Photomontage

The song I chose to base my image after is named 21 Guns by Green Day. This song influences me to think because I like the beat/rhythm, which makes me follow along with the lyrics. The lyrics make me think, and I had the idea of a woman running from army men. When in war, there are no “right” and “wrong” to soldiers. They have their task and they have to fulfill it. The song starts off with the line “Do you know what’s worth fighting for?”. This line made me think of soldiers hunting down people without any reason. The woman in my image has a child hiding behind her, but the soldiers don’t think about that, and continue to point their guns at her. She threw her arms out as a sign of surrender, but they do not care. The background of a forest is to show that they will go through all sorts of lengths to meet their “hunting game”, whether it be searching through a dark forest, or bringing a tank to carry out the task. My image has the tank as the center of attention to start off the knowledge of what the main purpose of my image is: War takes things too far.

21 Guns - Green Day

Do you know what's worth fighting for?
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating?

Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul

Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

Symbolism in Art

Respectful Bowing

Bowing is common in the Japanese culture. It is a simple sign of being humble when greeting someone. Bowing shows that you are giving the person respect and honor their strengths.

Hindu Wedding

In Hinduism, the man is very important.In such weddings, the groom gets top priority: He rides away on an elephant or a horse

While the Bride will walk alongside the elephant.

Egyptian Importance

In Ancient Egyptian art, workers were drawn significantly smaller than the Pharaoh or the overseer. This shows who was really important in their society and who didn't have much attention directed towards them.

Mirror Image

A picture of a kitten looking into the mirror and seeing a lion. A common representation of a greater person inside a small and insignificant body. Kittens are small and fearful creatures, whereas Lions are strong and courageous.

Dove & Hawk Face to Face
The dove represents peace while the hawk represents ferocity. Each is on the head of a man and depicts what they are thinking.  When faced with each other, the hawk will be vicious towards the dove but since a dove is a peaceful creature, it will not stir at the attacks.

Knowledge Passed On

The book in the picture represents knowledge. Since the parent is teaching the child the contents of the book, she is passing down the knowledge to the young ones. Humans tend to share the knowledge they have and make sure its brought down the line to younger generations. 

 The Persistence of Memory

Clocks are a representation of the passage of time. It is neverending and will always move on. The melting clocks in the picture are representing the time that slips away from us, or things that seem redundant and go on forever. 

Candle

Candles usually represent life. But when a candle is extinguished, it can mean death or loss of virginity. It can represent mourning or sorrow, and is usually a sign of bad omen in artwork.

Roman Fasces

Fasces are pieces of wood tied together with a red ribbon and has an axe tied to the side. It is an ancient Roman tool and represents unity.

Natice Peace Pipes 

An aboriginal peace pipe is used in various ceremonies. It is smoked to represent unity and harmony. It is a vary sacred object to the Aboriginals and is only smoked on special occasions.

New Life
This picture of a small plant represents the idea of new life.  It also reselmbles our lives, how the elderly of society take care of the young, and the continuous cycle of life.

Loyalty from a Canine 

The Dog in the picture can represent loyalty because this is not any ordinary dog, it is a guide dog.  The owner is visually impaired, and requires their dog to guide them in the streets.  This shows the loyalty that the dog has to its owner.

A Sheriff's Duties
The picture is of a character from the movie, Toy Story.  The Sheriff Badge on his shirt represents the responsibilities of his job.  During the Western Era, people with Sheriff badges were in charge of the safety of the town and they were the only kind of authority back then.

Incharge and in the Middle
The person sittting on the edge during a meeting is the person who is in charge.  That person has higher status in the company, but when someone greater enters the room, that person receives this seat.

Importance
The person sitting on the edge of the table is considered to be an important person.  The person sitting at that spot is usually served first, because of their importance.

Lightening 

A lightening bolt is used to represent power. In modern times, it represents supernatural powers, such as for heroes or comic book characters.

Frog

Frogs are a representation of many things. Some believe it links to fertility and life, some believe it is for prosperity and healing.

 

 Spiders 

Spiders can be symbols of death or deception. They seem relatively harmless but can cause painful deaths for their prey. Some people believe it is a sign of good luck and other believe it is a sign of joy from heaven.

 Butterflies
Butterflies represent the changes in life. You start off small and very innocent, but as time goes on and you learn more, you will be able to develop and go out on your own.

 
 Circles
A circle is a sign commonly known for its sign of unity. Many cultures see a circle as a representation of an everlasting cycle or of the unity and harmony of people.

