Chapter 1- Felix Luque Sanchez

 

Felix Luque Sanchez's work is really unique to me, I haven't seen anything like it before. He places a dodecahedron in different environments devoid of human interaction. The purpose is to challenge the viewers' ideas on time, space, and human involvement. The shape can be anything, and is never or touched. The lighting and sound sequence is always the same. To me, the succession of images creates a narrative that can be expanded or contracted based on the imagination of the viewer.

Chapter I: The Discovery from OtherSounds on Vimeo.

self portraits

artist

I researched an artist on Rhizome named Jesse Fulton. He was interesting to me because of his view on the "socio-political impact" that technology has on society. He raises the questions of whether art and technology should coincide with political ideals such as democracy. In an effort to make use of the freedom that he has by living in a society that allows him to do so, he attempts to keep his work "honest and as open as possible", saying that art should not be oppressed, rather it is meant to be displayed in public places for everyone to see and judge.

Self Assessment for Project 1

Self Assessment

            When I set out to start the project, I honestly had no idea what to do. The assignment was pretty vague and I think that was done purposefully in order to allow us to expound the range of our creativity. But for some reason I ran into the artist’s version of writer’s block. Originally I was concerned that this would impede my progress, especially because this was really my first time using Photoshop and I didn’t want to end up behind the rest of the class. However, I soon realized that this was a blessing in disguise because I had absolutely no preconceived boundaries. With no image of what I wanted in my head, I wasn’t confined to a specific way of doing things or even a specific final outcome. I was able to be flexible, and this left the project open to a lot of experimentation.

            The idea for the astronaut picture was just a random spark of inspiration. I was simply looking up random pictures on Wikimedia Commons and that one really caught my eye. I figured I could do a lot with it, and I was right. There is almost an unlimited amount of variations that one can make to that picture, with the only constraint being time. So this was my jumping off point, and from there it was all about just putting in the work. Last year in art I got lazy and didn’t finish most of my homework or projects, including the final one. This time around I made sure that I even went to extra lengths to not only finish the project but to really invest myself in Photoshop and use it to its full capability. Ultimately I feel like I got more out of the project that way and I definitely got better at using the program.

            I don’t know if I can ever feel like I’m totally finished with something like this, because there is so much that can be done. But I definitely milked a lot out of both the time that I had and the small amount of experience that I have using Photoshop. In terms of visual coherence, I do think that I did a good job. Being that the project is made up of a series of the same picture with different variations to each one, I had to find some way to connect them. To do this I designated a different theme to each row, so that the images could all interact even though they were different from one another. As far as the conceptual strength of the project, the piece can really be read in a number of different ways, depending on the mood and the mindset of the viewer. This is kind of what I was going for- to leave it open to interpretation. I also tried to make the final pictures as seamless as I possibly could. It was difficult given my inexperience and I could use a little bit more work with the tools. But I feel like even throughout the project I was improving.

            I didn’t have much of a plan at first when entering this project. I was hoping to stumble upon different messages and themes as I progressed, and that’s exactly what happened. There are a couple different themes that I employed because each picture tells a different story and can be interpreted a different way. There are a few different reasons why someone would create a piece of art. The main reason that this piece was created is to give the viewer something to think about. When someone first looks at the image, they are probably taken a little bit aback because there are so many to look at. This gives time to look at each picture individually and make up their minds on the purpose and message. A person can learn a lot about themselves by what comes to their mind when looking at something foreign. So in result, the overall message of the picture is first about repetition, and then about using one’s own imagination to connect to the image in front of them. I’m not trying to make a statement with the picture, but I am trying to direct the viewer’s feelings toward self-realization and self-inspiration.