My English teacher wasn’t kidding when he said that I was a glutton for punishment this semester. A total of 18 contact hours per week is kicking my butt. Well, it’s all for the greater good of learning, correct?
So now as I struggle with trying to repair a broken upright freezer (and replacing the spoiled food) and dealing with a family member who is being referred to hospice care, I find solace in some of the artwork I’m creating. I haven’t been creating much on the photographic front as my focus in that course thus far has been technical in nature. Where the ideas are coming through is in my Computer Imaging course. We were given a lot of license to play as we wanted with this current project. The requirements called for 3 composed images with at least 1 image being a self-portrait photograph taken with a DSLR camera and the dimensions on all 3 images were to be 5″ x 7″ at 200 dpi.
I’ve done quite a few self-portraits in the past 12 months, both for assignments and for personal use. I did not want to take another “normal” self-portrait. After not too much thought, I came up with this:
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The 3 red dots are drops of my own blood. Blood is the most elemental part of us as a living being. Blood is also sacred in the spiritual sense. In simplest terms, it is our essence. I was a little hesitant when I showed the instructor (that maybe she wouldn’t get it), but she seemed to be very warm to the idea and its originality. At first I left the paper just off white (as wax paper tends to be), but then the instructor asked if I had considered pushing the edges to pure white. I had, in fact, considered that, but I was going for strict precision, with almost a clincal feel to the photograph. But after reading an interview with Elliot Erwitt in a magazine, I realized that photography isn’t about what you see, but how you see it. So, I pushed the edges to pure white and got an effect better than I expected (I improved the clinical feel as added the feelig that I’ve come to contaminate your sterile little world, watch as my shadow spreads). I left the imperfection on the flattened drop because I am not perfect.
So on we go to Composition 2, or, as I like to call it, the “Kidney Stone Altarpeice.”
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This one came to me relatively fast as I was looking through some old images and came across the photo of my kidney stone from earlier this year. Interestingly, in the week prior to beginning this piece we had studied the Ghent Altarpiece by van Eyck. Drawing inspiration from that, as well as the ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, I created a narrative in register format using images from my collection, as well as a royalty free image for the Momento Mori element. You may recognize the eye from my “Evil Eye” composition from this past Spring. The pictures flanking the center eye element are both the same photograph, just reversed. It was a long exposure of me sitting perfectly still and then just a half second before the shutter closes I moved as if screaming. The elements of the middle register are the transverse and frontal views of my kidney stone as seen by a CT scanner. The bottom register contains a glass of water, the actual pill bottles from the prescriptions given by my urologist after diagnosis, a lot of water, and then the kidney stone(s) next to a penny. I added a filter to each element to make it look as if it had been painted on brick. I added that filter to the borders as well to make those areas resemble bare red brick. I may yet revisit this portion to see if the effect works better with a texture rather than a filter. The instructor seemed rather pleased as I told a narrative using my own photographs but was able to do it in a non-linear fashion.
And finally, I came to Composition 3:
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In this particular piece I show myself in different parts of the US and the world. These are not all the places I’ve been in the world, but these are the places that left a deep impact on who I am and will help shape what I will become. In each place I have always felt as though someone was watching over me so I could learn the lessons I was meant to learn while there. This particular one was a little more difficult to realize. During our individual meetings I showed the instructor the elements of state/nation outlines and photographs. She said she was “intrigued” by what I had done, but, just like me, she wasn’t sure what I could do to tie them together. What better way to tie them together than to use a cosmic force? I had thought about using my “Event Horizon” painting from last year, but I thought to go with the picture of me watching over me (after all, did not God create us in His image?). I chose to use blue as the base color as it is a benevolent color. All in all I thought I was rather successful with this one, but we didn’t discuss this one during critique. I’m not sure if that means it was good or if it was bad. I guess my grade will reflect what she thought of it.
All in all I’m enjoying this semester as I’m learning more than ever before. That’s not to say I hadn’t learned anything up to now… my previous instructors have left deep impressions in my mind. It’s just that now I seem to be led in a different direction as my mind’s eye is being pried open even further than before. I’ve already received my next project and I honestly can’t wait to see how the ideas I have for it begin to take shape.
As for now, however, I need to get some sleep. Goodnight and sleep well to all my faithful and not-so-faithful readers.
