn in, the eye naturally flows from the wings of the moth to the children tumbling off into the distance. Ultimately, the viewer is taken fully around the page by the curve of the moth’s antenna and the angles formed by the smokestacks. Although not similar in size, the negative and positive spaces balance well within the piece, while still causing the eye to move freely throughout this rectilinearly framed space.

This photograph, London in movement #7, is a dynamic composition full of movement and contrast that demonstrates dominance. The headlight in the foreground juxtaposing the black car first draws the viewer into the piece while the curves of the car accentuated by the white writing and reflected light pulls the eye from this dominant object back into the street toward the running figure at the left of the photo. The negative space of the light colored street, buildings, and sky are visually balanced with the positive space of the darker valued shapes of the people and the car. The photograph promotes movement through the orientation of the dominant and subordinate shapes within. By placing the car with the headlight (the dominate shapes) asymmetrically within the picture’s frame a type of inequality amongst the objects is achieved. One’s eye then becomes focused on the subordinate shape, which is the silhouette of a man positioned in the left middle ground of the picture, and finally circles back to the dark colored car.  The man appears to be running toward the viewer which helps to complete the circular movement.