Sunday, January 24, 2010
Class Exercise B.
Today we're supposed to make constructive criticism on an image of our choice, based on our lecture notes from last week! :)
We've chosen to critique Witono's work, here it is:
Description.
Witono's work is clear-cut and to the point in its "green" and environmentally conscious message. The use of highly contrasted images on a plain white background immediately draws my attention to the centre of the image, where the hands holding the plant are. His work is visually and aesthetically pleasing, and the black & green work very well on the white background.
Analysis.
Although the black-coloured hands and forearms already present a stark contrast on the plain white background, thus drawing a lot of the audience's attention to them, what really captures my attention was the bright green of the 2 leafed plant. Perhaps it was because of the fact that green was the least used colour in this 3-colour image that made me turn my gaze to it immediately and place my visual focus on it. To me, this was the most striking, and the key element of the image, i.e. the main focus of Witono's message to the audience.
Interpretation.
The title of the piece, "In Your Hands", connotes the sense that the state of global warming in our world is indeed in our hands, as displayed by the little plant held cupped in the hands of the person in the picture. To me, the plant looks exceedingly vulnerable, fragile, delicate and in need of someone to care for it, as indicated by the protective cupping gesture the hands make around the plant. Witono's usage of the pun "in your hands" connotes a double meaning, 1) the literal visual display of the plant being in the hands of the person in the image and 2) that it is within our ability, power and control to change the state of global warming in the world. The fate of the world's environmental well-being is indeed in our hands.
Judgement.
The vulnerability and fragility of the earth's ecosystem is effectively conveyed through Witono's clever use of the small 2-leafed plant. The bright green also effectively draws focus to the plant, the main component of the image. The image gives a clear message on global warming, treasuring nature, and that it's in our hands to keep our environment healthy. However, there's just one thing that Kristle and I thought he could improve on. After looking at his image for awhile, we gathered that the black liquid oozing down along the arms and hands is supposed to show melting arms & hands, giving a literal representation of global warming and the melting polar ice caps (as confirmed by Witono as the original meaning behind the black liquid). This, however, currently gives the impression of blood, due to the colour and thickness of the liquid, which is completely different from his intention.
Suggestion: To give the liquid a bluish, semi-transparent look, in order to convey the look of icicles melting into water. This would more accurately visually represent the melting polar ice caps.
I tried my best to keep close to the Constructive Criticism model Jing touched on in our second lecture. Hope this gives a satisfactory critique! :)
Other things we learnt today:
Today we learnt about how it is really important to set your photoshop file size correctly before beginning work in it. I learnt this the hard way a year or two back... I was designing a poster for my faculty publicity event and did it under 150 dpi. (this was before i knew about resolution) The image was meant for printing, and I eventually had to open a new file at 300 dpi and redraw the entire image. It was a very painful lesson, indeed. x(
♥ head in clouds.
7:25 PM
