Advanced Painting
March 18, 2015
Project 2: (Image Interface) Just Ripe
This painting project started with a collage homework assignment that was intended to get me to think of ways that I can incorporate images into my work as a second medium to paint. At first I was going to use the actual photos from my collage in my project, and paint right on top of them, but decided to purely paint my collaged image from scratch. The idea for my collage came up after searching through old images that were stored on my computer. It is always surreal to me when I look back at these memories with my friends when we were transitioning from middle to high school, as I can only slightly imagine what it was like to be in that moment. I decided I wanted to capture this moment of fleeting youth and discovery of oneself in a coming-of-age collage.
From the album I was browsing through, I found three photos that I thought embodied the theme of growing into oneself and transitioning in one's life. The first photo I selected was of my friend posing for the camera. It was completely dark and I couldn't see what she was doing when I was taking the photo, but once the flash went off, her expression seemed so natural as if she had been ready and knew I was about to take the picture. Her eyes are closed from the flash, but not in the sense that they look forced shut because of the brightness, and instead are completely content and accepting of the circumstance. The rest of her facial expression and body language also suggest that she is fully in sync with her current state and surroundings. Behind my friend, is another one of my friends that happened to be looking over her shoulder at the time that I took the photo. This friend's gaze is fixed directly at the camera, and her overall appearance is a lot darker with an almost cynical expression compared to my joyous friend in the foreground who's brightened by the flash. I thought that this was a perfect element to incorporate into my painting, to represent how there is always other influences in the back of your mind whenever making a significant change or decision in your life.
The second photo was a scene of the ocean at a lantern festival where paper lanterns were floated out into the sea. When I took the photo, the camera flash distorted the lanterns, and created streaks of glowing lights stretching from the horizon line to the top of the sky. I decided to use this as my foreground to be transparently placed over the image of my friends. The last photo that I layered on top of my collage was of my friend holding three persimmons. Each fruit was different, damaged and bruised in some places, while some were riper than others. I thought of these persimmons as a reflection of how we all mature or "ripen" at different paces under different circumstances. There is no right or wrong way to grow and mature.
Researching more into the project, I found that persimmons actually do have significant meaning related to my theme in Asian cultures and religions. In China, persimmons are a symbol of joy, and used to regulate energy medicinally. In Japan, they represent victory. What I found to be the most relevant to my project is that in Buddhism, the persimmon represents transformation. When the persimmon fruit is still young, it is not edible because of its bitterness. The persimmon must be fully ripe in order to be enjoyed, just like how we as humans must transform our ignorance into wisdom by experiencing all that life has to offer with the coming of age.
References:
Images:
Individual Collage Images
Finished Collage
Mu Qui: Six Persimmons
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