EXHIBITION TEXT
The focus of this piece was to develop a deeper understanding of digital manipulation along with the understanding over personal experiences and self reflection. This work was created with the use of Photo-pea, along with a camera and other small props. All images used have been manipulated and created by myself. It is inspired by Mathew Grimes' Chile collage collection, his concepts along with techniques are applied in the background of my piece. This project focuses on the aspect of growing up and how our surroundings affect who we are, despite being "irrelevant". I want to show how through difficult times and difficult surroundings communities and individuals are able to strengthen and grow together.
ESSAY
Everybody has their own story to tell, for the most part we are all able to experience universal things such as walking down a street, brushing our teeth, humming a melody, etc. As we grow and as we develop more knowledge about the world we tend to forget we are living, we forget the value some "insignificant" things hold. We live looking for the meaning of life instead of living life with meaning. We look for complex stories and extraordinary experiences that will leave us with an epiphany and completely change our lives. This goes to show how we fail to realize that the growth we gain and the values we carry aren't caused by these explosive moments most the time but rather by time itself and through smaller moments, which results in the lack of appreciation for small things that add up to our development.
I have lived in Milwaukee since I was born, my parents came from Mexico and I was raised with the values and cultural perspective of Mexican origins despite raised in a foreign country. I am able to connect with my roots thanks to my surroundings and the way that where I was raised and who I was raised with related to my identity. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the nation and because of this I was raised within the Southside of Milwaukee surrounded mainly by the Hispanic community. Despite segregation not being a good concept this concept led me to further connect with my people and my culture and this contributed to my growth as a person. The sort of feeling I get when I walk into a local Mexican market, and I hear the Spanish tongue along the regional Mexican melodies and the smell of warm food fills me with joy as I feel comfort among these senses I get to experience. Through the stories I'm told and the small act of giving and taking I am able to find value in objects and acts that are simplest things. The community I was surrounded with helped me realize that no matter the struggles I face life is simple and being worried over every negative aspect of the world will distract from acknowledging what I have in my surroundings. I am reminded that if I'm too focused in the front and the back of the path for my final destination I won't be able to view the path I'm actually gong through and experience the beauty around me that I carry along the process of growing.
I have lived in Milwaukee since I was born, my parents came from Mexico and I was raised with the values and cultural perspective of Mexican origins despite raised in a foreign country. I am able to connect with my roots thanks to my surroundings and the way that where I was raised and who I was raised with related to my identity. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the nation and because of this I was raised within the Southside of Milwaukee surrounded mainly by the Hispanic community. Despite segregation not being a good concept this concept led me to further connect with my people and my culture and this contributed to my growth as a person. The sort of feeling I get when I walk into a local Mexican market, and I hear the Spanish tongue along the regional Mexican melodies and the smell of warm food fills me with joy as I feel comfort among these senses I get to experience. Through the stories I'm told and the small act of giving and taking I am able to find value in objects and acts that are simplest things. The community I was surrounded with helped me realize that no matter the struggles I face life is simple and being worried over every negative aspect of the world will distract from acknowledging what I have in my surroundings. I am reminded that if I'm too focused in the front and the back of the path for my final destination I won't be able to view the path I'm actually gong through and experience the beauty around me that I carry along the process of growing.
INSPIRATION
The main inspiration for this piece was Matthew Grimes, in specific his Chile collection. Mathew Grimes composed various collages focused on the streets of different sites. The collection in which I focus on is his Chile streets collection, what these represent and are composed about are the objects in various neighborhoods and cities that show the underlying value of a community.
I came to be inspired by his piece and focused my collage around this idea of a community and it’s values. He takes various objects such as graffiti signs, posters, etc. and combines them to create this abstract piece. I wanted to focus on this idea throughout my piece but specifically incorporate his methods on my “background” ; this would both symbolize and aesthetically reflect the concept Mathew Grimes focuses on in his pieces. By having it be my background I would be able to represent my “historical” values onto the piece to represent how I have grown as a person based off where and who I have grown with as a community. I would take different parts of the neighborhoods I have lived in and focus on different places from the south side to create a collage similar to Grimes'. |
PLANNING
To begin planning for my piece I started researching for any inspiration I could take from other artists/ pieces. While researching I found Mathew Grimes' art and decided to base my piece around his ideas. I knew that I could connect my personal experience with the concept behind his work thus I began to develop my piece. Keeping in mind what theme would be in my piece I began to write ideas in my journal.
