Metaphoric Self-Portrait
Clickon the image to see an enlarged view
Statement
Several concepts emerged for this work and I found that I liked aspects from each a good deal. Ultimately I decided that this version was the strongest and decided to elaborate on the piece. I wanted to incorporate principles of design (line, direction, leading the eye) into the picture, but the underlying idea was to craft a portrait of imagination and color, of creativity and a journey through concept and creative thought. The USB devices are meant to be symbolic of "plugging in" to one's creative concepts and transferring them, as if drawing forth a portal of sorts and bringing your concept to life.
Electronic devices, such as the "flipod" (an I-Pod with wings) the USB creature, and the varied rings of color speak of digital creativity and tools of imagination. Dante Alighieri acted as a muse, of sorts, and so his portrait acts as the dreamer within the lower portion of the piece. The spectral silhouette of a female figure claiming the space directly across from him and seemingly connected to the USB plug sparks the image above. The colored rings, mirroring the pencils that weave color among the darkness of inactivity, speak to the physical act of bringing the color to light. Through education perception activates the imagination and reality can blend with fantasy. A journey takes place in drafting the vision into the an aesthetic reality on the digital page.
Brainstorming
Click on the image to see an enlarged view
Sketches
Click on the image to see an enlarged view
Posts
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI wrote a nice comment on the blog page, but somehow it disappeared, therefore I'm emailing. This morning I opened your blog and had the image and the statement on my screen. One of my students happened to see the image and read the statement. She later asked if we could create a similar assignment for her, she was interested in the concept. So, I feel the metaphoric self portrait is a great way of self exploration on a visual level.
Christina Czaja
Art Education
Lincoln High School
I really like your use of color and the use of the color pencils. There is a ton of visual intrest that is a wonderful expression of yourself. It is easy to see your passion for the arts, even for someone who doesn't know you as well as I do.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Boudrie
Gage Boudrie - 3rd Grade - Dundee Elementary
ReplyDeleteI really liked the flying ipod it was ........ Awesome!
its cool bye
Christopher hunt- 7th grade - Dundee middle school
ReplyDeletethe flying ipod was a beast but i like the tron guy better because he is a boss
I think in it's entirety, the piece works well. The color scheme is complementary to the over all design.My favorite part that I target in on, is the way the tron guy, acts as a negative space against the light background.Well done.
ReplyDeleteI like the use of repetition with the circles. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteBonnie Ritsema
Arborwood Elementary
Art Education
I enjoy the perspective of color. The bold colors in the foreground seem to sparkle throughtout the work, which is a nice contrast to the gray tones used in the background.
ReplyDeleteAmy McBroom
Monroe High School
Art Education
I like the dream like quality of the picture overall. It is a collage of colors that seem to mix and meld together like wisps of the woodlands. It brings to mind a dream vision that blends the inspiration of nature with modern muses. To me it seems an invocation of the muse, or the inspiration that can be found within the mind. I mean, you can be moved to creativity by jacking into an IPOD and getting lost in some of your favorite tunes, or by finding a nice quiet wood and relaxing beneath an ancient tree.Either way you become lost in the confines of your own creative mind. Its like a dream vision. In the lower right hand corner is the shaman, he knows this as well as the dancer in the lower left, as both are lost within the tranquility of art.
ReplyDelete-Marc
Although my "art interpretation" skills are limited to say the least, I find this piece very interesting. It kind of creates a dreamy feeling in me. I see two worlds; the one we know as reality - the trees, the water fall, the light in the sky; but then there is this other world where things we know exist in a different way, such as the trees and the star-like things. Okay enough being deep. I like the colors in this piece a lot. It appears peaceful yet vibrant and I like that.
ReplyDeleteSue H.