MIAD PROJECT
Grupo de Matrimonios (Matrimony Group)
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Ephesians 5:25
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Inspiration
Pictorialism Art Movement
'Pictorialism artmovement (Most popular during 1885-1915) refers to a style in which the photographer has somehow manipulated what would otherwise be a straightforward photograph as a means of "creating" an image rather than simply recording it. Some changes could be a lack of sharpness in the photograph ,visible brush strokes or other types of manipulation of the photograph. Pictorialism art works aren't always in just black and white; ranging from dark-brown to deep blue. The intent of Pictorialism was to view photographs like paintings, as a way for the artist to express emotional intent to the viewer. One notable Pictorialism artist and one who I drew inspiration from was George Davison and his piece 'The Onion Field'. In 'The Onion Field' Davison had storm clouds gather over a distant farmhouse, the darker foreground with its low growing plants, the stalks of the onions and the flowers above catch the light. The onion blossoms which have similar hues to the sky plus the smoke coming from the house highlight and create a vibrant atmosphere. |
Cecil Bostock.Day breaks-cold-shrieking-bloody. 1918. gelatin silver photograph
George Davison. The Onion Field, Mersea Island, Essex (1890)
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Planning sketches
The heart represents family, but more specifically my family. the heart is split into four sections to represent my three siblings and I. Two sections are short to represent the two youngest children, and two other longer sections represents the eldest children. The heart has a couple in the middle to obviously represent my parents.
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Process
I started by digitaly manipulating my pictures for both pieces using Adobe Photo shop to give them both black and white values. And also Cropping them to the desired 3ft by 3 ft perimeter. The only other thing I edited was for 'Ephesians 5:25' where I used the text tool to type Ephesians 5:25. Then let them print on the 3ft by 3ft tyvec, For my stencils I had to use one sided wax paper. I had a frame that was about the same size as the screen I was going to use when printing the stencils. I cut out about 6 pieces of wax paper (three for each of my different stencils). Then I had to draw my images on the paper side of the wax paper. I drew each stencil as big as it could fit in the wax paper leaving about one inch away from the boarders. I tried to keep the lines dark and clear with minimum blemishes on the drawing. This is because Where I drew was where I was going to cut the stencil out. When it came to making the duplicates I used my first stencil and placed it under the new wax paper. Then I placed a bright light above the paper and if I drew the lines dark enough on the original paper I should have been able to see the lines under the paper. So all i had to do was trace the paper. This way I could make almost perfect duplicates with a little less effort When I had all the stencils ready and drawn I had to cut them out. I didn't have a regular cutting board so to prevent cutting the table I used an old hard cover book, It actually worked pretty well. The cutting tool used was an x-acto knife cutting only the drawn areas repeating this process for all stencils. Then it was time to print the stencils, for the colors I went with orange-red, sky blue, and dark blue. I taped a stencil on the screen printer wax facing the screen and the image centered. Then placed it on top of the 3ft by 3ft image where I wanted the stencil to be printed. I then placed the desired color of paint on the top of the image on the screen spreading it to a line covering the top edge of the image. Then using a wedge I took a little of paint from the top and at a 45 degree angle pressed down in the screen and dragged it down to the bottom of the stencil. The end result should have ended with a printed stencil on the 3ft by 3ft image, Repeating the process with all other stencils and colors. When changing colors or stencils the screen needs to be completely cleaned off , so that the next color used wont be effected by a dirty screen. To clean the screen first I needed to spray the screen with a water hose to take off most of the paint. Then thoughrly cleaned it with a scrub or a sponge. Dried it off with a clean rag and then used a hair dryer to make sure its completely dry (keeping it 5 inches away from screen so it does not melt). |
Experimentation
For experimentation for my stencils I found out that putting a lot of detail on the heart stencils most likely wont come out the way I wanted, not clear and It would have bled together. So at the last moment I decided to cut out all the details and leave it as a think lines forming a heart.
When it came to printing I found that the paint used was actually quite opaque and the background was barely visible through the prints. |
Compare and Contrast
Reflection
In my first couple of sketches of both MIAD pieces, I initially had the background of my images (trees buildings landscape) take up most of the pieces with very little open space to contrast the clutter of trees like in my inspiration 'The Onion Field'. But after some peer evaluation I realized that my stencils would not be visible for someone who is far away. The stencil would have blended into the messy background. So I had to re-take the pictures I took for the pieces, but this time with more balance between the sky and landscape. Between both my pieces and my inspiration there was some form of manipulation. In 'The Onion Field', Davison manipulated took the image by using a pinhole camera – where a small hole on a piece of metal replaced an ordinary lens – which diffused sharp detail to provide an image of landscape through an overall soft focus, accentuated by the collective patterning of onion flowers. But in both my pieces I digitally manipulated the images by using Adobe Photoshop to make both images in black and white values, and then stamping stencils over the pictures with brightly colors so they would be emphasized in the black and white background.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Both of my pieces were influenced by my inspiration, The Onion Field, in the format of both and the colors even though my pieces are in black and white and The Onion Field has a green- yellow tone.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
George Davison's approach to the topic regarding The Onion Field was "to produce renderings of nature as to convey the general impression created in the first glance.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People found beauty in the brief and blurry pictures of Pictorialism and the reason images were blurry was to emulate someone trying to remember a person place or event.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The theme behind The Oninon field was to produce renderings of nature as to convey the general impression created in the first glance.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
One inference I made during my research was that cameras were still in its experimental stages, and techniques like the pin hole technique were fairly new.
Both of my pieces were influenced by my inspiration, The Onion Field, in the format of both and the colors even though my pieces are in black and white and The Onion Field has a green- yellow tone.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
George Davison's approach to the topic regarding The Onion Field was "to produce renderings of nature as to convey the general impression created in the first glance.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People found beauty in the brief and blurry pictures of Pictorialism and the reason images were blurry was to emulate someone trying to remember a person place or event.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The theme behind The Oninon field was to produce renderings of nature as to convey the general impression created in the first glance.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
One inference I made during my research was that cameras were still in its experimental stages, and techniques like the pin hole technique were fairly new.
Sources
“BibleGateway.” Acts 3:9-10 NIV - - Bible Gateway, Bible Gateway Blog, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2B2%3A15-25%2CEphesians%2B5%3A25-27&version=NASB
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Pictorialism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 May 2018, www.britannica.com/technology/Pictorialism.
Harding, Colin. “O Is for... The Onion Field and the Great 'Fuzzy' Photography Debate.” National Science and Media Museum Blog, 16 Aug. 2018, blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/a-z-of-photography-george-davison-pictorialism-vs-straight-photography/.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Pictorialism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 May 2018, www.britannica.com/technology/Pictorialism.
Harding, Colin. “O Is for... The Onion Field and the Great 'Fuzzy' Photography Debate.” National Science and Media Museum Blog, 16 Aug. 2018, blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/a-z-of-photography-george-davison-pictorialism-vs-straight-photography/.