Digital Collage
"Welcome"
Size: 91.44 cm. x 60.96 cm.
Medium: Digital Collage
Date: 15 September 2016
Exhibition Text:
All throughout this piece my objective was to create a unique piece that represented my beliefs and values. I was capable of producing this piece through the Adobe Photoshop CS6 Program. In order to apply my ideas into my collage I used all self taken photographs and the manipulation of Photoshop to display my proposition. I was inspired by a well known artists work, "The Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo. The detail and realism in this piece distinguished it in a great way, in which I decided to incorporate these ideas into my collage.
Collecting Images
Experimenting/Developing Ideas
When I began to create my digital collage the initial step I took was creating a document that was 24 in. in height and 36 in. in width, with a resolution of 170. The next thing I did was open up all the pictures I would need for my collage. The thing I wanted to do immediately was create my background, therefore I use the Quick Select tool and selected the entire image, which was the picture of the trees. I continued this step with the rest of my images, but in this case I only selected the part of the image I wanted. In general I choose everything but the background, however whenever I did this the image would appear poorly cut so I proceeded to using the Refine Edge and manipulating it until the edges looked clean and smooth. I wood also use the Lasso tool whenever my Quick Select tool would miss a piece of the image I wanted to include and not leave behind. After that I copied and pasted the image into my tree background and began to re-size and rotate the images using the Free Transformation Tool. Once I felt everything was placed properly I began to manipulate the color to give it a certain mood, in that case i used the black and white mask and the brightness and contrast mask. Once I felt satisfied and proud of my piece that's when I knew that I was finished.
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Planning
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Artistic Inspiration
My inspiration for this piece was Michelangelo. Michelangelo was an Italian artist now considered to be one of the most famous artists during the Italian Renaissance. He was known for creating exceptional pieces of art with life like detail. His worked varied from paintings, architecture, and sculptures. Among these lie different pieces that are viewed and recognized to this day, which are mainly works from one of his largest and famous creations the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was a creation by Michelangelo that took four years to complete, and was one of the most difficult pieces that he had created. The specific painting I chose to apprise from the Sistine Chapel was “The Creation of Adam” painted from 1511-1512. This piece illustrates the biblical creation from the Book of Genesis in which God brings life to Adam, the first man. What particularly inspired me to use this piece would be the hands in this painting. The artist created these hands with such detail and exemplified its form and texture. The almost life like hands inspired a symbolism that I could incorporate into my digital collage. My digital collage is a visual description of what my values were, which included my education and the hard work required to achieve. When I analyzed the hand in “The Creation of Adam” I wanted to display of a realistic imperfect or rough hand. A hand which showcased ridges, bumps, and wrinkles. Therefore, I chose the hands in the painting to symbolize my hard work and their restlessness. Also, when I see the hands in The Creation of Adam I noticed how they were not touching, there was a gap that represented the “almost”. How things seem so far but yet so close in a way, which is a feeling I wanted to express throughout my digital collage.
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Michelangelo, "The Creation of Adam" 2012. Web. 14 Sept. 2016
Michelangelo, "The Creation of Adam" 2012. Web. 14 Sept. 2016
Biography.com Editors. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
@westerncivforum. "Michelangelo's Creation of Adam - ItalianRenaissance.org."ItalianRenaissanceorg. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016. |
Reflection
After completing this project I don't believe I accomplished my goal to make a detailed and creative piece. There are certain aspects of the piece that were successful like its ability to impact the viewer. Causing a reaction of understanding, making the viewer want to find a meaning towards the piece. Photoshop made it possible for me to create a collage that stands out and catches the attention of others. However, the more I evaluate this piece I start to think of how it could have been improved. I feel like if I would have manipulated the colors in this piece and its texture, it could have looked better or expressed the idea in a more efficient form. This piece was a difficult piece for me to create because I have always struggled with the use of technology. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the challenge of making this collage and how I was capable of creating a artwork through technology.
Know Thyself
Connection to the ACT:
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work.
Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" was a piece in which he used hands as a symbol of creation which is what caused me to use it in my collage as well. It played an effect on the way the viewer receives or creates a message based on their own thoughts on what a hand can symbolize.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall point of view of the author is an unbiased view on the piece. The author mainly describes the origin and factual information on the piece.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspirations?
I discovered that the main use of the piece was thought as an idea to show religion as God gave life to the first man Adam. However, what Michelangelo's own ideas and symbols were on the piece were not expressed.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to create a art piece that like Michelangelo made you create a meaning with simple physical features seen day to day, it's main theme being identity.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your
research?
A conclusion I came upon was the reason in which Michelangelo was considered to be one of the most famous artists during the Italian Renaissance. I believe he was able of giving his art more than detail and a scene of realism, he was capable of giving it life in its own way.
Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" was a piece in which he used hands as a symbol of creation which is what caused me to use it in my collage as well. It played an effect on the way the viewer receives or creates a message based on their own thoughts on what a hand can symbolize.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall point of view of the author is an unbiased view on the piece. The author mainly describes the origin and factual information on the piece.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspirations?
I discovered that the main use of the piece was thought as an idea to show religion as God gave life to the first man Adam. However, what Michelangelo's own ideas and symbols were on the piece were not expressed.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to create a art piece that like Michelangelo made you create a meaning with simple physical features seen day to day, it's main theme being identity.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your
research?
A conclusion I came upon was the reason in which Michelangelo was considered to be one of the most famous artists during the Italian Renaissance. I believe he was able of giving his art more than detail and a scene of realism, he was capable of giving it life in its own way.