Saturday, January 30, 2010
post the fifth // photographer reactions round-up
It looks like overall, the class shared quite a few of my opinions about these four photographers. Crewsden's surreality, Hocks' dark humor, and Wall's destruction were among the prevalent themes noted by everyone in the class. I suppose I'm alone in thinking that Sherman's work was pretty bland and boring, though I guess I can see what others see in her simplistic photos. The theme of cliche never really occurred to me in her pieces, whereas with the other photographers, the themes were pretty clear.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
post the third // eric berry wallpaper
Just showing off a recent project, a wallpaper for draftcountdown.com, an NFL Draft website.
Monday, January 25, 2010
post the second // photography comments
Gregory Crewsden:
The interest in Crewsden’s work lies in that his images all depict situations that could indeed exist in life, and yet, they have a sort of surreal quality to them, one which is difficult to place exactly. Most of his works contain human figures placed in a large setting, and lighting is very important to the overall look of his manipulations. One of his more noticeable works is the image of a naked woman standing alone in a room where a family eats a meal, which is of course an incredibly strange and unlikely situation, yet the possibility of it occurring in life is not impossible.
Teun Hocks:
I find Hocks’ work to be especially intriguing, his manipulations of photo images create a brilliant sense of atmosphere, and the surreality of these pictures have a certain humor to them, for instance, his piece in which he pours water underneath an already- swimming duck seems to give an indication of a light, playful atmosphere, despite the colors of the manipulations contradicting that with their dull, earthy tones.
Jeff Wall:
Wall’s photographs have a fairly clear theme to them, and that is that they center around destruction, of all sorts. For instance, his piece depicting a wrecked room, including a ripped up mattress and walls, and blankets and clothes tossed around the room arbitrarily, gives off an obvious sense of disorder and chaos. However, his photographs also depict destruction in a much more organized sense, examples of this being the photo of trimmed tree branches tucked neatly to the side of a tree, or an excavation site in the middle of a forest. Both of these depict destruction, but not in the chaotic fashion we are used to seeing.
Cindy Sherman:
Sherman’s photographs are mostly self-portaits, centered around her, and often involving fashion in some manner. I rather like her use of lighting and the monochrome images, however, I find her self-portrait motif to be rather repetitive and bland. When compared with the works of Crewsden, Hocks, and Wall, her photos hold little interest to the surreal and colorful works of the other artists.
The interest in Crewsden’s work lies in that his images all depict situations that could indeed exist in life, and yet, they have a sort of surreal quality to them, one which is difficult to place exactly. Most of his works contain human figures placed in a large setting, and lighting is very important to the overall look of his manipulations. One of his more noticeable works is the image of a naked woman standing alone in a room where a family eats a meal, which is of course an incredibly strange and unlikely situation, yet the possibility of it occurring in life is not impossible.
Teun Hocks:
I find Hocks’ work to be especially intriguing, his manipulations of photo images create a brilliant sense of atmosphere, and the surreality of these pictures have a certain humor to them, for instance, his piece in which he pours water underneath an already- swimming duck seems to give an indication of a light, playful atmosphere, despite the colors of the manipulations contradicting that with their dull, earthy tones.
Jeff Wall:
Wall’s photographs have a fairly clear theme to them, and that is that they center around destruction, of all sorts. For instance, his piece depicting a wrecked room, including a ripped up mattress and walls, and blankets and clothes tossed around the room arbitrarily, gives off an obvious sense of disorder and chaos. However, his photographs also depict destruction in a much more organized sense, examples of this being the photo of trimmed tree branches tucked neatly to the side of a tree, or an excavation site in the middle of a forest. Both of these depict destruction, but not in the chaotic fashion we are used to seeing.
Cindy Sherman:
Sherman’s photographs are mostly self-portaits, centered around her, and often involving fashion in some manner. I rather like her use of lighting and the monochrome images, however, I find her self-portrait motif to be rather repetitive and bland. When compared with the works of Crewsden, Hocks, and Wall, her photos hold little interest to the surreal and colorful works of the other artists.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
post the first // inspirations
I've got interests. Who doesn't? Most of mine spill over into my artistic inspirations, which is what this post is all about. What inspires me to do what I do in the world of art?
