DIGITAL COLLAGE
"SET ME FREE"
Size: 24in x 36in
Medium: Digital Manipulation
Date: September 13, 2016
EXHIBITION TEXT
Daisy Pulido
Set Me Free, 2016
Digital Collage
This digital collage was made to define and reflect on who I am. Adobe Photoshop CS6 was used to create Set Me Free. This project allowed me to learn new techniques and incorporate different art styles such as surrealism into my own art. I was inspired greatly by Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and Rene Magritte's The Son of Man. The whole purpose of my digital collage was to channel the unconscious mind of the viewer as a means to unlock the power of the imagination, just like surrealism art.
Artistic Inspiration
In Set Me Free, my artistic inspiration was Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. Vincent van Gogh's painting is dominated by a moon-and-star filled night, full of intensely swirling patterns that seem to roll across the canvas like waves. I really liked the idea of having something similar to van Gogh's Starry Night as my background. As a background, I assumed that it would be able to express and visualize my emotions and thoughts. Another one of my artistic inspirations was Rene Magritte's the Son Of Man. I liked how the man appeared perfectly normal except for the fact that a green apple was completely covering his face. I wanted to incorporate that same idea into my collage but make it a bit more different. Instead of having a fruit cover my face, I wanted something fun and pretty, like balloons or flowers. I liked how Magritte hints that the painting is about the conflict of what is visibly hidden and what is visibly present in that the apple obscures the face of the man in his painting. In most portraits, we are usually drawn to the face, therefore, it is disconcerting when all we can see is the corner of an eye. Lastly, I was heavily influenced by the surrealist movement. Surrealist artists often sought to channel the unconscious mind as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Discarding rationalism and literary realism,, the Surrealists believed that the rational mind repressed the power of the imagination, weighting it down with taboos. Surrealism art was all about appearing outlandish, perplexing, and even uncanny, as it is meant to jolt the viewer out of their comforting assumptions. In a way, I felt that I fit in perfectly with the surrealist movement by the way that I am.
Unidev. "Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh." Welcome to The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
"The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte." The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
PROCESS
Coming Up With Ideas
When I was first assigned the digital collage,
I instantly knew I wanted to include Starry Night
and The Son of Man into my collage.
PLANNING
I sketched out how I was going to set up my digital collage. Idea #1 features me being covered with a black balloon. The black balloon represents my anxieties. In idea #2, I am see balancing myself on railroad tracks. The railroad tracks represents me trying to balance out my life. The bubbles represent my naiveness and childish attitude. The portal is my creative perspective on life. In idea #3, a girl falling represents my anxieties and fears weighing me down.
I sketched out how I was going to set up my digital collage. Idea #1 features me being covered with a black balloon. The black balloon represents my anxieties. In idea #2, I am see balancing myself on railroad tracks. The railroad tracks represents me trying to balance out my life. The bubbles represent my naiveness and childish attitude. The portal is my creative perspective on life. In idea #3, a girl falling represents my anxieties and fears weighing me down.
Gathering My Images
I started taking pictures of all the items/objects I needed for my collage
All the objects in the photos were things in my home. I used my pet bird's wings, a balloon that I found lying around, and shaving cream and paint. The shaving cream and paint were used to create the "Starry Night" background.
Researching
I researched tips, advice and tutorials on Adobe Photoshop through YouTube and other helpful websites
- How To Rearrange Layers in Photoshop CS6
http://www.dummies.com/software/adobe/photoshop/how-to-rearrange-layers-in-photoshop-cs6/
-Adjust Color, Saturation, and Hue
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/adjusting-color-saturation-hue-vibrance.html
-About Selecting Pixels
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/making-selections.html
Experimentations
Upon starting up the Photoshop program, I made sure to make my image & canvas size 24x36in. The resolution was set to be 170. The tools that I used most often throughout the whole process were the quick selection, zoom, and eraser. I always made sure to redefine and smooth out all my edges whenever I had to cut out an image before pasting it onto my final collage. The additional adjustments that I used were the brightness/contrast and hue/saturation. I adjusted and modified every prop/image before adding it to my main layer. I also restarted my wing layers because I was indecisive as to how I wanted them to look. Here's my original idea I had for my wings:
Upon starting up the Photoshop program, I made sure to make my image & canvas size 24x36in. The resolution was set to be 170. The tools that I used most often throughout the whole process were the quick selection, zoom, and eraser. I always made sure to redefine and smooth out all my edges whenever I had to cut out an image before pasting it onto my final collage. The additional adjustments that I used were the brightness/contrast and hue/saturation. I adjusted and modified every prop/image before adding it to my main layer. I also restarted my wing layers because I was indecisive as to how I wanted them to look. Here's my original idea I had for my wings:
PROCESS SNAPSHOTS
PROCESS
-Uploaded all photos to Photoshop
-Set up Background
-Cropped myself out and onto the background using a cutting tool and copy & Paste
-Cut out the wings and applied it to my left side
-Copied another wing but flipped it and applied it to my right side
- Cut out the balloon and applied it to my background in multiple sizes
-Changed the color of the wings by adjusting their saturation
REFLECTION
