Digital Collage
RESEARCH
Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California. Digital image. Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.
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Lange, Dorothea. Mother and Her Child. Digital image. Hubbertsartists.
Jordan Hubbert, 6 June 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. |
Kollwitz, Kathe. The Widow 1. Digital image. The Red List. Jessica Vaillat, n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
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I chose to use these artists because both Kathe and Dorothea express the effects of tragedy. Tragedy has an effect on a person as a whole, and with that tragedy scarring the person, it really affects the person. Kathe made artwork on the effects of war on the victims. Dorothea took photos of people during the times of tragedy.
Those memories affect the victim strongly, and I chose these two artists because of how strongly they show the effects of tragedy. While Dorothea took photos of the victims directly, Kathe expressed the personal internal emotions of the victim, and that is what made me wish to use them.
Kathe Kollwitz is actually a victim herself, her grandson and son died in the wars, and she is a victim, and as a result, her artwork is more accurate when it comes to the effects on the victim. I really like how she shows the effects of painful memories on a victim's emotions and mental state. Those memories make something change in a person, and she shows that. That is the idea I wanted to mimic into my collage. People often remember painful memories the most, and express them in some way or another, and it shows the most when they express it in the form of art. The approach taken is the strong effects of painful experiences, and it's another idea I wished to express. In trying to imitate the way Kathe and Dorothea expressed the pain of tragedy, I found out that the more painful the memories, the stronger they show when expressed visually, whether in photos or in artworks made by the victim. I wanted to center the theme around the painful memories, and express how they affect the person who has experienced that pain.
Dorothea takes photos of the victims directly, and in that moment, and it shows how the victims are feeling at the time, and how it is affecting the victims at that time. In Migrant Mother, the children are shaking behind their mother, and the mother is staring off into the distance. It is a photo that captures the terror of tragic events in a person's life. In Mother and her Child, the child is leaning over a wire fence, curious, yet seems almost angry, while the mother watches in the background.
Together, I saw how well black and white represents the past and even the tragedy of that past.
I really liked that, and decided to use it, and use them to express some of the memories that hurt me, and how distant they are, how they are so far in the past. Dorothea takes direct photos of those pasts, while Kathe writes the tragedy's effects, and I wanted to express both of those messages into my collage.
Those memories affect the victim strongly, and I chose these two artists because of how strongly they show the effects of tragedy. While Dorothea took photos of the victims directly, Kathe expressed the personal internal emotions of the victim, and that is what made me wish to use them.
Kathe Kollwitz is actually a victim herself, her grandson and son died in the wars, and she is a victim, and as a result, her artwork is more accurate when it comes to the effects on the victim. I really like how she shows the effects of painful memories on a victim's emotions and mental state. Those memories make something change in a person, and she shows that. That is the idea I wanted to mimic into my collage. People often remember painful memories the most, and express them in some way or another, and it shows the most when they express it in the form of art. The approach taken is the strong effects of painful experiences, and it's another idea I wished to express. In trying to imitate the way Kathe and Dorothea expressed the pain of tragedy, I found out that the more painful the memories, the stronger they show when expressed visually, whether in photos or in artworks made by the victim. I wanted to center the theme around the painful memories, and express how they affect the person who has experienced that pain.
Dorothea takes photos of the victims directly, and in that moment, and it shows how the victims are feeling at the time, and how it is affecting the victims at that time. In Migrant Mother, the children are shaking behind their mother, and the mother is staring off into the distance. It is a photo that captures the terror of tragic events in a person's life. In Mother and her Child, the child is leaning over a wire fence, curious, yet seems almost angry, while the mother watches in the background.
Together, I saw how well black and white represents the past and even the tragedy of that past.
I really liked that, and decided to use it, and use them to express some of the memories that hurt me, and how distant they are, how they are so far in the past. Dorothea takes direct photos of those pasts, while Kathe writes the tragedy's effects, and I wanted to express both of those messages into my collage.
Citations
"The History Place - Dorothea Lange Photo Gallery: Migrant Farm Families." The History Place - Dorothea Lange Photo Gallery: Migrant Farm Families. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
"Women in Art- Kathe Kollwitz." Women in Art- Kathe Kollwitz. Lisa MacDonald, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
"The History Place - Dorothea Lange Photo Gallery: Migrant Farm Families." The History Place - Dorothea Lange Photo Gallery: Migrant Farm Families. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
"Women in Art- Kathe Kollwitz." Women in Art- Kathe Kollwitz. Lisa MacDonald, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
PLANNING
I had a few different ideas, but I decided the first sketch is the one I will do.
