Choice Piece: Photography
Title: Holy
Medium: Photography Size: 11in x 17in Date: 12/04/16 Capturing gesture and light, this piece is a Renaissance-Esq photo that puts forth an essence of something biblical. Exploring the manipulation of light through something modern and commercial like Christmas lights, it takes an object and redefines it so it's no longer the lights on the tree but the modern crown of thorns. Incorporating an arm in the manipulation, it explores a natural and relaxed study of human form, if only one part of it. This reminds the viewer of Michelangelo and other great sculptors and painters who explored the human form in poses like this one.
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Process
Taking photos
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The process of taking photos was mostly testing how the light interacted with my hand. To do this I wrapped the string of lights around my forearm and tried to assume different casual positions from differing angles. I didn't think much about the color or the settings on my camera. This would also take place of planning sketches, experimenting with different ideas of figure and form.
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Photoshop
The photo needed to be rotated and cropped, after which the brightness and contrast was edited. Shadows needed to be deeper and highlights accentuated. This was done experimentally for awhile. The offset was increased and the gamma correction. The lower left corner faded into a darker shadow than the top left corner, and so using the brush and clone tool I adjusted it until it resembled the bottom one in a relatively even fade on both sides. The color needed to at least be dulled, in the painting fashion of Michelangelo's works as they appear today, and the colors didn't serve a purpose, drawing away from the main focus of the lighting. This was adjusting using only certain colors at a time, a feature on both Photoshop and Lightroom. These two programs have a lot of overlapping features, but Lightroom is always used (in my editing process) first, photoshop second. That means the exposure, contrast, shadows/highlights and color were all adjusted first, then the picture was exported into photoshop where it was rotated, slightly adjusted in terms of contrast/exposure, then the shadow was changed with the clone tool and the offset and gamma correction increased.
Experimentation
Much of the process would be considered experimentation. Working with lights and the flares they create, as well as the shadows, contrast and the colors was the majority of it. It was easy to adjust it. There needed to be a balance of light and dark, and there was no certain vision for the colors. |
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Artist Inspiration
Michelangelo's work in the renaissance era as a sculptor and a painter is famous for its tremendous skill and artistry. His style is well known for exploring the human form in gesture/position of the body, adding to the themes of his works. The renaissance was an era in which chiaroscuro lighting schemes became popularized; this style emphasizes contrast, something I applied and continue to apply in my work, always increasing the shadows and highlights in the beginning of the editing process. Two important thematic hallmarks of Michelangelo's and renaissance work overall were exploration of anatomy/the human form and religion, somewhat conflicting themes at times. This was shown in my piece through the inclusion of a part of the human, forearm and hand, taking on a relaxed pose that may be depicted in something of Michelangelo's work. The elegance of the pose paired with the lighting and lack of vibrant color to distract creates a religious feeling, or at least one of importance. It takes the themes and formal qualities from sometimes classic and makes it much more modern.
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Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome)
Michelangelo, Pieta, c. 1498-1500, marble
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Refelction
Overall I'm very proud of this piece. For aesthetic qualities, it's very pleasing to the eye, and the balance of light dark and color is very well executed from my perspective. It attracts the viewer to look more closely at it and for longer. It achieves a feeling of importance, and captures something vital about human gesture. The manipulation of all of the factors throughout the process came together nicely, into a renaissance-esq photo that combines the themes and subjects of work from such artists such as Michelangelo from the same era. It also brought a new aspect to the table with the manipulation of the Christmas lights. The purpose of the Christmas lights was to experiment with light in a bendable way, where the lights had the ability to wrap around the subject in unique ways, and experiment with how light interacted with the subject in this interesting way. However when you consider that the purpose is based in themes from a very long time ago, having this modern twist seems to bring something extra to the table. overall, the piece was a success technically. The themes and meanings could have had more work in them, since they weren't fully developed by the time of the piece being created.
ACT Response Questions
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
When you look at the relationship between the figure and the light, it's very much reminiscent of the artist inspiration. These artistic qualities are very popular in Michelangelo's work and therefore easy to connect.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
To give a recount of Michelangelo's work and it's formal qualities, for the education of the reader. Also to give some historical context into the work itself.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned about the art of the Renaissance period along with Michelangelo's work and the ways that people reacted to his and others works, and how that influenced art of the time.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I set out mainly to find out more about the formal qualities, function and purpose of Michelangelo's work, and the sources that I found is researching this had the purpose of providing just that.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
They were mostly about what was most important to Michelangelo's work (form, light, religious themes). Also about the time period and what was important to the time (what did the public want and not want, how could both be found in Michelangelo's work, how did these things create conflict?).
When you look at the relationship between the figure and the light, it's very much reminiscent of the artist inspiration. These artistic qualities are very popular in Michelangelo's work and therefore easy to connect.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
To give a recount of Michelangelo's work and it's formal qualities, for the education of the reader. Also to give some historical context into the work itself.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned about the art of the Renaissance period along with Michelangelo's work and the ways that people reacted to his and others works, and how that influenced art of the time.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I set out mainly to find out more about the formal qualities, function and purpose of Michelangelo's work, and the sources that I found is researching this had the purpose of providing just that.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
They were mostly about what was most important to Michelangelo's work (form, light, religious themes). Also about the time period and what was important to the time (what did the public want and not want, how could both be found in Michelangelo's work, how did these things create conflict?).
Bibliography
"Michelangelo Style and Technique." Artble. N.p., 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.