Digital Collage
"Equanimity" |
Digital Photography
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Exhibition Text
"Equanimity" is a digital photography collage comprised of nine self portraits. It belongs to a series of work exploring the unique stages of grief. Inspired by the work of Andy Warhol, this piece explores the repetitive nature of the emotions as well as the constant shift in perspective felt during grief. I aimed to illustrate the monotony of grief that eventually incites peace.
Process
Planning Sketches
Self Portrait Photography
“Equanimity” started with a tripod, a camera, a remote shutter, and a few different lights with colored gels crudely taped on. There was nothing elegant about the initial self portrait photography setup. However, it felt natural as this is how I’ve always approached art; for me, it’s about making use of what you have to create something incredible. I placed an orange and magenta gel on two lights respectively. These illuminated the overall scene from above and behind me. I placed a blue gel on a desk lamp to color the highlights and balance the warm tones. With my camera safely secured on a tripod, I prefocused as I was shooting a FD 50mm Prime and tethered my Sony A7 to the Remote Shutter app on my phone. For this shoot, I set my camera to ISO 2000 and shot at 1/60 of a second. WIth the remote shutter app, I monitored the lighting and my position in front of the camera. I aimed to capture a natural pose with an ambiguous expression to replicate my natural resting face.
Post Processing
I processed the images in Adobe Lightroom and picked the image that seemed to most naturally represent me. My initial edit accentuated the contrast between warm and cool highlights and shadows. I increased the exposure a bit and added some clarity to my face and hair with a brush. I then created nine copies of this image and edited each with a distinct color grade. This was achieved through adjusting the white balance and split toning of the portraits. During this step, I also cropped each photograph.
Background Manipulation
Once the portraits were edited, I darkened the background of each photo to create a stronger contrast between it and the main subject of the image. Using an adjustment brush, I created a layer around the main subject and decreased the exposure of the background. This made the portraits more dynamic and drew focus to the hair and facial features of the photographs.
Collage
After the nine portraits were fully processed, I imported them into Adobe Photoshop where I cropped and rearranged the images in horizontal rows of three. As the photos wouldn’t fit perfectly into the document, I copied one of the portraits and enlarged it to be the same size as the document and made it the background. This filled in the gaps between the rows of photos and removed a majority of the negative space. In regards to the order of the portraits, from left to right, the three rows of photos are gradients with the most vibrant portraits lying on the far right of the composition.
Experimentation
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“Equanimity” was rooted completely in experimentation. From the beginning, I knew I had to incorporate myself into this piece. Up until this point, my grief series has visualized my process of grieving through the stories and the faces of those around me. As this series is supposed to show my personal steps, I decided that this piece had to be intimate. I’ve never willingly stepped in front of my own camera. But after shooting over one hundred photos of myself, I started to become comfortable with my image. I experimented with a wide variety of poses and facial expressions, many of which are silly and embarrassing. I realized how difficult it is to portray the truth of who you are and what you look like on a daily basis while in front of a camera. No one wants to look foolish or mean in a photograph but for this piece, I had to. The goal of this one image was to capture the truth of what I look like while I’m alone thinking. I further experimented with colored gels and devised a lighting setup comprised of warm led lights, three lamps, and a reflector. For approximately two weeks, I photographed myself and rearranged these lights in a little room in my basement where I spend a majority of my time writing and creating art. This location is important to me because it’s where I struggle the most and battle with my thoughts. To get the neon light look, I used magenta and orange gels on two different overhead lamps to fill the room with warm tones. To brighten the shadows and balance the warmth, I used a desk lamp off to the side with a blue gel. As this did not properly expose my face, I hung warm led lights on my ceiling and placed a golden reflector in front of me. Lighting was crucial to this piece as it set the tone and mood of the portraits. It helps establish a sense of tension due to the juxtaposition of light and dark and of warm and cool.
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Artistic Inspiration
The piece “Equanimity” draws inspiration from the Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Known for his work in a variety of mediums such as film and paint, Andy Warhol’s most iconic work features repetition and contrasting hues. Often described as detached and cold, his Pop Art was screen printed using unoriginal images of iconic figures like Marilyn Monroe. In his piece, Marilyn Diptych, Warhol flattened the tones of her face and used juxtaposing hues to add contrast to the work. Monroe appears to be emotionless as a result of these flat tones; it appears as if she possesses no vitality. Some argue that through the repetition of this imagery, the audience becomes desensitized to it. Marilyn Diptych was created after Monroe’s death and others argue that the unnatural hues are representative of a human corpse, thus through the unsettling imagery, Warhol aimed to make audiences empathize with her. But overall, Warhol’s repetition and machine like production is social commentary that strips away the value of the featured object or person. When exposed to the same image over and over, people tend to familiarize themselves with it; the image is no longer special. A similar phenomena exists with war and violence; when people experience and see pain and suffering consistently, it becomes their norm.