Throughout this project, I’ve learned to always make sure that your layers are set up correctly in Photoshop. Layers were a pain for me to fix. At one point, I found myself restarting all my work because I had mixed the background layer with another, thus ruining everything. My final digital collage turned out different then what I had planned. In my original sketch, I wanted a girl surrounded by a swirling background and to have her face covered by a black balloon. The wings were an idea that simply popped up as I was working on my digital collage. Honestly, the wings were very fun to experiment with. I at first couldn't decide on the wing size. Did I want small wings so that I could express the possibility of flight being futile or did I want big wings to symbolize a greater power? I then couldn't decide on the wing colors. I was content with just leaving them in their original color, a somewhat olive green, but then I discovered the beauty of changing a picture's hue and saturation. I then thought of making both of the wings white to symbolize positivity and pureness which would contrast greatly with the black balloons of negativity but then thought that black wings would look much cooler. In the end, I couldn't decide on just one color so I thought, "Why not both?" It all worked out for me because I believe that we all posses good and bad characteristics. My digital collage is somewhat the same compared to my artistic inspirations. I tried really hard to mimic Vincent van Gogh's starry night with a homemade recipe of water marbling that consisted of acrylic paint and shaving cream. As for Rene Magritte's Son of Man, I incorporated the idea of an object covering a person's face into my work. That single concept simply got stuck in my head and I absolutely loved it and wanted it in my digital collage. All in all, this project was definitely a success for me. My digital collage expresses the meaning I wanted to create. One thing I noticed while working on this project was that I could've managed my time a little better, and to not hesitate to ask for help. I could've taken this collage to the next level, had I not hesitated to be adventurous and try new things.
The Meaning
I have always had problems dealing with social anxiety. Everyday is a step towards overcoming my fears. I wanted to express my social anxiety with this project. The girl in the middle of my digital collage is me. The reason I covered my face with a black balloon was to symbolize my fear of being seen and judged. I believed that every conversation I wasn't in was about me. When people whispered amongst themselves, I always assumed that they were mocking me and saying bad things about me. I know now that it wasn't true but paranoia had me fooled. It blinded me from reality. The black balloons in the background are meant to represent my anxieties. I chose to make the balloons black because it's the absorption of all color and the absence of light. What black hides, the color white brings to light. I always hid from people out of fear of making a fool of myself. Black is an intimidating color that can symbolize unfriendly and unapproachable. Because of my social anxiety, I was unapproachable. I couldn't keep a normal conversation without stuttering and blushing like a maniac. The wings represented how I felt about my anxiety . My anxiety was like being trapped in a cage that was never really locked. I had the power to overcome my fears and be free, but my mind trapped me and kept me isolated from others. I had the power to fly away from all my fears, and yet I never did.
The Silent One. That’s usually what people label me as whenever they meet me. What they forget is that silence is the most powerful scream. One should never underestimate my silence, for I know more than I say, think more than I speak, and observe more than you know. It’s quite unpleasant when one thinks they know you better than you know yourself. I’m sure I know who I am. I am a dreamer. I am a rebel. Nothing can restrain me. I can be your shoulder to lean on. I can be the stars to your dark night sky. I can do so much more other than just exist. But like all stars, there first had to be darkness in order to see how brightly they shine.
I know people think I’m all mean and snappy and dry and sarcastic, and I’ll admit, I am all those things. But there’s nothing I care more about than my friends. I feel their pain and happiness. When they cry, I cry. When they laugh, I laugh. I have an immense sense of compassion and love, and being able to give this to someone brings comfort to me. I am able to easily put myself in other people’s shoes, but the downside is that I can lose myself in other people’s suffering. Reading is the reason why I’m so emotional. I sympathized with many of my book’s characters and gained new perspectives in life through their eyes. Rather than falling in love with a character’s appearance, I fell in love with their words, their thoughts, and their minds.
Being introverted and emotional proved to be my most challenging obstacles in life. Anxiety took over my life completely. I found myself unable to raise my hand in class without the fear of being wrong. I couldn’t go to stores out of fear that I would make a fool of myself in front of the store clerk. I couldn’t hang out with new people or ask for directions whenever I got lost. My anxiety was like being trapped in a cage that was never really locked. I had the power to overcome my fears and be free, but my mind trapped me and kept me isolated from others. I was always afraid that no one liked me and that those who showed me affection secretly loathed me. Paranoia soon started taking over. Every conversation I wasn’t in was about me. I constantly felt like I was being watched and judged. It didn’t help that I was extremely contradicting. I am faithful but I can sometimes get detached. I love everyone and yet, no one. I can be sociable but other times I’m a loner. I am passionate but can also be platonic. I seek attention yet reject it when it comes my way. In short, I didn’t really know what I wanted. The paranoia and anxiety soon became too much for me that I suddenly broke down and cried. I hated myself. My mind kept replaying all the ‘could’ve beens’ and the “what if’s’ and it caused me great turmoil. I knew I needed to do something about my anxiety. I wasn’t satisfied with constantly living my life in fear and full of regrets. I talked to my parents about my anxiety and they helped me immensely. I was taught that overthinking kills your happiness. It ruins situations and twists things around, making you worry and making things seem worse than they truly are.
