Photographic memory part 2

After finishing the first part of this project early, i came up with a much more exciting idea that i wanted to explore. I was very interested in the process within the brain in which we remember small fragments of memories to begin with, and then piece these fragments together to create the whole memory. I wanted to challenge whether the whole memory that we end up with can ever be completely accurate, or whether it will always have cracks or made up facts within it from our imaginations to fill these 'cracks'.

I decided i wanted my subject matter to be of a scene that would represent and hold a whole range of memories that would belong to a diverse range of people. Therefore i took shots of a graveyard, and of the view from the top of a multi-story car park, as i felt both these places fit this criteria.

I chose 2 of the best photos from my disposable camera, and got these developed as large as i could. I then cut the photos into 6 sections, which would represent the fragments of this memory. I could then choose the photo that worked best. I chose the graveyard as it had a more powerful effect and the whole picture(or memory) was less clear when cut into sections.

I next had to consider how to present this. I designed a board that would pull the fragments together to create the whole piece. I wanted it to look like a circuit board as they can be seen as the 'brain' of the technology they are found in, and so the piece as a whole would represent a brain bringing fragments of a memory together.

 This is a maquette i made to test if my idea would work, and to devise exactly how it would work.
The idea is that the photos will each be attached to a piece of string, which will run through a track and be attached at the other end to a reel. When this reel is turned the string will gather around it, and pull the photo along the track to it planned destination in the centre of the piece.

 To create the final piece i started with 2 pieces of cardboard. I drew out tracks in the top sheet of cardboard for lines of string to sit in. I also added a small frame in the center that would help the photos stay in place when they gather in the middle.

 I then cut the tracks out and added small cogs to help the string run around the corners.

 I made twisting reels for the string to gather around so that they could be turned by hand.






 




 This is the final product, painted to look like a circuit board...

And this is how the piece looks when all the reels have been turned. 
It is impossible to bring each fragment together completely and make the photo/memory whole and 100% accurate again, which represents that our minds can never remember a whole memory completely; it will always have cracks and gaps, and spaces filled by our imaginations.





I am very pleased with my outcome as i have practically and successfully shown the process of memories being remembered, and challenged this. I managed to overcome all obstacles when making the piece, and devise a way of making it work exactly how i wanted it to. If i had had more time on this project i would have planned it out from the beginning more carefully, and possibly found better materials to use so that the circuit board would work more reliably. I would also have experimented with more filters on the disposable camera, and different ways of editing the developed photo to explore whether this could have enhanced the final product.


This photo shows my other chosen scenery photo that i didn't use for my final piece. I presented it in a simple way to ensure the focus would be on the sections of photo.

Photographic memory project part 1

For this project based on memory, i explored the marks we leave as we age that hold memories. My final piece had to consist of 6 photos taken on a disposable camera. I decided to take 2 photos to represent each age group (young child, teen/adult, old age). Within each age group is one positive photo and one negative photo. These photos were edited with sand paper scratched around the edges to give an old, worn away look, as if the viewer is reflecting on a life of memories. I presented them by hanging them from string, much like a chiles work would be displayed at school.

Young life photos: The first photo shows a drawn hand print in a baby book. This is a positive mark left by a child that will be stored in their memory and their parents' memory, and will also be remembered i the book.
The second photo is the negative as it shows a bad mark left by children; scribbles on a table.

Teen/adult photos: The first photo here represents the first love stage of a teenagers life. The mark left is a lipstick mark. This mark is only temporary however will be imprinted on the receiver's mind and become a memory.
The second photo shows an adult hand with a mark on the finger left by a ring. The absence of this ring represents divorce, making this the negative photo. This mark holds memories of the absent person and the times the ex couple spent together.




 
 Old age photos: The first photo shows a memorial plaque on a bench. This is a positive mark left by a deceased person, however it also represents the positive marks they left on other peoples lives, that led them to be awarded this plaque. They would have left many good memories behind.
The second photo was taken with a filter over the lens of the camera. The filter was a piece of cling film with red and green lines across it (marker pen). This was very effective as it made the photo seem confusing and hazy, which leads on to the subject matter. The photo is of an unusual scenario. The person has become confused in their old age, perhaps caused by Alzheimers, and pegged up a magazine with their clothes.The photo represents loss of memory and confusion once a person approaches the end of their life.

Final Outcome

This is my final outcome for the typography project. I edited the alphabet I created and formed a saying with it... home is where the type is (a twist on 'home is where the heart is) as the home is literally where the typography was found.

I focused on finding lower case letters and these look quite casual, friendly, and welcoming, much like most homes are.

