In developing the concept for the triptych, I drew some inspiration from a recent book I read, "Science is Culture". The book illustrates themes of technology, science, innovation and invention, in many cases, juxtaposed to nature. In society it is common to see networks, patterns, communication, and connections but these are also concepts commonly found in nature. What occurs naturally, humans are inspired to recreate in new ways and replicate to advance culture and technology. This is not a new concept but one that seems to be growing rapidly and accelerating faster as technology advances. It's interesting to me to try to understand what is "natural" and how does it impact our world and the environments we live in, the environments around us. Philosophically, it is intriguing to me to examine materials both of the natural world and manmade and explore how to remix, reuse and represent it in a new, sometimes whimsical way. I used a variety of materials including twine, my wisdom teeth, wires, as well as photographs, print, and online images. As I was building the triptych pieces, I attempted to challenge myself to take the materials and reinvent them into something fresh, and in doing so creating landcape scenes with a goal of capturing the feel of the elements. Starting with the first piece I also wanted to capture a more intricate full world to represent the sea and in the second piece wanted to simplify a bit more and challenge myself to minimize the movement and elements within the landscape. As the third piece came about, I wanted to challenge myself to keep the composition even more minimal than the previous two. With all three pieces next to each other- going from left to right, the pieces go from busy, patterned, more saturated to simple, lighter colors and a cleaner look.
Below are the individual images:
When I first looked at your images I really enjoyed the "nature" theme that seemed to pop out at me first. I thought of plants, fruit, and in the first image it reminded me of an underwater scene. Once I looked closer and zoomed in on the images I was pleasantly surprised to see the complexity and detail in what built up these scenes that looked so natural, and how it was all comprised of things that are completely unnatural- technological devices, computer chips, chords, wires, plugs, etc. Overall, I think the second two images work really well together visually because of the color scheme they share with the same neutral background with reds and greens and greys popping out, and the first images seems rather separated to me just because the background is so different and it has some different colors going on. Once I read your artist review, your whole tryptic made so much sense. I really enjoy the detail you used in explaining your process and research on this subject and I think you did an excellent job of conveying that through your imagery. Overall, I'd say this is a very successful piece of art.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I really like your tryptich and the feel of it. I instantly thought of a jellyfish or octopus. I think its awesome you used your wisdom tooth, I really enjoy the over all feel from all 3 side by side and/or individually.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you portrayed technology and nature together! All three pictures remind me of a specific type of landscape at a first glance. Taking a closer look, I see a lot of really cool pieces that you put together to create a bigger image (such as the jellyfish in the first picture). Looks great! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteVery strong work! The first image in particular possesses a visual subtlety that speaks well to both your concept and your skills utilizing the tools at hand to create something unique and original. The work is backed up by a very strong and well considered statement. Excellent job!