Self-Visualization Concept

When I began brainstorming for this project, I was not so sure exactly what kinds of pictures I wanted to take of myself. However, the first thing that came to mind was my love of nature. I began thinking of what photographs I could use to express my love for my natural surroundings. Consequently, I began thinking of all the photographs I had previously taken, myself, of certain insects, as well as other photographs that I had friends take of me while I was holding a certain insect or creature. I never realized just how many photographs I have of me in these particular situations. My close friends know that I love moths, butterflies, praying mantices, caterpillars, etc. I am just intrigued by them. The only insects I don't like are pests, spiders, and several kinds of creepy-looking black beetles. Although I was not originally going to use a triptych idea, it ended up turning into one. I was initially going to use a photograph of me with a butterfly that hand landed on me when I went to a butterfly observatory. However, after I began working on my project and after I discovered more photographs on my memory card, I decided not to use an image of my face or whole body. I decided to simply use the photographs I took of the insects on my hand. For the backgrounds, I also decided to use my own photographs of grass and the sky, representing insects that mostly fly or mostly live on the ground.

I used both previous photographs from last summer or so, as well as more recent photographs to express my idea. I want the project to be a two-dimensional wall hanging, but I also want it to have some aspects of three-dimensionality. Therefore, i will make certain parts of the arrangement pop out, away from the entire piece itself. I'm not quite sure how I want to arrange the photographs or how I wish to edit them. However, i do know that I want the majority of the work I do to be in photoshop. I may not decide to use illustrator at all for this assignment. I want my project to represent my love for nature in a more intriguing, and less trite way than just looking at my collection of nature-embracing photographs.

Frida Khalo

Like Cindy Sherman, Frida Khalo also depicted herself in a lot of her artwork. However, Cindy Sherman depicted herself playing the roles of different women. Frida Khalo, on the other hand, painted self-portraits of herself. Another similartity that is evident with Frida Khalo is that she also portrayed the female figure and her role in society in her work. In this portrait, for example, she portrays herself wearing a dress that was typical attire for the women of her Mexican culture. Frida Khalo also uses a mizture of symbolism and realism in her artwork. Also, while Ciu Xiuwen and Cindy Sherman execute their work through photography and technology, Frida Khalo used oil paint. One more difference is that Frida Khalo expressed her own suffering by including herself in her artwork. Therefore, Cindy Sherman's purpose to include herself in her art was different than that of Frida Khalo.

Cindy Sherman

Like Ciu Xiuwen's work, Cindy Sherman also expresses an interest in the role of women in society. However, instead of using models, Cindy Sherman uses herself to get her messages across. She plays the roles of various women from different times and different situations in her "Centerfolds" series of her untitled film stills. She also places an emphasis on the female figure by cropping herself so that she is the main focus of the piece. I personally enjoy Cindy Sherman's work, for she leaves her film stills open to interpretation. She does so by creating a certain kind of suspense due to the expression on her face while she is in the specific situation that she has placed herself in. Unlike Ciu Xiuwen's work, on the other hand, Cindy Sherman does not use any kind of digital manipulation in her pieces. Her photographs are more naturalistic and dramatic than the work of Ciu Xiuwen.

Cui Xiuwen

Cui Xiuwen's "Angel" works involve an innocent looking, thin, little Chinese girl with a straight hair cut and dark hair. Some of her works repeat this image of the girl, while others simply emphasize the one image of the girl. Cui Xiuwen's works have themes of maternity, motherhood, family, gender, and women in general. When I look at her "Angel" series, I see a very young and innocent looking pregnant girl. I believe the white dress she is wearing and the fairness of her skin suits the innocent tone of the piece. The poses that she is in are also often very soft poses with relaxed expressions on her face. I especially like this piece because the serenity of the girl is really captured and emphasized with the contrast of the scale of the girl with the background.

Illustrator Exercise