On the design side of things, I've always loved logos. Logos, they're pretty awesome, I'll tell you. I especially enjoy sports logos, which is what I want to concentrate on in my future, if possible. I love the idea of identity, the unity of logos and uniforms and all that stuff.
The best example of logos I can find is this recent identity update by Fraser Davidson, an animator and designer out of the United Kingdom. I greatly admire his graphic design works, and I feel his design style is very much what I aspire to work towards.
different stylizations of a new logo
color tests
As far as art styles, I tend to lean towards comic artists for inspiration. Comics are something I really love, the combination of art and writing I find especially gripping. I have here three examples of artists I have recently discovered and admire their style and ability.
First off is Andrew Hussie, who currently is working on Homestuck, an 'interactive' webcomic. Despite its simplistic look, Hussie's previous works have an incredible style and use of line and color, one which I personally find to be an inspiration to what I would like to work towards as far as my own style. And It Don't Stop is an excellent example of artistic brilliance.
an example page from And It Don't Stop
Another webcomic artist I have happened upon recently is William N. Gibbons, who's current project is Para-Ten. Its art style is very reminiscent of eastern art, that one might find in Japan or China, but not the manga or anime-type drawings one would expect, rather his use of bold, brushed lines gives a much more organic and lively feel.
a donation incentive wallpaper for 'Para-Ten'
My final, and most recent, internet artist inspiration is Tyson Hesse, whose current project is Boxer Hockey, a webcomic. Hesse is also developing a comic book called Diesel, the concept art of which has wowed me.
character concept art from 'Diesel'
'Diesel' character sketches
Hesse's ability to draw stylized figures is excellent, a talent which I truly wish to improve on myself. Hesse's figures stand as a goal to reach, his ability to convey motion and expression far surpass where my own talents currently lie, and by studying him and these other artists, I hope to improve upon myself as an artist and designer.
On the design side of things, I've always loved logos. Logos, they're pretty awesome, I'll tell you. I especially enjoy sports logos, which is what I want to concentrate on in my future, if possible. I love the idea of identity, the unity of logos and uniforms and all that stuff.
The best example of logos I can find is this recent identity update by Fraser Davidson, an animator and designer out of the United Kingdom. I greatly admire his graphic design works, and I feel his design style is very much what I aspire to work towards.
different stylizations of a new logo
color tests
As far as art styles, I tend to lean towards comic artists for inspiration. Comics are something I really love, the combination of art and writing I find especially gripping. I have here three examples of artists I have recently discovered and admire their style and ability.
First off is Andrew Hussie, who currently is working on Homestuck, an 'interactive' webcomic. Despite its simplistic look, Hussie's previous works have an incredible style and use of line and color, one which I personally find to be an inspiration to what I would like to work towards as far as my own style. And It Don't Stop is an excellent example of artistic brilliance.
an example page from And It Don't Stop
Another webcomic artist I have happened upon recently is William N. Gibbons, who's current project is Para-Ten. Its art style is very reminiscent of eastern art, that one might find in Japan or China, but not the manga or anime-type drawings one would expect, rather his use of bold, brushed lines gives a much more organic and lively feel.
a donation incentive wallpaper for 'Para-Ten'
My final, and most recent, internet artist inspiration is Tyson Hesse, whose current project is Boxer Hockey, a webcomic. Hesse is also developing a comic book called Diesel, the concept art of which has wowed me.
character concept art from 'Diesel'
'Diesel' character sketches
Hesse's ability to draw stylized figures is excellent, a talent which I truly wish to improve on myself. Hesse's figures stand as a goal to reach, his ability to convey motion and expression far surpass where my own talents currently lie, and by studying him and these other artists, I hope to improve upon myself as an artist and designer.
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