brainstorming :
I wanted to have overlapping images of different objects from the neighborhoods in the background. As I worked through my thoughts I began to develop the idea of "growth" in my piece and I wondered how to incorporate that. Despite inspired by Grime's work I wanted to include something that highlighted myself as an individual and the growth that I have gained, the first thing that came to mind when visualizing the concept of growth were plants; plants could symbolize growth and therefore would be included in my piece. With this came the idea of a watering can and a plant pot. I would have myself watering a plant that my younger self would be holding to symbolize the concept of growth within an individual. Along that I wanted to include the idea of beauty within growth which a flower would well reflect. I then began to research the types of flowers I could use, gladiolus flowers are used to symbolize strength and growth. The act of incorporating this flower would convey the message of growth as time passes and the impacts surroundings have on our growth relating it to how a flowers surroundings are reflective on their development.
PROCESS
To begin this project I had to gather all my pictures, to do so I began with my younger me and current me pictures that would be placed in the middle of my collage. I began by looking for a younger me picture in which I was in the position I wanted. There were no images I could find that were me in the exact position I needed, therefore I chose one that was the most similar and closest to what I wanted, I would then add additional pictures to create the missing parts of my body. I wanted to wear similar clothes to those in the picture therefore I began looking in my wardrobe and put these on. I then took pictures of myself from current time, I started recording from my phone and then took screenshots of the position I liked the most I used a mug as reference to see how my hands would be positioned from holding a watering can since I did not have one myself. It took many tries as I was taking the video from my back camera to get a better quality could not see whether I was in the frame or not so I had to reposition myself many times, after finally getting the position right I decided between different ways I positioned my feet/ head/ hands/ etc. After taking the pictures I needed for the middle of my piece I began to gather all the pictures required for my background to do so I drove to 3 different locations from where I had lived and took pictures of any objects I thought would be useful for my collage. I put them all in one folder and then began to work with photo pea.
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image collection: |
background collage:
At this point once I had all images collected I began my process wit photo pea. To begin my entire piece I decided to start creating my background. To do this what I had to do was insert the images onto my file and with the use of the quick selection tool selected the area of my picture I wanted to insert. I would then click refine edge to clean up parts of the image I wanted. Once I had my image the way I wanted it I would drag the image onto my white background to insert it there. I used the free transform tool after selecting the image I wanted to work with. By doing so I was able to manipulate their positions and sizes of ethnic desired image allowing em to hold control of the background. This process was done for each image until the whole area was filled going from left to right with the images in order of neighborhood I've lived in since birth
After finally filling up the space I decide to play around with the Opacity. I noticed that my images in the center would blend in too much with the background and are it hard for the ey to understand what was going on. I also wanted to create a form of difference between both concepts of the piece by having one visual be more highlighted than the other. I liked the way that the 50% opacity looked on the images so I proceeded to do this for all my images.
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center work:
After fully completing my background I began to work on the younger me and current me images. I used the same tools and techniques I used to select the other images for these images as well. I first applied my current me image and then applied the image of a drawn watering can and plant pot since I thought the aesthetic pleasure of having a ripped piece of paper be overlapped with the actual life pictures would look nice and would emphasize the act of watering the flower. I then began to work with the bottom half missing part of my younger me picture. I originally settled for the paper drawn version of my body but decided I would go into procreate and draw a more detailed version of it which is what I ended up working with.
CRITIQUE
SIMILARITIES
Both pieces incorporate the concept of underlying values and include symbolism. Both the pieces also focus on the idea of communities. Bot of these can be seen as my piece focuses on a community within the south side while his focus on the community of Chile and its individual neighborhoods. The main aspect of both pieces can also be related as my piece focuses on the underlying value of certain objects and the symbolism behind these and Mathew Grimes focuses on specific objects which also represent certain aspects of a large concept which in his case is the community of Chile.