I have memories that make me cry, memories that cause regret, people I have lost, people I just want to be close, people I wish I could say hello to again. When I heard we were doing this project, I honestly hesitated to make something like this, only because I hate showing weakness. But when I had looked into Kathe Kolwitz in my sophomore year art class, I saw how art can show the pain someone is in, and felt more comfortable expressing my own pain in art. And I wanted to show the external and internal effects on painful memories, and started planning ideas on how to express it. In my personal drawings, I have often used symbolism with faltered angel wings, faded chains, and scars. I thought this would be the perfect project to put them to use, and started playing with the ideas. I tried to express strength, how strength is not forgetting, it's moving on from the pain, not anything else. I also wanted to express how the strongest people have seen a lot of pain and suffering, that's what makes them strong, and they don't forget the pain, they just don't let it hold them down. Some of the strongest people could even cry themselves to sleep. They laugh and run through the day, and cry at night. The internal effects of suffering are still there, the scars are still there. That is something I wanted to show like Kathe Kollwitz did. But externally, stronger people could be smiling, and their eyes can say that they're suffering. That's an external sign I wanted to show like in Dorothea Lange's photos. It was hard to find a way to express both internal and external effects and signs, but I came up with a few things and tampered with them. In Kathe's work, I learned that position can often create an emotion, and tampered with that. With Dorothea's work, I learned how to use angles and facial expressions to create emotions. I tampered with those ideas in my drawings. I wanted to express painful memories the way Kathe and Dorothea had done.
I have memories that make me cry, memories that cause regret, people I have lost, people I just want to be close, people I wish I could say hello to again. When I heard we were doing this project, I honestly hesitated to make something like this, only because I hate showing weakness. But when I had looked into Kathe Kolwitz in my sophomore year art class, I saw how art can show the pain someone is in, and felt more comfortable expressing my own pain in art. And I wanted to show the external and internal effects on painful memories, and started planning ideas on how to express it. In my personal drawings, I have often used symbolism with faltered angel wings, faded chains, and scars. I thought this would be the perfect project to put them to use, and started playing with the ideas. I tried to express strength, how strength is not forgetting, it's moving on from the pain, not anything else. I also wanted to express how the strongest people have seen a lot of pain and suffering, that's what makes them strong, and they don't forget the pain, they just don't let it hold them down. Some of the strongest people could even cry themselves to sleep. They laugh and run through the day, and cry at night. The internal effects of suffering are still there, the scars are still there. That is something I wanted to show like Kathe Kollwitz did. But externally, stronger people could be smiling, and their eyes can say that they're suffering. That's an external sign I wanted to show like in Dorothea Lange's photos. It was hard to find a way to express both internal and external effects and signs, but I came up with a few things and tampered with them. In Kathe's work, I learned that position can often create an emotion, and tampered with that. With Dorothea's work, I learned how to use angles and facial expressions to create emotions. I tampered with those ideas in my drawings. I wanted to express painful memories the way Kathe and Dorothea had done.
PROCESS
Before I started sketching, I wanted to set out ideas for how to portray my ideas, and had a few different ideas. I chose the first one, and started taking photos, and using old photos my family took. I started with about 10 different shots of the same photo, slightly changing the lighting, position, and angles, and experimented cropping each of them to get the best ones. Then I chose landscapes from the photos I took or my mother did. I tried GIMP at first, but getting the edges right was getting too time-consuming, and I ended up using a free trial on Photoshop for the project. I was experimenting in different windows, copying and pasting, messing with the lighting, hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, and layering. I had also played with combining backgrounds, but ended up scrapping almost everything and starting from scratch.
Before I started sketching, I wanted to set out ideas for how to portray my ideas, and had a few different ideas. I chose the first one, and started taking photos, and using old photos my family took. I started with about 10 different shots of the same photo, slightly changing the lighting, position, and angles, and experimented cropping each of them to get the best ones. Then I chose landscapes from the photos I took or my mother did. I tried GIMP at first, but getting the edges right was getting too time-consuming, and I ended up using a free trial on Photoshop for the project. I was experimenting in different windows, copying and pasting, messing with the lighting, hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, and layering. I had also played with combining backgrounds, but ended up scrapping almost everything and starting from scratch.