 

I am pleased with my outcome as the saying can be read yet you can see these are letters hidden around the home. I feel the colours make it a lot more aesthetically pleasing and draw people in. I chose to use the colour wheel to inspire the coloured filters I put on my photo's, and I used Photoshop to do this. I experimented with the selective colour, brightness, contrast, and saturation tools to achieve effective end products.

 

I presented my work by placing the photos onto white card, cutting them out leaving a border, and then I measured out the space I had and carefully stuck the photos onto black paper so they were all lined up neatly and accurately.

I felt that a centre alignment would work best as I could then make the piece as a whole balanced and harmonious.

 

If I were to do this again, or if I had had more time, I would have used black card for the background to make the work sturdier, and would of thought of a more imaginative way of presenting my work. However I feel the simplicity of the composition and presentation works well here as it keeps the focus on the letters and saying.

Typography Stencil

 

 The aim of this small typography project was to explore how the fill of typography can influence its appearance and the effect it has.

 

This is the stencil I made for my typography project. I printed out the typography, and stuck it onto a piece of black board with blue tack so I would be able to remove it. I then cut it out with a craft knife. I chose this saying as I am proving it through this experiment; as you may not be able to tell exactly what the background is through the typography. I also decided to arrange the text in the shape of an eye to make it appropriate and visually interesting, as you are seeing things through this eye that may deceive you.

in the process of cutting it out...








This is the final product. I then placed this in front of interesting scenes, objects and textures around the house (keeping to my chosen theme of 'home') and took photos of it.





Here are some of my photo's, before editing...

I feel this worked well as the different fills give very different effects to the text, creating different styles and moods, communicating different messages. This is why the fill of typography is an important aspect to consider when creating your own to fit a purpose.

 

Joining Paper

 

For this task we had to concentrate on how we could join paper together in an interesting way. We were given 2 small squares of paper, and many different things to join the paper with, such as split pins, safety pins, paper clips, staples, wire, pins, sticky pads, etc. I decided to make an origami swan in a lake. I stuck the waves down with sticky pads, and used pins to attach the swan to the lake (which cant be seen in the photo). 

Bark painting

This is my painting of the bark (as painted previously). I decided to paint both sides of the bark as I found the contrast between the smooth, light underneath and the rough, darker outside very interesting. This led me to use contrasting marks to try and replicate the textures. I alternated between a palette knife and a paintbrush , also adding in some stippling and crosshatching. I tried to reproduce the colours as closely as I could with my set of primary coloured acrylics.

I like this piece of work as I feel I have shown the contrast between the textures through my use of marks and colours. I enjoyed using different techniques, such as scratching into the paint with the palette knife to create a crosshatched effect, as this made the painting more visually interesting and 3 dimensional.

Group Experiment

 

To create this piece of work, the whole group contributed. We each chose a material to work with and an object to draw. We then had a very small amount of time to start drawing our object with our chosen material. Once the time was up we moved to the next seat, and used our material to carry on with the work that was now in front of us (belonging to someone else). We kept doing this, moving around the class, and also had to use charcoal when instructed to do so. We then ended up back at our own piece of work, with contributions from each member of the class and their material.

My material was a piece of bark.

I find the work interesting as the colours could not be accurately reproduced, and so an analogous palette of blues, greens and purples has been used. The charcoal was used to outline the subject matter and add tone. This makes it a lot more visually interesting and unclear as to what the subject matter was.

Despite the limited materials I feel that the texture has been represented well, as it wasn't particularly rough but not completely smooth either.

I like how a range of marks have been used in the work by different people to show different areas and textures.

Experiment

This painting was created using a palette knife and a paintbrush. I decided to explore a secondary colour, and so chose purple and used an analogous palette to show the colours and tones the objects contained. I don't like this painting as I feel it looks too 2 dimensional and doesn't reflect the texture of the objects.

Analogous/Complimentary Palettes

This piece of work was created using 2 different palette knives. The green painting consists of an analogous palette, however the work as a whole is a complimentary palette.

I explored the different effects the 2 palette knives had as they were a different shape and size to each other. I mixed in blues and greens(made from my primary colour paints) to add tone to the white and red areas, as well as a small amount on the green analogous painting.

With the bracelet painting I concentrated on expressing the texture of it through my marks.

Analogous Palette Painting

Here I experimented with layering paint to create a smooth texture and appearance, as I found this harder in the last painting. I decided to use analogous palettes for objects this time.  If I had had more time I would of added a wider range of tones to give the painting more depth.



Triadic Palette Painting

This was my first experiment with a palette knife, using a triadic palette.  I overlapped the 3 paintings to show that the guitar pick is translucent whilst the bracelet is opaque. I feel this painting needed more tone and different colours mixed in to show the highlighted and shaded areas. I found it easier to create rough looking textures with the palette knife compared to the smoother sections.