DIFFERENCES
Both pieces can be connected conceptually and technically to a certain extent. Mathew Grimes focuses a lot on the underlying values of objects and incorporates these objects to his collages to create a sort of abstract image. I tried to recreate the ideas of Mathew Grimes in my own piece but there are some aspects of my piece that could have been better to best represent his art. For example my collage's images were more focused on signs and complete words with a low opacity. Mathew Grimes work has more layered pieces with seamless connections and clear images, which appears to be worn out paper/signs and graffiti which really contrasts from my own interpretation. Another main aspect to focus on is the use of my centerpiece. Mathew Grimes simply relates his ideas on his abstract collages I however uses a focal piece to place around the center of my collage which shows my individual reflection however this does lead to a difference between our work.
EXPERIMENTATION
experimentation was done trough the positioning of my self image, opacity in my background, and the working of my younger self's body. While choosing a picture for the current me I had to develop different ideas for positioning and how i would take my image. Since I wanted a pretty high resolution image I decided to work with the back camera of my phone by doing so however it would be more difficult to identify whether I was in frame or not since I would be taking the pictures with a timer it was also difficult to position myself where I thought would be the most proportionate to my younger selfs body. I thought it was a hit or miss method therefore I switched to my front camera and started recording. By doing this I was able to see how I was positioned I then looked through the video and screen shotted the clips where I thought I could work with.
I began to experiment with the look of my background all together as I noticed that my centerpiece would blend in too much with the images from the back therefore I decided to play around with the opacity and see whether or not that would work better. I first selected an image and then reduced the opacity around 50% and continuously did so for the rest until all were selected, which led me to be satisfied with the overall look and remain it like that.
while experimenting with my younger self's bottom part of the image I struggled. It was really difficult too find a way to include a lower body. I first developed the idea that I could use my younger brothers bottom part of his body and insert it to fit mine however this did not work as the proportions were off and it was just too complicated to get my younger brother to hit a specific position, I then thought that by adding a hand drawn image like the hands and watering can might go along with the piece but I did not like that all. It looked really tacky and rushed therefore I decided I could work with Procreate, to accomplish a cleaner look.
I proceeded to go onto procreate and draw my bottom body once finished I inserted this onto my collage and tried to fit it there, on the first try I failed. I hadn't been able to go back to my original work where I could erase the paper drawn version so when I overlapped my image on top of the old one the paper was still visible from the back therefore I took the image that was behind me and inserted that again and then proceed to add the new image done in procreate onto the piece to allow my piece to look cleaner.
REFLECTION
Overall after completing this project I would say I am not entirely satisfied with techniques applied. Photo pea was a new medium for me so I was expecting it to be a little difficult, and it was. At first I struggled with the basic tools and the understanding of how to work around it I then began to understand and become familiarized with the techniques and tools as I gained practice. I would say that although it was interesting to work with I wouldn't favorite it simply because I find other mediums more enjoyable and easier to work around with. this reflects on my technique and tackiness of selecting images. because the other images overlapped I didn't really emphasize the idea of a completely clean individual image however the lack of practice showed on my center images because I could not figure how to make it cleaner looking resulting in a tacky center piece.
One major thing the can be seen comparing my planing and final outcome is the gladiolus flower and I want to emphasize my focus on that because it was a main aspect to be incorporated in my piece that ended not being there. This is because I could not figure how to fit the flower in my piece and I also could not find any gladiolus flower specifically because it is almost winter and finding flowers right now is very hard. I also just could not imagine how I would incorporate the flower without making my piece tacky which is why I decide to just drop the idea of the flower, which I think in some way might have been better because I don't think it would have looked aesthetically pleasing.
Another big piece missing from my original planning is the original idea of having my brother's body be meshed in with my own to complete the image. It was difficult to achieve this therefore I had to create my own version of my body that in the end did not work out as well as I wished it would. The proportions were off but there was not so much I could do about that any more as I had to make sure my upper half matched with the upper half already settled in the piece previously I could not remove. This was caused by the lack of understanding on how to work around saving the work and being able to go back and fix things.
In general I enjoyed the process of this project however I do wish to go back and maybe even erase some of my big focuses like the centerpiece as it kind of just seems pointless to some extent for me. I feel although the background itself if worked on more could have sufficed to express my ideas, however I was able to learn the use of some tools within this medium and could possibly use it again to help me achieve different techniques applied to future projects/ mediums.
