This composite uses a photo of my roommates on a trip to the Mint Museum. We were all intrigued by the many layers and details within the planet-like glass sculpture. I used this image to composite stock images of planets to bring together aspects of art and life in a conversation about viewership and experience. I used Generative AI to provide a more indeterminate and atmospheric background to contribute to the setting the space-like scenery. The concept behind using planets that reference the focus, the artwork, is from a philosophy of contemporary art where is reflective of life as such; the two cannot be separated. I wanted to capture the beauty found within small moments of experiencing not only art but all moments of life in this composite.
The Transformative Portrait entitled “Planetary Reflections” (not sure who the artist is) showcases two individuals staring into a large globe on a table. Behind them, a rotating solar system is flying through space encircling them. I can’t tell where this portrait takes place, but it almost looks like a storefront or museum. Within the large globe, there appears to be a landscape of some type – looks imaginary – and the translucent exterior seems to be in motion as well, drawing our eyes a bit to its movement, creating another focal point.
ReplyDeleteBecause the work focuses on globes and the solar system, I imagine that it is themed around the planets, including earth. I can’t tell if the topic is environmental in nature or if it is just a fascination with the topic of planets and the solar system in general. The emotion of the two figures is pensive, not particularly exploratory in nature. They are thinking and considering what they are seeing in front of them, which is highly contemplative vs. action oriented in nature.
With the globe and planets rotating around the subjects, the concept of planets was very literal, so it was easy to understand what this work was about. I think, especially with the background, the surrounding could have been pushed a bit more to be more immersive in the world of the solar system – for instance, the artist could have added a night sky with stars behind the main characters vs. just leaving it as the room where they are standing. This could help them appear to be transported to another space and time vs. them looking at museum like artifacts.
Overall, the motion is good throughout the piece. The planets are rotating as they do in the solar system. The translucent part of the large globe is a bit hard to see and doesn’t really catch my eye initially. The biggest motion comes from the planets flying around the characters, creating almost a frame around the two subjects. It might have been a good idea to increase the movement of the large globe or the interior scene, so that it too would become a focal point, but as it is now, it was a secondary focal point for me.
I think in general, people have been fascinated by space and how the earth fits into the vast expanse. Scientists for years have been exploring the ideas of life on other planets, stars outside of our galaxy, the concept of aliens, etc., so I think this topic fits well with current scientific exploration. There are some people, like myself, who don’t think about concepts of space on a daily basis, so this work definitely encouraged me to consider the components of the universe and its motion in a different way.
While the artist could have immersed us a bit more in the environment of this globe and planets, on the whole, I think the concept works really well. The gaze of the two figures points to a focal point – the large globe – while the smaller planets circling them creates a nice boarder/frame. Overall, I think this is a very well-done transformative portrait.