Art Work of the Month :: September 2013
I generated a new series of collages and one GIF animation this Friday as I awaited my 2D design class to roll in at CUNY York College. It was the first day of classes for my Friday schedule this fall. I have written quite a bit on this blog about taking advantage of the in between moments in life to create art and this was indeed the case. I have to admit, it was intentional. I get up earlier than I need to on Fridays to beat the commute into Jamaica, and to use the large open studio space before class. I give myself an hour to spread out and cut up my screen prints, rubber stamp prints, photo copies, drawings and other works on paper to generate the collage works. This is a practice that I not only love, but it keeps me sharp as I teach the 2D design course. The course has an emphasis on the principles of design and the how to understanding of generating compositions and arrangement variations. Introducing and applying new techniques is another part of the course as well as the integration of how manual works of art can become digital works. Did you notice that the second image in the post came to life? This fall we will put in a good amount of time creating GIF animations from some of the manual works created in class. Im super excited to do this with my class. 2013 and technology brought us here. It amazes me how fast time goes by, and how the integration of computers, software and technology in the classroom have become a my sidekick. The pieces in this post took a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes to create start to finish. I used standard 8.5 X 11″ paper to work on as my picture plane boundaries. I like this size for collage work because it is accessible and easy to transport. I also think of it as a good book size. I have been working on two, one vertical and one horizontal. More on that soon.
I have been on an old school 1980’s and nintendo video game hacking kick. This meaning, I’m digging up still frames from various game interfaces and manipulating and re-mixing them into content and back-rounds. Megaman 2, Super Mario World, Bubble Bobble, and pacman have all been included so far. Along side of these familiar game characters and images I am juxtaposing my own familiar characters and images that have been using over the years. I want to create a feeling that these compositions are familiar with each other, thematic and in fact, have always been affiliated. Call it a displacement of a certain such-ness, yet a visual narrative holds one’s attention to dig deeper into the ongoing story. One by one, I want each one of the still image to come to life and animate in some way shape or form.
Order and chaos, repetition, movement, visual weight and emphasis all come into play as I glue down the various prints and images. An x-acto knife, a glue stick and a digital camera come in handy for the process. Stop motion animations can be generated in single frames with this process of cut and paste as each piece is made. I teeter back and forth between this and using individual layers in photoshop. Do I like one technique over the other? Not really, Im actually looking to discover something new by synthesizing them together. The process continues. The best part of this is the very conscious awareness of what is happening. My work is changing and evolving. I have discovered new content and medium interests, and I want to push them. Writing, teaching and speaking about things as you learn is one of the best way to really learn and understand the process. I am indeed grateful for this.
Im currently pondering this new collage content as formula: Graffiti + Video Game Art + Printmaking/Screen-printing + Multiple Photocopies + Video capturing Filters = the next new aesthetic.
I love making images, and now they will animate.
The works above have also been added to an ongoing post titled; “Old School Game Hacking as Inspiration” you can read that post here to see how they relate.
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short-link to this post :: http://wp.me/p2SFO-1n1
