Exhibition Text
Chrysalis is a digital collage about the abstract growth of teenage years inspired by "Ladder in the Garden" and "Devontay" by Adam Stoner and "Composition VII" by Wassily Kandinsky. Adults see teenagers as chaotic and moody, when growth is actually a slow process that we don't have control over.
Chrysalis is a digital collage about the abstract growth of teenage years inspired by "Ladder in the Garden" and "Devontay" by Adam Stoner and "Composition VII" by Wassily Kandinsky. Adults see teenagers as chaotic and moody, when growth is actually a slow process that we don't have control over.
Planning
Inspiration
Wassily Kandinsky
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Adam Stoner
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A quick compare and contrast between Kandinsky and Stoner:
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I am most interested in using Kandinsky's abstraction and Stoner's use of the color orange in creating my piece in order to convey how
Planning Sketches
To begin, I split my original image into a grid and used the "rule of thirds" to proportion the piece in a way that focused on the face but left room for the open window. Originally this was going to be a 9-panel painting, each panel being 30.5cm square for a 91cm square total, but during my experimentation I found that the surrealistic disconnect between the photograph and the digital elements created the abstract feeling I was going for. The last "sketch" was made with india ink as a value test in order to make sure the black of the background wasn't too overwhelming ,while the lack of value in the window wasn't too empty.
Experimentation
The first experiment on was made using default photoshop brushes and a computer mouse instead of a tablet, hence the jagged lines. The eyes were meant to represent how teenagers are always being watched, much like caterpillars in their chrysali, but in the end it looked tacky so I left the space black. It also has the sweep of black in the foreground reminiscent of Stoner's swathes of ink across "Ladder in the Garden".
The second version adds the white polygon around her face, highlighting it further, and the ferns in the front were made white to match. However, the teal color complemented the orange more effectively and matches the sweatshirt. The last experiment was changing the background color. Making the background a green-blue gradient instead of an orange-yellow gradient creates a monochrome color scheme, but gets rid of the central color: orange. |
At first I was going to use cool colors to fill in the abstract shapes as a contrast to the warm background, but the high saturation of both sets of hues was too bright.
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Process
To begin, I cropped the original image onto a 61 x 61cm canvas on Photoshop. Next, I desaturated the image completely using the Hue & Saturation window in order to turn it completely black and white. Then I used the Levels function to adjust the contrast of black and white. Adding more contrast highlights the face and makes it a focus of the piece. The last edit to the original image was using the polygonal lasso to cut out the window and then my Wacom Intuos drawing tablet to clean the edges with an eraser.
After editing the original image, it didn't fully reach the top of the canvas, so I used the brush tools and my drawing tablet to paint an extension to the top of the curtain and make it look natural. Then I duplicated this layer, flipped it horizontally, and placed it behind the seat on the far left in order to create symmetry for the window.
For the background and foreground elements, I used my tablet to create the abstract lines behind the window, the rough brushstrokes on the bottom third, the white shape around her face, and the ferns in the front. The ferns are 5 separate layers duplicated multiple times over each other at either 100% or 40% opacity to create distance between the full opacity layer and the 40% opacity layer.
Finally, the background was created using a peachy-red to orange-yellow gradient with dark-brown lines and red-orange brushstrokes of color blended into each other, using Kandinsky's deliberate abstraction but with an analogous color scheme.
After editing the original image, it didn't fully reach the top of the canvas, so I used the brush tools and my drawing tablet to paint an extension to the top of the curtain and make it look natural. Then I duplicated this layer, flipped it horizontally, and placed it behind the seat on the far left in order to create symmetry for the window.
For the background and foreground elements, I used my tablet to create the abstract lines behind the window, the rough brushstrokes on the bottom third, the white shape around her face, and the ferns in the front. The ferns are 5 separate layers duplicated multiple times over each other at either 100% or 40% opacity to create distance between the full opacity layer and the 40% opacity layer.
Finally, the background was created using a peachy-red to orange-yellow gradient with dark-brown lines and red-orange brushstrokes of color blended into each other, using Kandinsky's deliberate abstraction but with an analogous color scheme.
Reflection
The color orange is out of my comfort zone. I tend to stick to cool colors, such as blue and purple, or an intense red if I want a strong accent. This was a valuable exercise in learning how to work with unfamiliar hues as not just an accent or an included color, but the main color of an entire piece. Additionally, my digital process was obviously much different from the physical processes of Kandinsky and Stoner. For one, I have an undo button, so if I make a mistake or an accidental stray line I can delete it. Kandinsky and Stoner would either have to paint over it or learn to live with it. Another thing is that it's harder to blend colors digitally without making it seem too artificial, and it definitely would have been easier to physically blend oil, watercolor, gouache, or even acrylic paint.
Strengths:
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Weaknesses:
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
Kandinsky's abstract shapes inspired the background seen outside the window, while Stoner's focus on the color orange inspired the use of orange as the main color in this piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors' perspectives were neutral a majority of the time, though most of the research surrounding Kandinsky was positive while some of the sources regarding Stoner's "Devontay" touched on the negative controversy surrounding it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I've concluded that people don't like when art isn't conventionally "beautiful" or works that challenge social issues, because some people believe that Kandinsky's work is just jumbles of shape, while there's controversy about "Devontay" because it brings racial issues in Milwaukee to the spotlight.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to use the expressionist nature of these works to demonstrate how non-linear change is during our teenage years.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I've inferred that even though Stoner's "Devontay" caused controversy, it also helped spur conversation and reflection on the issue of racial discrimination in Milwaukee.
Kandinsky's abstract shapes inspired the background seen outside the window, while Stoner's focus on the color orange inspired the use of orange as the main color in this piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors' perspectives were neutral a majority of the time, though most of the research surrounding Kandinsky was positive while some of the sources regarding Stoner's "Devontay" touched on the negative controversy surrounding it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I've concluded that people don't like when art isn't conventionally "beautiful" or works that challenge social issues, because some people believe that Kandinsky's work is just jumbles of shape, while there's controversy about "Devontay" because it brings racial issues in Milwaukee to the spotlight.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to use the expressionist nature of these works to demonstrate how non-linear change is during our teenage years.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I've inferred that even though Stoner's "Devontay" caused controversy, it also helped spur conversation and reflection on the issue of racial discrimination in Milwaukee.
Bibliography
Adam James Stoner, www.adamjamesstoner.com/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
Kandinsky, Wassily. “Composition VII.” Wassily Kandinsky, www.wassilykandinsky.net/work-36.php. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
Messer, Thomas M. Kandinsky. Vol. 22. New York City: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997. Print. Abrams Titles in the Masters of Art.
"Wassily Kandinsky Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. 2017. TheArtStory.org. Content compiled and written by Eve Griffin
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors. Available from: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-kandinsky-wassily.htm
Accessed 22 Sep 2017
Adam James Stoner, www.adamjamesstoner.com/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
Kandinsky, Wassily. “Composition VII.” Wassily Kandinsky, www.wassilykandinsky.net/work-36.php. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
Messer, Thomas M. Kandinsky. Vol. 22. New York City: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997. Print. Abrams Titles in the Masters of Art.
"Wassily Kandinsky Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. 2017. TheArtStory.org. Content compiled and written by Eve Griffin
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors. Available from: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-kandinsky-wassily.htm
Accessed 22 Sep 2017