Personal Direction #2

Project Proposal

Project Description:
     I am going to expand upon my last project by making another painting using the same symbols in a new composition. This painting will be considerably larger; five by seven feet. It will further explore the possibilities of  using classical architecture and teenage cliques as symbolic visualizations for contradicting desires, which Freud defined as the "id" and "superego".

Project Intention:
     I intend to encourage an awareness of the contradictions that pervade every aspect of our lives. I want to  provide a meditation on the inevitability of contradiction, while conveying the antagonism it creates. By juxtaposing classical architecture with teenagers, I am forcing objects representative of loyalty and disloyalty, obedience and disobedience, stability and instability, and consistency and inconsistency into the same composition. The result is awkward and unnatural, which I hope will provoke viewers into considering the implications of the objects I depict and the possible significance of their forced interaction.

Question:
     How can the universal implications of certain signifiers be manipulated to express the omnipresence of contradiction?  
     How can I create tension between surface quality and illusionistic depth?

Timeline:
Week 1:

• research
• collect imagery
• experiment with composition thumbnails

Week 2:

• finalize composition thumbnails
• build stretcher and prime surface 

Week 3 - 5:

• PAINT 

Foci:
1. How well was the intention communicated in the final piece?
2. Was it able to further elucidate the concept continued from the first project?
3. How ambitious was the work, and how "complete" was the final outcome?   

Reassessment:
Thus far I've managed to keep with my timeline. I'm satisfied with the direction my work is taking and think it will be a solid reflection of what I'm capable of achieving within this deadline. Still, I'm concerned about how slowly the work is progressing. I plan on increasing the number of hours I spend on it by finding more time between classes, on weekends, and over the holidays. I want to push myself and the piece so that it will reflect with some confidence my current intentions and interests, not just five weeks of work.


Final Painting:

 

Critique Questions:

1.  What is your intent with the work?

Ultimately, I want to communicate an awkwardness derived from the contradictions that pervade our lives. I want to manipulate the universal connotations of certain objects to suggest tension and encourage the viewer to question the meaning and interaction of the objects.

2.  How well does the completed work meet your intentions?

In the beginning, the work met my intentions nicely, but as the painting progressed it brought to light new questions that I need to work toward resolving in the next paintings.

3.  What about the work didn't hit the mark, or meet your intentions?

I still have to determine the most successful way to deal with space. With this piece I tried to flatten the image and create a shallow space that would emulate a backdrop rather than suggesting actual space. I'm going to experiment more with more believable space.

4.  What is the next work's focus?

Determining the most successful spatial approach and color palette while still working with the same objects. I plan to work bigger and with a more complete range of color.