Digital Footprint 2.0

Since my first post about my digital footprint, it has really grown. I got instagram, twitter and pinterest. Looking at my digital footprint now, it still feels weird to see me as other's see me. Previously I only used social media sites for fun, but I discovered over the past semester how useful they can actually be. A lot of my art inspiration comes from things I see on pinterest, and by following my favourite clothing brands on instagram I can get a head start on sales and promotions! I think that social media started off as being something purely for entertainment purposes, and is now a serious business and marketing machine which I think is fascinating. It has actually inspired me to go into a communications and media program in university :)

A closer look at our creative process...

I think that this photo of Rach as Twiggy is a true tribute to the work we put into these photos. Twiggy has extremely unique facial features which turned out to be a lot more difficult to mimic than we thought. Luckily Rachel was a good sport and let us really pound the makeup on. I used a lot of highlighting and contouring techniques to give Rach the Twiggy cheekbones. We also did a lot of work with filling in her brows to get the perfect Twiggy arch, and I think they look pretty darn close. Her mouth took a lot of reshaping too with lipliner to give her the Twiggy pout. He slicked side pony was pretty straightforward although it required a lot of gel. 

 I really like how we reversed the colours (Rachel's background is black and her sweater is lighter). We had to do a lot of work with lighting in these photos, especially in this one. We used the techniques we learned at the beginning of the year and had Rachel hold a white corrugated board to reflect the lighting onto her face. 

Zoe polished everything off with her amazing photoshop work. She perfected the lighting which definitely enhanced Rachel's face shape and made her look even more like Twiggy. She enhanced the shape of Rachel's eyes to make them more doe-like, and gave her even more of a Twiggy pout. Zoe also really came through on all the costumes. This thrift shop sweater she found looks so much like the one in the photo!

Individual Thematic Work

In the beginning we had no idea what mode to show our photos in. We thought about printing them out onto glossy photo paper, but decided that passing around the tiny portraits wouldn't have the same grand affect as putting them up on the big projector screen. Printing them out into hard copies might not have been as forgiving either. We edited all of the photos ourselves on photoshop so they weren't perfect (I think that's what makes them great personally!) Nevertheless, hard copies might have been little more clear in the pixelation which might have showed some of our mistakes. Since Rachel was away for the editing days, she decided to make a slide show chronicling out pictures through the decades.

For this project we incorporated lots of principles of media arts. We showed duration because we literally traveled through the decades all the way back to the 1930's. We used point of view because these photos were our take and our recreation of the iconic originals. For the most part this project focused on hybridization. We used different hair, makeup, lighting, modelling, costumes, editing and photoshop to accomplish these photos. Hours of work was put into each one whether it be hair and makeup or editing and photoshop. This project wouldn't have been a success if we hadn't used so many different techniques to make them. Anonymity was also used in this project because we gave up our own identities to step into the identity of the person we were trying to be. Not only did we change our looks, but we also changed the way we act, stand and behave in front of the camera in order to become the other person.

Even though some of the photos weren't up to the standard we wanted, I think this project was still a success because we incorporated so many of the principles of media art into it.

POV/Duration project review

Zoe and I incorporated hybridization and interactivity into this project. There were elements of hybridization in this project because we made ourselves the canvases. Instead of creating art on a separate canvas, we brought our project to life by using own bodies! It was also interactivity because without the audience, we wouldn't have even been able to do this project. The audiences participation are reactions were crucial for making ourselves the art.

Zoe and I were very organized for this project. We divided up the work and made sure to have everything we needed in advance. This project obviously took a lot of preparation and clean up afterwards. One of our biggest issues was making sure we had enough sheets to use as a back drop. Luckily my mum was happy to donate some. We also had to find A LOT of paint, and make sure it was safe to get on our skin. Tempra paint from my mum's classroom did the trick.

As for clothing and utensils, Zoe nailed it. Our all white outfits really gave us the "human canvas" feel we were looking for. She also provided spoons, ladles, sponges and paintbrushes for the class to use. Set up was easy and we were completely prepared.

(^notice Mrs Kings cameo appearance!)

Putting a time limit on our project turned out to be a great idea in my opinion. Zoe and I worried that if we didn't set a time that our project would drag out and people would lose interest. Setting the clock for one minute heightened the class's excitement because they knew they had to move quickly. 

Overall I am happy with the outcome of this project. Although it took a lot of preparation and clean up, it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the experience of creating art with a group of people instead of creating it individually. This project brought our class together and allowed everyone to let their guards down a little bit and work together. I definitely want to create an artwork with a large group of people again.