#artc1301

The book chosen for this project is Survivor by Chuck Palanhniuk. A significant part of the plot is Tender Branson’s rise to fame as a media messiah. What made the public believe that he’s sort of the second Jesus is his ability to see future disasters. However, it’s not actually him but his friend, Fertility Hollis, that has this ability. She tells him about these future disasters through a hole in a bathroom stall. This is the main imagery used in the design of this dust cover. A roughly textured wall was used as the backdrop to set the mood of the imagery – dirty and forbidden. Bright red lips were added in contrast to the cool color scheme of the piece. This was to show visually how Fertility’s words and presence was a welcome surprise to Tender Branson’s dark life. Graffiti can be seen throughout the wall since it was described in the book that this was how the bathroom stall looked like. In addition to random writings, disasters that Fertility has told Tender was also written all over the wall.

For so long, body piercing has had a stigma attached to it. In reality, it has a huge cultural and religious background. It’s a respectable profession that has a far and wide reach. For this project, photos of piercings found in the shop that Aedras Nelson works in was paired with photos of people that use body piercings in their culture or religion. The examples were Khond from India, Nuba from Sudan, Masai from Kenya and Tanzania, Mursi from Ethiopia, Karen from Myanmar, and Dogon from Mali. Multiple overlapping images are seen in the pages to show that the Western culture of body piercing for aesthetic coincides in some way with piercings that have a cultural or religious meaning. Black and white patterns made from the primary images were used to emphasize the shape and pattern of the piercings. The book cover used is a specialty paper with a velvety texture that is similar to what can be found in jewelry boxes.  

Note: Before portfolio submission, revise statement of intent (include the little details that makes the final work).

A significant part of being in a society is following norms. People are expected to conform and blend in with everyone else. This piece uses a group of bent, crushed, and distorted plastic bottles to show that not everyone is as perfect and flawless as they seem. Four bottles were used to shed light on the fact that it’s not just one person that’s different, everyone has their own unique shape. The light source creates a spotlight and emphasizes that there are people that accept some of their imperfections and show it proudly. The further the bottles are from the light source, the harder it is to see the imperfections of the bottle. It gives off a feeling of being engulfed in the shadows, refusing to show the world their imperfections. These elements unify the piece to give the viewers a visual on how society is made up of flawed individuals and conformity is not for everyone.

The sole purpose of blinds is to shut the light out. People may close their blinds for any number of reasons - to sleep, if they have a headache, or even if they want to be alone. This work emphasizes being in the dark and letting light in. This is shown in the abrupt change in value and lines. The repetitive spacing shows the routine of being in darkness and depression, but the variation in the light, where the large gap is, show that light is getting let in. The texture in this work represents the grittiness and often confusing feelings of depression. The work is imbalanced with heavy darks and bits of light, and then one solid ray of light. Even the proportion is asymmetrical, as the bottom is heavy and the top is narrowed, and the harsh lines against the textured light are reminiscent of bars making the viewer feel trapped and isolated, just as depression feels. Though depression can feel suffocating and isolating, the only way to change the path is to let light in.