Transformative Portrait- Adrienne Ray
The idea of this portrait is that I often feel like a robot. I grew up just always doing what others told me and I stick to routines and scripts, especially when I'm at work. I'm not really attached to anything, and I don't have much to reveal so it was challenging to find a strong concept.
Adrienne Rey’s Transformative Portrait is a 6-second video that combines digital compositing and post-production animation effects. The composition consists of a central figure standing against a dark, swirling background. The figure has a cardboard-like robot head that tilts back and forth while maintaining its gaze with the viewer. The figure is costumed in a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. The background is a near-black void with a gray spiral that swirls continuously.
ReplyDeleteThe portrait of the figure, anonymous in form but interpreted as the artist, seems to present a character frozen in time. The hypnotic background combined with the mechanical lateral movement of the robot head contribute to the analysis of the figure as “stuck.” They seem to be confined to a set space, a set routine, a set moment. Transformative Portrait seems to describe the artist’s detachment from their passions and a dullness in life. The central composition contributes the sense of entrapment within the frame and allows the viewer to interpret the subject as contained.
The minimal visual cues in this work are an effective choice that allows their viewer to interpret the meaning. Since the subject is portrayed as stuck in routine and contained within the video, it makes conceptual sense that there are a minimal number of moving elements. As a portrait, the work is fairly traditional with a central composition and static figure. As a transformative portrait, the concept could have been pushed further. How can the passage of time/days be communicated? Perhaps a more futuristic background could have been used or the figure could be in the state of becoming more robotic. (1/2)
The motion component of the work also contributes to the sense of routine and confinement. The jerky head movements juxtapose the swirling background and create a sense of the uncanny and unease. One element that could have been more fully realized are the pulsing of the eyes. The blue glow within the black bulbs could have been pushed even further to create a stronger focus since many viewers are drawn to the eyes of portraits. If the lights were pulsing in a louder, rhythmic pattern, it could even support the sense of being locked into a routine.
ReplyDeleteTransformative Portrait seems to exist as a statement on the contemporary moment’s tendency to become lost. It is all too easy for us to become lost within routine, within life, within schedules, and within technology. This motion composite seems to communicate a possible route of the future if the viewer continues to move mindlessly throughout their days. The work seems to serve as a warning on monotony and ask the viewer to confront what in life serves only to contain. Transformative Portrait prompts the audience to address their own daily life and make a change as to not become the robot trapped in its sequence.
Rey’s video artwork, Transformative Portrait, is composed of a robotic-humanoid figure who stands against a swirling void. The composite presents this character as trapped in routine with repetitive motion and jerky head movements. The minimalist visuals contribute to the less of aimlessness and containment. The motion components juxtapose a hypnotic element with repetitive adjustments to keep the audience engaged but uneasy. The work seems to warn the viewer on the possibilities of falling into an empty routine to cause one to reevaluate their day with mindfulness and care. Overall, Transformative Portrait serves as a reminder to take care of oneself or become trapped within your own routine. (2/2)