Photoshop Project

Photoshop Project

Artist Statement

When you enter a home or a place where creative ideas are being shared and personal interactions are being had, how can you see the spirit of those ideas? Unless you are there in the moment, the stories that are told get lost. Stories don't have a physical form and they don't leave their mark on the place where they're told. How can the mundane, the cluttered, the otherwise unassuming reveal the memories, the stories that have been told there? My goal was to transform the environment to express the spirit of the space and provide context for the creativity and exploration that is regularly called upon in the improvisational scenarios presented through gaming. The characters that live in these imagined worlds and the places they occupy are drawn out and made visible for the viewer.

Postcard 1

For my first postcard, I diverged from Bamberger's use of repetition to create a perfect environment. I went about drawing out the beauty of the nature of the place, where my friends and I play games, to represent the grandeur of our experiences in a realistic way through adding in objects that enhance the environment.  I used medieval textures on the walls and ceiling and integrated some fantastic elements amongst the mundane like armor and weapons and sculpture. The space itself is relatively chaotic but through this alteration I thought to bring a bit of order from the chaos and divert the gaze of the veiwer upon the grand and fantastic surroundings.

*Ceiling wood pattern, brickwork, armor, statue and banner found at wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Postcard 2

This postcard is based on the work of Sandy Skoglund. This really was about showcasing the ideas of fantasy and exaggerating the environment in a dreamlike way. Weapons float in various colors throughout the space. Wavelike patterns define the background. Points of light swirl around and monsters and warriors go head to head in battle. The space that was once calm and plain becomes alive with many strange moving objects and situations.

*Swords found at wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Postcard 3

This postcard is based on Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger. The spirit of the space is revealed through type revealing itself through the surrounding space. 3-dimensional orbs hold the stories of adventure with monsters and fantasy characters floating around in bubbles, making themselves visible to the viewer. The word adventure is pushing itself out from the surround space and making itself solid in the surrounding environment. What cannot be seen are the people who invent and create these ideas. They are the lost presence that these ideas spring from.

Technique:

Postcard one uses distortion to fit the background images into the pre-existing space.

The background eraser tool was very helpful in cutting out images and placing them in the environment.

Postcard two uses gradients and overlays to distort colors, as well as adjusting the hue and saturation of the background space. Rendered lens flares give a strange sense of abstract lighting.

Postcard three uses 3D rendering tools filled with images of fantasy to create an unusual presentation of ideas of memory and storytelling in the space. Layer masking, beveling, overlaying and manipulation of text, bleeding into the background represents a sense of the concept springing to life and bleeding into reality.

Postcard Back

* Stamp found at: http://www.lastplace.com/1ststampissue.htm

Concept Map

Problem Posing Assignment through (Re)construction of a Place

Chosen place: 

The Gaming Haven (Mark and Rich's Trailer)

Define your chosen place: 

My friends Mark and Rich own a trailer in Kentwood. They are both avid gamers owning an extensive library of video games, tabletop role-playing games (like Dungeons and Dragons), board games, and movies related to science fiction and fantasy.

Define your problem:

What it is: How can the stories that are told and the adventures that are had in this place be made visual?

Why this is a genuine question or problem for you.

Upon first glance, the trailer seems like a disheveled mess of books, games, dice, papers and trash. It is a mundane space that does not fully represent the amazing creativity that is applied on a regular basis.

Why the question or problem is likely to be relevant to others.

There are many locations that seem insignificant or unpleasant at first glance. It is the people and the experiences that are had in that place that give it significance. 

Why the question or problem matters to some significant issues related to our understanding of the chosen place.

We all need a place to be creative or get inspired, to tell our stories and have adventures. The visual appearance of a place doesn't always capture the ideas and interactions that go on there.

Why the question or problem is important, why should this problem be solved and how could this problem be solved.

I think it is important to see the value of a place despite it's appearances. The beauty and wonder of this place of gaming can easily be overlooked or misunderstood at first glance. If a person could catch a glimpse of the creative endeavors that go on there, the stories that are told, the problem solving strategies, the art and music that are created and inspired by the games that are played there, it could shed a light on what might be seen beyond the surface.

Example: 3D Extrusion in Photoshop
Using the 3D extrusion tool, I adjusted the depth and angle, the light and pattern of text and objects to create a sense of three dimensionality.

 Example: Type Mask, Bevel and Emboss, Skew and Distortion tools.

I used the type mask to incorporate a pattern, emboss to give the letters a three dimensional appearance, skew and distortion to alter the normal slant and size of the text.

Example: Displacement.

For this image I used the layer mask to combine the image of Arnold with textured metal.

Example: Mask Layer and Filters

For this image, I used the mask layer to combine the desert scene in the ground of the image.

I used the filter tool to adjust the colors of the objects.

Example: Masking and Pattern Stamp Tool
 In this example, I used the mask tool to add texture to the trees and the house.