final project. aka Blog 4.

the big idea for my final project is identity. i have used that idea throughout the course and in the final i focused further to a) aspects of my identity, and b) characteristics which i believe are universally accepted as positive attributes of identity. in my midterm i explored the concept of specificity or randomness in nature--seeking to establish a solid foundation from which to focus in on the concept of human identity--without which “good" or "positive" becomes essentially subjective labels. my first image is an outward plea to others, the second the list of positive characteristics, and the third the visual embodiment of removing false masks to reveal who they actually are. the concept for the work is three panels, the man being the left-most vertical panel, the cycling words to the right top, and the unmasking-face the right bottom. the two moving images would cycle continuously.

i was influenced throughout by banksy who consistently pulls back the veils and superficialities of culture to make strong statements about things people might otherwise pass over. in so doing he often uses innocuous images, spliced or placed in contexts which radically change their meaning. essentially he represents a burgeoning trend of street art mixed with the visual and audio concept of “mashups” which take various songs or images and combine them to make something new.

during my diptych i enjoyed reviewing the works of Leonardo da Vinci and how he strived deeply to understand the mechanics of both natural and man-made things. it was this process that acted a catalyst as i dug deeply into my big idea. i didn’t stop merely at the surface (arguably where i am most weak artistically) but continued exploring the foundation of my big idea. i feel this proved to provide whatever strength my final project demonstrates.

finally, i am a product of the Nintendo, tv, internet, visual generation. when we learned animation i knew instantly that i wanted to attempt it for my final as a new technique, and also i felt it could help communicate otherwise static ideas in language familiar to my generation (and subsequent ones). i will attempt to use the animation feature of Photoshop in my final project. i'm not sure how that will turn out or be incorporated but i find it to be most intriguing of the newer concepts.