Project Grad T-Shirt

Surrealism

"Dancing in a Nightmare"                                   © Barca

I created a story line to actually help me with this project. I've put a lot of thought in the story, the set, the models, the theme, etc. This wasn't an easy project, but I must say that this has probably been my favorite one. I had a lot of fun with this one. I felt like a professional photographer. But I tried to create a photo that matches the story, with the young dancer, abusive father, dead mother, and the innocence of a young girl. I feel I covered all the elements that I needed to portray in the photo to correlate with the story. If I had more time to work on this I would have definitely spent a lot more time to make it exactly how I pictured it or even better. But overall I believe I was successful with my work. I hope you feel and understand the dancer's nightmare.

I want to thank my three models/friends, Sydney (young dancer), Shontae (dead mother), and Romario (abusive father). Without them,  I wouldn't have been able to create this photo. We actually had a lot of fun shooting this. It was a lot of work and a lot of thinking. And even though Sydney's leg was in great pain and she wasn't allowed to be dancing she still agreed to help me by being my model.

Photo Walk

The photos I came up with. With the help of my three models. Thank you again!

Surrealism Part I

Storyline
            Sydney had a horrible childhood. She grew up in an abusive household and was terrified just about every day of her life. A place that is supposed to be safe and provide comfort was something Sydney did not have. The place she called "home" was hell to her. She had a beat down drunken father and an insane mother.
           At the age of six, Sydney had witnessed a horrific tragedy. Other than witnessing and being the victim of abuse by her so called "father", she was there the night her mother was murdered. She went to the kitchen to listen to the fight between her mother and father. As she was hiding behind the wall listening to all the loud yelling, the fight became brutally violent. In result, Sydney saw her mother's lifeless body laid out on the kitchen floor looking right into her eyes.
           A puddle of blood begins to appear on the kitchen floor and flows in between the floor tiles like a river. As she backs away slowly she made the floor squeak. Her father now staring into her eyes with a monstrous look, she turns to run. He yells her name and chases her. Running in fear she hides. He finds her hiding in the closet and apologizes for what happened. Her father hides the body and cleans up the kitchen. No one suspected a thing.
           Seven years has gone by since the murder occurred. Sydney has been going to school and has no friends. She doesn't speak to anyone. The tragic experience she witnessed has caused her to become mute. She has learned sign language to communicate with others.
           The abuse towards Sydney gradually reached an end, but she still gets hit when she gets in her father's way. She hasn't told anyone about her father and what he has done to her and her mother. She keeps it bottled up inside. But she tries to express it all in a different and more beautiful form.
           Sydney's greatest passion is dance. Although her father will not pay for her to take dance, Sydney learns on her own, mostly ballet. She has been learning for almost four years. She feels this is the only way she could really speak, the only way she can tell her story. She is free to express every emotion and feeling she has built inside, and she releases it all through dance.
Plan
          With this project I hope to capture and create this exact story. I want my model to be an innocent and pure dancer who is really expressive. It should take place in some kind of dance studio with a dance bar and mirrors. Elements of her abusive and horrific past will be the theme of the studio. They include a bloody floor, dead mother, terrifying father, dark skies, depressing feel, etc. It should almost feel like she's dancing in her greatest nightmare, unlike most teenagers dreaming of dancing in their greatest fantasy.

Surrealist Artist Inspirations

"Lady Bathory"                                          © Joshua Hoffine

Artist’s Name: Joshua Hoffine

 

Title: Lady Bathory

 

Date: 2009

 

Description: Lady Elizabeth Bathory was an actual person. She was a Hungarian countess in the 16th century, and one of the most prolific serial killers in history. She would bathe in the blood of virgins to retain her youth and beauty. The story of Lady Bathory serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of vanity, and comments on the current preoccupation with youth and beauty in our contemporary society. Joshua Hoffine wanted to create a contemporary version of the Lady Bathory legend. As you can see Lady Bathory is in the tub and the bloodletting of the girl is acting as some kind of spa treatment.

 

Analysis: I believe that this photo is very well thought out. It captures every detail and really tells the story. The set was simple, but simple is all you need. The lighting is great because it focuses on the center, which is where the attraction is. The models looked natural. And I would have never guessed that the blood coming out of her neck was a different layer.

 

Interpretation: When I first looked at this photo I thought it was pretty gory. It looked to me that the woman in the tub was bathing in the other woman’s blood. And it turns out I was correct, but I didn’t know the reason behind her bathing in the blood.

 

Judgment: I feel this art work is an absolute success. After research, I now know how much time and work was put towards this photo shoot. You could never tell that these are separate photos combined. The bloodletting is one separate photo. Also, after learning about the story of Lady Bathory, this photo definitely fit the storyline.

 

"Departure of the Winged Ship"                ©  Vladimir Kush

 

Artist’s Name: Vladimir Kush

 

Title: Departure of the Winged Ship

 

Date: 2001

 

Description: This art symbolically conveys the feelings of happiness and beauty to us. Many people don’t know that butterflies are amazing and courageous travelers. This is a departure on a long voyage. Did you know that butterflies can travel from North America across the Atlantic to reach England? With favorable winds, they can fly and rest on the decks of ships as needed.

 

Analysis: The use of butterflies being the sails for the ship is interesting and clever. It gives the ship color. The lighting in this hits the wings of the butterfly. The colors go really well together and make this whole picture look beautiful.

 

Interpretation: If butterflies are traditional for many things of happiness and beauty, I believe this represents this voyage across the see is beautiful and a happy time for these people on the island.

 

Judgment: Personally I believe that this picture is beautiful. I could look at it for a while and start thinking I’m in some kind of dream. The beautiful colors and designs on the wings attract the eye. And the many soft colors work well together to create this piece of art.

Compare and Contrast

These two artists are absolutely different to one another. Hoffine’s photography is based on what humans fear that are not real and Kush’s art is based on the beauty of the world. Though both of these pieces of art have stories, they are not similar. The theme of horror in Hoffine’s photo is very bloody and has a scary concept of bathing in the blood of young virgins while the theme of a beautiful voyage in Kush’s painting has a happy feeling towards the world and its beauty. But they are both surrealistic, they are both like dreams. Just one is a horrific nightmare while the other is a beautiful fantasy.

Favorite Pages

These were my favorite pages from my Blurb Book. They correlated to one another and made the pages look really good.