Overcoming my anxiety shaped me into the person I am today. Anxiety taught me that one does not drown by falling in the water, but rather by staying there. I wasn’t going to let anxiety drown me so I took the steps necessary to overcome it. Losing my anxiety allowed me to meet wonderful people and make amazing memories. I feel more confident about myself and am more determined than ever to accomplish my goals. I can now embrace my past without regrets, handle the present with confidence and face my future without fear. I wasted too many days comparing myself to others and wishing to be something I wasn’t. I learned that everybody has their own weaknesses and strengths and that it’s only when you can accept everything you are-and aren’t- that one can truly succeed.
I know people think I’m all mean and snappy and dry and sarcastic, and I’ll admit, I am all those things. But there’s nothing I care more about than my friends. I feel their pain and happiness. When they cry, I cry. When they laugh, I laugh. I have an immense sense of compassion and love, and being able to give this to someone brings comfort to me. I am able to easily put myself in other people’s shoes, but the downside is that I can lose myself in other people’s suffering. Reading is the reason why I’m so emotional. I sympathized with many of my book’s characters and gained new perspectives in life through their eyes. Rather than falling in love with a character’s appearance, I fell in love with their words, their thoughts, and their minds.
Being introverted and emotional proved to be my most challenging obstacles in life. Anxiety took over my life completely. I found myself unable to raise my hand in class without the fear of being wrong. I couldn’t go to stores out of fear that I would make a fool of myself in front of the store clerk. I couldn’t hang out with new people or ask for directions whenever I got lost. My anxiety was like being trapped in a cage that was never really locked. I had the power to overcome my fears and be free, but my mind trapped me and kept me isolated from others. I was always afraid that no one liked me and that those who showed me affection secretly loathed me. Paranoia soon started taking over. Every conversation I wasn’t in was about me. I constantly felt like I was being watched and judged. It didn’t help that I was extremely contradicting. I am faithful but I can sometimes get detached. I love everyone and yet, no one. I can be sociable but other times I’m a loner. I am passionate but can also be platonic. I seek attention yet reject it when it comes my way. In short, I didn’t really know what I wanted. The paranoia and anxiety soon became too much for me that I suddenly broke down and cried. I hated myself. My mind kept replaying all the ‘could’ve beens’ and the “what if’s’ and it caused me great turmoil. I knew I needed to do something about my anxiety. I wasn’t satisfied with constantly living my life in fear and full of regrets. I talked to my parents about my anxiety and they helped me immensely. I was taught that overthinking kills your happiness. It ruins situations and twists things around, making you worry and making things seem worse than they truly are.
Overcoming my anxiety shaped me into the person I am today. Anxiety taught me that one does not drown by falling in the water, but rather by staying there. I wasn’t going to let anxiety drown me so I took the steps necessary to overcome it. Losing my anxiety allowed me to meet wonderful people and make amazing memories. I feel more confident about myself and am more determined than ever to accomplish my goals. I can now embrace my past without regrets, handle the present with confidence and face my future without fear. I wasted too many days comparing myself to others and wishing to be something I wasn’t. I learned that everybody has their own weaknesses and strengths and that it’s only when you can accept everything you are-and aren’t- that one can truly succeed.
ACT ResponsesClearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My inspiration had a profound effect on the color and subject of my artwork because Surrealism was all about making the viewer rethink about its meaning. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh also had an influence on my digital collage's colors. Vincent van Gogh used various shades of blues and yellows. My digital collage also had various shades of blue.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author is presenting the information from an objective standpoint on art history and highlights the most influential works.
They do not, however, go into deeper analysis on the artworks.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
My research wasn't really focused on the cultural aspects of Surrealism, as I'd already studied Surrealism the previous year and knew most of it from prior knowledge.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my work was emotion, specifically anxiety, represented through the black balloons that essentially cover my entire being and prohibit others to see the 'real' me.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred through my research that Van Gogh's work was not truly valued until after his death, as he tried to commit suicide over financial difficulties most likely arisen from people not buying his artworks.
My inspiration had a profound effect on the color and subject of my artwork because Surrealism was all about making the viewer rethink about its meaning. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh also had an influence on my digital collage's colors. Vincent van Gogh used various shades of blues and yellows. My digital collage also had various shades of blue.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author is presenting the information from an objective standpoint on art history and highlights the most influential works.
They do not, however, go into deeper analysis on the artworks.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
My research wasn't really focused on the cultural aspects of Surrealism, as I'd already studied Surrealism the previous year and knew most of it from prior knowledge.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my work was emotion, specifically anxiety, represented through the black balloons that essentially cover my entire being and prohibit others to see the 'real' me.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred through my research that Van Gogh's work was not truly valued until after his death, as he tried to commit suicide over financial difficulties most likely arisen from people not buying his artworks.
Bibliography:
Unidev. "Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh." Welcome to The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/
"The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte." The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
http://www.renemagritte.org/the-son-of-man.jsp
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/
"The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte." The Son of Man, 1946 by Rene Magritte. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
http://www.renemagritte.org/the-son-of-man.jsp