It was hard for me to find a digital artist that I thought properly demonstrated what I was looking to create in this project.  I looked at Marcus Moura and his use of similar looking layers to create a realistic and convincing landscape.

For this project I really wanted to establish a visual landscape that both appeared as it might in real life but also incorporated some inner experiences that I have had while listening to music.  Much of my art is influenced greatly in my art and creating what I hear is something I have always used in my work.  I listen to a certain type of music, or sometimes even more specifically and exact song.  I take the words, and sometimes just the flow and movement of the music itself and just put that on paper, or whatever medium I happen to be working with.  To create a visually moving landscape I placed a fore, middle, and back ground to frame the composition to hold the viewers attention.  My goal was to create something that did not appear as a flat image.  The combination of the three grounds, the two-point perspective of the middle ground, and the additional layers of paint on top give a competing feeling between the thirds of the landscape. 

            By throwing the top half (or back half) of the image out of focus, the painted image on top stands out even more in an almost cartoon like manner.  It is in focus yet somehow still comfortably sits in the space around it.  The image then appears as a visually stimulating work.  I wanted the feeling to be as though you were stepping into this landscape, as if it was a place you could actually be, but with the varying perspectives, the change in focus and layering issues, it is hard to actually understand where you might be in this place.  There is also the sense in movement from one side of the image to the other.  While the wall in the foreground remains perfectly straight across from one side to the other, the middle ground moves from the left to the right coming closer to the front.  

For my digital landscape I looked a few paintings by Ken Bushe for my sky.  Another artist researched was William Lathrop, another painter.  I found a few examples of his work that had greens and balance issues similar to the painting I  was looking to add on top of my print.

I have been trying hard to figure out where to begin with the infinite print but I have been struggling with what image I actually want to create.  Something that should could be printed out by anyone in the world means nothing if those people have no reason to print it out to begin with.  It has to hold a special meaning among those it was sent to and anyone it could be viewed by.  Thinking about this has made me realize that I should take an image that is simple enough to be understood yet strong enough to have a significant meaning.  With this in mind I think I want to focus on an image that can make a strong statement regarding the environment, politics or anything else that could be recognizable as a current headline.

Artist Statement

Manipulation to me means organizing a photo, either before or after it has been taken, to give specific meaning.  One way this can be done is by changing an image that has already been taken in a way that changes the meaning, or gives the image a meaning if before there was none.  An image that you take yourself can also be manipulated simply in the way you set up the photograph. You are manipulating the same way except you are using your camera to do the work as opposed to changing a photo already in existence.

My hope for this first project is to tie together both old and new images to show how some trends of 30 years ago are catching back up to us.  The combination of Bob Dylan with the new style of Red Ray Bans show how while they were the style back then, brand names have adapted to fit our styles.  

Ideas for Project 1

Part 2

Ten Famous Manipulated Images