Less is More

The Less is More assignment is the second artistic assignment we had. We had to pick something (be it a plant, animal, or object) and create 6 different views of it. First was the original, then we zoom in for the 2nd one, zoom again for the 3rd, inverted the colour of the 3rd to make the 4th, add 1 colour for the 5th image, and finally, with 6th image will be the full coloured image from the 3rd step.

I experimented with my Wacom Bamboo Tablet and Corel Painter Essentials 4 (The program that was included with it) I never tried to make proper art with it before, so this is a first time for me. I think it came out pretty well. Although I'm not quite familiar with the layers and such yet, I believe i have a firm grasp of opacity and the different types of brushes.

I chose a cherry blossom branch. I always loved the Japanese culture, so this is one of the first Japanese influenced art types. I wanted a very basic, nonrealistic looking image for my resource and gradually add more effects to make it look realistic. Below is me reference image.

It is a simple napkin with a little design in the corner. I added more detail in my artwork and eventually became a piece that I'm proud of. Look forward to more of my artwork   : )

Image Critique

Title: Soul under the Moon

Artist: Yayoi Kusama

Date: 2002

Written Response:

                Yayoi Kusama is a unique artist. She suffers from “depersonalization syndrome” which studies claim make the person feel like an alien. Yayoi feels as if she doesn’t belong on earth and she sees things as different and somewhat distorted. This syndrome is most likely what affects her artwork. Yayoi’s artwork always includes the use of polka dots. She often uses them in different sizes to help demonstrate how different the things we see are from the things she sees. She also likes to compare the round shape of the dots to things in nature, such as the sun or the moon. Her uniqueness and creativity has proved to be much respected because she’s had many successful exhibitions in Los Angeles.

                The image used in this critique is a very interesting one. It wasn’t created so long ago that people don’t understand it, but there is no historical significance in it. Yayoi simply decided to hang different coloured balls in a mirrored room. Seems simple enough, but it’s the way she arranged everything and then the angle she took the picture which makes it interesting.

                When I first saw the image, my eyes were bouncing all around. The bright colours just popped and I started looking at everything because just about everything caught my attention. That is the reason why I chose it. The image is such an attention grabber that amongst the whole gallery of her artwork, this one was the only one I could look at. At first glance, I thought it was just a painting, but it’s actually a photograph. The photo seems so unrealistic and intriguing, making it all the more amazing.

                Looking at the image, there seem to be nothing more than colourful circles in a dark space with blue bars on the top and bottom. It isn’t much of a view, but the way the green, orange, and red contrast with the background make it seem like something to pay more attention to. The contrasting colours of bright against dark make the little circles more dominant or emphasized. There is also a radial balance in the image. In the center if the image, the balls seems to fade away into a distance. From the viewer’s point of view, it could be like the balls are flying out of that center, and revolving around it. This outward shooting of the objects creates a balance, where the vortex is the center. The image can also be the movement principle because the viewer’s attention starts off at the bigger balls that are closer, and leads towards the center where the smaller balls are. The movement can also relate to the element of lines because it seems as if there is a line showing the path in which the balls are going towards. There is space between the viewer and the vortex all shown with the gradual decrease in sizes. The hues used in the image are orange, blue-violet, green, and red. The pigment black is shown in the background, making a dark value.

                I think the artists choice in the Styrofoam balls and the mirror room make the image more appealing and makes the viewer wonder how many actual balls and which ones are just reflections. To know this you would need to know the size of the room as well, but that is difficult to tell because of the darkness.

                The theme of the artwork is supposed to show the other-worldly images Yayoi sees due to her ailment. Since everything to her is alien-like, her art shows a unique side of things. The image seems as if it is space, with many little planets, or colourful stars. I think the work was created to allow us to better understand Yayoi’s point o f view on the world. When we look at space, we see little sparkles of light in the sky. When she looks in space, she sees dots of different sizes and colours.

                After research, I found that Yayoi made the art for no exact reason. She just had an idea to create such an artwork because of her views. She believes that art should be shared because of feeling or viewpoints, not for the money or the fame. She created this for her views to be seen, just like a child would draw a picture of a sad face when they are upset. I don’t feel any different knowing of her intent because my assumption was exactly what the art was for. I don’t see it any differently from the way I saw it before because since the beginning, I clearly understood the reason for her artwork and why she created such different pieces of work.

                I learned from this art that it doesn’t matter what the purpose art is for (ex. School project) what matters is that my view is shared amongst people, and they understand why I did things a certain way. It doesn’t matter of only a few people understand it. Art is made to be interpreted through imagination, but if at least one person understands, then I believe I did well.

Citation:

http://dinca.org/the-art-of-yayoi-kusama/1733.htm , 2010