I actually found this project to be a little bit frustrating. I had problems with the fact that we had to assign meaning behind every color that we used and where or how we used it. I do believe that there should be an overall message, meaning, or intent behind art, but I almost felt restricted, in a way, in what I could do. I felt like any sort of meaning that I could put into the collage through color or shape would be too obvious, and I like when viewers are able to interpret artwork in their own, unique ways. There were certain things that I thought would look really neat, but I couldn't do them because there was no particular personal meaning behind them. Although this project was extremely tedious, it was well worth the end result. Upon researching the meanings associated with the colors I was drawn to, I found some interesting results: Blue, obviously, is the color of the sky and sea (as used in my collage). It's associated with depth and stability, and symbolizes trust, positivity, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, power, tranquility, calmness, and seriousness. Green is also associated with nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, hope, freshness, safety, stability, and endurance. I chose to contrast the green with red, which is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination, passion, desire, and love. A main color I used in the figure was white, which is associated with light, goodness, innocence, safety, purity, virginity, and cleanliness. It's considered to be the color of perfection. However, in contrast, black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, strength, authority, evil, the unknown, negativity, fear, and mystery.
The interesting thing is that I researched the meanings of the colors after I had already chosen them. I was able to find many connections between the colors and my personality and life, which could subconsciously be why I chose them. For example, I chose to use black and white in the figure because I feel like I'm constantly trying to achieve perfection, which is not always a possibility. There are many things about me that are very pure, positive, and innocent, but at the same time I often have negative thoughts and fear of the unknown. Especially at this point in my life, so close to graduation, I'm frequently fretting over the future and what I'm going to do with my life. On the other hand, I've never been one to know exactly what I want in terms of the future, so I just have to stay positive and trust that everything will work itself out for the best.
In terms of the background, I wanted it to seem more like a painting than like a bunch of squares of magazines pasted together. I elected to search for images of the sky, ocean, and plants. I've always loved spending time outside, especially during the summer, so it only made sense to have a background that consisted of nature. In one short year I'm going to be thrown out in the "real world" and have to fend for myself, so this background is a symbol of what I'll soon encounter. The clock towards the top represents the fact that time is constantly coming and going, and that my time at Butler is soon running out.
I chose to use primarily squares and rectangles because, for one thing, they were a whole lot easier to cut out, and I'm also the type of person that's very organized. I function best when I know exactly what I need to do and when it needs to get done by, so the strict, geometric shapes are a representation of that. The clock and the running numbers are amorphous, organic shapes because, unlike other elements of my life, I cannot control time. I also chose to allow the yellow poster board to show through and outline my silhouette because it more successfully shows the amorphous shape of my silhouette as well as more clearly divides the figure from the background. No matter how much my surroundings can affect who I am and what I do, I'm still separate from them; I'm my own person.
No comments:
Post a Comment