Concept No:3

Transformation – concept development

I was thinking of combining together the technique used by Vanity Fair in the portfolio photo shoot of “Ain’t we got Style” with the designs we discussed in class and merged together with art. I got this idea from a recent blog I posted by taking a famous painting and transforming it … in my case using this technique.

I did a trial of this concept by taking a snapshot of the balcony scene from Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. To start with I didn’t want to keep the original models since Vanity fair used artists we know today and since this scene was seen in “Letters from Juliet” I decided to use that scene. I worked on it using Photoshop® and adapted it to be situated in Gaudí’s Casa Milà Barcelona.

My adaptation:

This was not what I was exactly aiming for! It is very close but paintings were not included. What I would be doing if I decide to further develop on this concept is to take the composition from a painting then add the elements of design and film into it instead of taking a snap shot of a film.

  

Blair Yarborough, 2007. Meredith College – Romeo and Juliet. [online] Available at: http://www.meredith.edu/english/walton/YarboroughZefferilli1.htm  [Accessed 12^th December 2012]

Jay Hafling, 2010. A Life Less Ordinary. [online] Available at: http://lovethatred.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/a-life-less-ordinary/  [Accessed 12^th December 2012]

Jonathon Penny, 2009. Europa Seeks: Casa Gaudi’ 5. [blog] Available at: http://arabianroundabout.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/europa-seeks-casa-gaudi-5/ [Accessed 12^th December 2012] 

Concept No:2

Concept Transformation II

Connie’s broach from Godfather III

My developments: 

Laurie, 2012. Modern Abstract Painting Healing Wall Sculpture. [painting] Available at: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64181688/modern-abstract-painting-healing-wall?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=App_Seller&utm_campaign=fb_seller_item&utm_content=items  [Accessed on 14^th December 2012]

My first drawing was too literal and looked exactly like the original. The size would have been different and even the materials I would have used but apart from that it was too similar to the original. So I started altering this design. From a painting I had seen I thought that I could reduce the middle circle but increase the size of the outer circles. Having done that, I also reduced the amount of “rays” to give it more balance. I thought that this could be made from aluminium rods and disks alternating between matt and polished. 

Concept No:1

Concept Transformation

From my research,  I found that horses where always related to honour, wealth and power as seen in the Godfather to be the most precious thing one of the characters possesses. In “Gladiator” two horses are the emblem on Marcus Aurelius’s breastplate while in Troy a horse sculpture is offered as “peace offering”. 

GodFather

 Gladiator and Tojan Horse

Symbol of power in Neptune’s horses 1892 by Walter Crane Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David.
 

After looking at the way transformation happened in each case, the one that fascinated me the most was the Trojan horse. I followed the same concept as with the Dragonfly table by Emile Galle, where something from nature which is free and dynamic, is transformed into something which is rigid and unnatural.  I kept the idea of a table but instead of being refined as Galle’s was, mine would be done using drift wood and without too much detail just like the Trojan horse’s head. The table top would be made of smooth glass to contrast with the rough and uneven texture of the drift wood.

 First idea

 Further Development

 

Done using photoshop® for better quality 

Art Transformation

Transforming famous works of art

Another page which I like from facebook is FilmmakerIQ.com https://www.facebook.com/FilmmakerIQ?fref=ts which has got some really interesting photos and works of art. One which got my attention was the reproduction of Johannes Vermeer's "The girl with a Pearl Earring” by Mitchell Grafton who transformed this work of art as if it were to be done today due to a lot of self taken portrait photos. He eliminated the focal point from the pearl earring and replaced it with the camera. 

 This portrait was further transformed in 2003 by being turned into a movie “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by director Peter Webber starring Scarlett Johansson as the young peasant maid.

IMDB, 2003. Girl with a Pearl Earring. [online] Available at:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. [Accessed 10^th December 2012].

Another work which was transformed is Van Gogh’s “Starry Sky” by an unknown artist who decided to incorporate Batman and his Bat signal in the painting. This work may cause some controversy! Some may think that how could someone mock such a famous work of art, other might take is as a stroke of geniality to come up with such a combination!!! 