Meaning
“Equanimity” is a digital collage piece that examines a personal stage of grief through the repetition of my self portrait. This piece is part of a larger series regarding my experience with grief and how I traverse through it. I call this stage “Equanimity” because the word is defined as “mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.” This state of being okay mentally and physically during grief only happens in the later stages for me. For a long while, my thoughts will take me in a million different directions and I won’t be able to function properly. But there’s a point in my grief, where I break down so many times, I almost feel a numbness in my soul. At this point, I reevaluate my situation and I find peace within myself and within my struggle. The repetition of my self portrait is a visualization of this. In the image, I’m neither happy nor sad. By repeating this nine times, I emulate Andy Warhol’s Pop Art that strips away the impact of the image. To me, grief can only last for so long before it gets boring and obnoxious. When it reaches that point, I reflect, gain my composure, and fight against it.
Reflection
Throughout the completion of this piece, I have improved my photography skills and understanding of light and mood. Prior to “Equanimity” I seldom photographed myself and I only shot in natural or artificial white light.This piece gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with being in front of the camera and allowed me to experiment with colored gels and establishing mood through light. Through the interplay of light and dark and of warm and cold hues, I created a dark and cinematic tone. I am satisfied with the outcome of “Equanimity” as it captures this stage of grief exactly as I experience it. The process was successful as I managed to capture a true representation of myself and create mood through lighting.
Overall, “Equanimity” emulates the Pop Art of Andy Warhol to a great extent. Through the use of repetition, I established a similar sentiment featured in Warhol’s work; when people are exposed to the same imagery over and over again, they lose their connection to the heart of the image. Warhol’s industrial like repetition desensitized audiences to the image which is effectively what I have done with my face and emotions in “Equanimity”. Furthermore, I have successfully utilized high contrast hues as common in Warhol’s work to establish mood. Our work differs in meaning as his work often stood to comment on society whereas my work comments on my life. His work is stripped of emotion while mine is full of it.
Overall, “Equanimity” emulates the Pop Art of Andy Warhol to a great extent. Through the use of repetition, I established a similar sentiment featured in Warhol’s work; when people are exposed to the same imagery over and over again, they lose their connection to the heart of the image. Warhol’s industrial like repetition desensitized audiences to the image which is effectively what I have done with my face and emotions in “Equanimity”. Furthermore, I have successfully utilized high contrast hues as common in Warhol’s work to establish mood. Our work differs in meaning as his work often stood to comment on society whereas my work comments on my life. His work is stripped of emotion while mine is full of it.
Connection to ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I am able to identify the cause-effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect upon my artwork by analyzing the hues and repetition. It is clear that my emphasis on establishing mood through high contrast colors and desensitizing audiences through repetition draws from Andy Warhol’s work.
2. What is the overall approach of the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The author's point of view regarding Andy Warhol is that he is a Pop Artist focused on removing himself and his emotions from his work through repetition.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I've come to the conclusion that repetition can change the way an audience views images. The more people are exposed to ideas and images, the more normal those concepts become.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme of my inspirational research was mood and color.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While reading my research, I inferred that Andy Warhol utilized high contrast hues to draw the audience in.
Sources
Websites
MoMA. “MoMA | Andy Warhol. Campbell's Soup Cans. 1962.” MoMA Learning, MoMA, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962.
Ryan, Tina Rivers. “Warhol, Marilyn Diptych.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/warhol-marilyn-diptych.
The Art Story Contributors. “Andy Warhol Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story Contributors, The Art Story Contributors, www.theartstory.org/artist-warhol-andy.htm.
The Art Story Contributors. “Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story Contributors, The Art Story Contributors, www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art-artworks.htm#pnt_6.
Books
Warhol, Andy. The philosophy of Andy Warhol: from A to B and back again. Cassell, 1975.
Rosenblum, Robert, et al. Andy Warhol: a retrospective. Museum of Modern Art, 1989.
MoMA. “MoMA | Andy Warhol. Campbell's Soup Cans. 1962.” MoMA Learning, MoMA, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962.
Ryan, Tina Rivers. “Warhol, Marilyn Diptych.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/warhol-marilyn-diptych.
The Art Story Contributors. “Andy Warhol Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story Contributors, The Art Story Contributors, www.theartstory.org/artist-warhol-andy.htm.
The Art Story Contributors. “Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story Contributors, The Art Story Contributors, www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art-artworks.htm#pnt_6.
Books
Warhol, Andy. The philosophy of Andy Warhol: from A to B and back again. Cassell, 1975.
Rosenblum, Robert, et al. Andy Warhol: a retrospective. Museum of Modern Art, 1989.