One major thing the can be seen comparing my planing and final outcome is the gladiolus flower and I want to emphasize my focus on that because it was a main aspect to be incorporated in my piece that ended not being there. This is because I could not figure how to fit the flower in my piece and I also could not find any gladiolus flower specifically because it is almost winter and finding flowers right now is very hard. I also just could not imagine how I would incorporate the flower without making my piece tacky which is why I decide to just drop the idea of the flower, which I think in some way might have been better because I don't think it would have looked aesthetically pleasing.
Another big piece missing from my original planning is the original idea of having my brother's body be meshed in with my own to complete the image. It was difficult to achieve this therefore I had to create my own version of my body that in the end did not work out as well as I wished it would. The proportions were off but there was not so much I could do about that any more as I had to make sure my upper half matched with the upper half already settled in the piece previously I could not remove. This was caused by the lack of understanding on how to work around saving the work and being able to go back and fix things.
In general I enjoyed the process of this project however I do wish to go back and maybe even erase some of my big focuses like the centerpiece as it kind of just seems pointless to some extent for me. I feel although the background itself if worked on more could have sufficed to express my ideas, however I was able to learn the use of some tools within this medium and could possibly use it again to help me achieve different techniques applied to future projects/ mediums.
ACT QUESTIONS
1)Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
The inspiration can be aesthetically and conceptually seen as the style from the artist and ideas were applied throughout the piece. The aspect of a community and the symbolism behind objects is applied within both pieces.
2)what is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
My topic of inspiration is obviously more personal and therefore is not something my artist can have na opinion on specifically because is a very narrowed down topic that focuses on a specific area. However this can also be perceived as segregation therefore this does become a more global topic allowing other perspective to be more inclusive. My artist inspiration has no mentions in regards of segregation but they do focus on the main message behind my piece and they seem to focus all their collages off the same idea, allowing them to relate to my ideas and conceptual thinking.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration.
I developed a deeper understanding of different styles of collages and the visual aspect that overlapping images can create and how these pieces can incorporate a lot of meaning and symbolism. I came to reflect on my own ideas through the idea that Mathew Grimes presents which is the idea of the beauty behind objects and what these can symbolize to an individual and community.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I would say segregation/communities and the "meaning" behind life is the broad aspect for my research and more specifically the Hispanic community and how that reflects on my values and perspectives.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I came to conclusions through my self reflection along the process of investigating and creating that every community and individual has their own valuable objects that create their personal developing stories.
The inspiration can be aesthetically and conceptually seen as the style from the artist and ideas were applied throughout the piece. The aspect of a community and the symbolism behind objects is applied within both pieces.
2)what is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
My topic of inspiration is obviously more personal and therefore is not something my artist can have na opinion on specifically because is a very narrowed down topic that focuses on a specific area. However this can also be perceived as segregation therefore this does become a more global topic allowing other perspective to be more inclusive. My artist inspiration has no mentions in regards of segregation but they do focus on the main message behind my piece and they seem to focus all their collages off the same idea, allowing them to relate to my ideas and conceptual thinking.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration.
I developed a deeper understanding of different styles of collages and the visual aspect that overlapping images can create and how these pieces can incorporate a lot of meaning and symbolism. I came to reflect on my own ideas through the idea that Mathew Grimes presents which is the idea of the beauty behind objects and what these can symbolize to an individual and community.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I would say segregation/communities and the "meaning" behind life is the broad aspect for my research and more specifically the Hispanic community and how that reflects on my values and perspectives.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I came to conclusions through my self reflection along the process of investigating and creating that every community and individual has their own valuable objects that create their personal developing stories.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
•Chile 2015/14. Matthew Grimes's Portfolio. (2013). Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://matthew-grimes.format.com/work#8.
Team, F. (2018, July 27). 9 artists keeping collage contemporary. 9 Collage Artists Making Inspiring Work. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.format.com/magazine/galleries/art/best-collage-artists-portfolio-inspiration.
Team, F. (2018, July 27). 9 artists keeping collage contemporary. 9 Collage Artists Making Inspiring Work. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.format.com/magazine/galleries/art/best-collage-artists-portfolio-inspiration.