Jeremy Bray, 25^th April 2011. Batman invades Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. [online] Available at: http://globalgeeknews.com/2011/04/25/batman-invades-van-goghs-starry-night-painting-pic/. [Accessed on: 10^th December 2012].

Another artwork which in my opinion has been overly used is Da Vinci’s Last Supper. It has been used by Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars and for The Expendable’s 2 poster. But the first one I had ever seen remains my personal favourite, that which is done using famous persons from the 60’s such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis etc. What I don’t get is their positioning! I think that their positioning is more of a random positioning rather than having anything to do with the story and their roles in particular movies.

Film Transformation

Transformation in Snap Shots

““Ain’t We Got Style?” is a portfolio in the August issue of Vanity Fair where photographers Michael Roberts, Norman Jean Roy, Mark Seliger, and Art Streiber teamed up with Chan, Amanda, Josh Duhamel, Mila Kunis, Emile Hirsch, and a total of 31 hot, young rising stars to re-enact classic  stills from Depression-era films.”

Kendra, 2009. Channing Tatum & Amanda Seyfried in "My Man Godfrey". [blog] Available at: http://jake-weird.blogspot.com/2009/07/channing-tatum-amanda-seyfried-in-my.html [Accessed 10^th December 2012].

My Man Godfrey (1936) 

 

It Happens One Night (1934)

Letty Lynton (1932)

42^nd Street (1933)

I really liked this idea of interpreting old movie snapshots with today’s actors but keeping the scenario and props the same. These are only a few of the photographs that were taken. What I really liked is how the definition of beauty has also transformed throughout the years. To have a pretty face, nice hair and to be glamorous has remained, although with regards to the figure there have been some changes. A skinny figure has topped that of curves. 

Art Transformation

Transformation in Art

Nowadays everywhere we go we are met with “Facebook”; be it a clothes shop or a bank. It is everywhere around us and very useful if used properly. Its original purpose was to keep people in touch and to get to know about other people and their lives. But like everything else, once it gets online it goes completely out of control and misused. But not everyone posts rubbish; we still have those with self respect left! And on Facebook I got to know about a page called “A different type of Art”.  Where, “Art is the magic mirror that we create to turn invisible dreams in visible pictures. To see us we use a mirror image, artwork we use to see our soul! Art is the triumph over chaos” https://www.facebook.com/A.different.type.of.Art/info

On this page I came across an album called creativity and it amazed me how some brilliant people take something which is ordinary like a nail or a cup of coffee and transforming it to something extraordinary.

For instance, the artist Andrew Myers took the simple act of screwing Phillips screws and transformed it by screwing them to different heights to recreate the elevations of the face and then draw the face on them. This way the face does not only have the illusion of being 3D, but actually being in 3D.

Andrew Myers, 2009. Andrew Myers Art. [online] Available at: http://www.andrewmyersart.com/#/home  [Accessed on 7^th December 2012]

Another artist is Erika Iris Simmons who uses random things and turns them into composite art. Most of her pieces become portraits of people associated with the item she chooses. Which is what I like most of her art. A lot of her art is made with cassette tapes and old film reels. She has blended the concerns and methods of conceptual art with craft-making and pop culture to create her own installations using icons such as The Beatles, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, Bob Dylan and Debbie Harry of Blondie. 

 

Erika Iris Simmons, 1^st March 2012. What is this all about? [online] Available at: http://www.iri5.com/blog-2/  [Accessed on 7^th December 2012] 

“Some people just have too much time on their hands! This is a somewhat liberal version of the iconic Da Vinci masterpiece made from 3,604 coffee cups all with varying levels of milk to affect the shading. This was displayed in Sydney as part of the 2009 Aroma Festival.”

Zolton, 22^nd April. Lost at E minor: Mona Lisa made from cups of coffee. [online] Available at: http://www.lostateminor.com/2010/04/22/mona-lisa-made-from-cups-of-coffee/  [Accessed on 7^th December 2012]