For this project I wanted to capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by a depressive outside environment and escaping with an inner world to cope with that. I often use my own interest in fantasy art and writing to cope with reality and how difficult it can be to exist within. I wanted to give that feeling of safety that having that escape gives, while also capturing the darker side of that by showing how it can lead you to close yourself off and not deal with what is actually hurting you. To that end I posed and did makeup in a way to create a depressive, lonely appearance.
The moving elements consist of stock video of cloud, nebula, and bokeh light effects layered on each other in a cloud behind the subject, showing it absorbing the person. There is also rain outside the window to add to the depressive mood. The animation is meant to convey moving outside of or escaping one's self into your imagination. I wish I had had more time to work on the animation side of this, because I would have liked to make something a bit more representational, but I think the sketchy animation also lends to the "art as an escape" undertones I tried to imply with the scattered art supplies.
The photo of myself was taken by me and the person walking animation was also created by me. All other images were obtained from Pixabay and fall under their terms of use.
In Escapism by Miranda Santana, Miranda captures the feeling of depression and sorrow through an unstilled dystopia. In the animated portrait, the artist is represented sitting in a room by herself, staring out the window with a sad expression. While sitting in the room alone, clouds shroud her with the movement of white figured people running through the clouds. The sense of sadness seems to overcome her throughout the room with the added use of blue color scheme throughout the animation.
ReplyDeleteFrom reviewing the artwork, I interpret the artist as representing the feeling of depression while longing to want to escape the draining emotion. This interpretation is based on the color scheme used throughout the animation. The use of the dark blue tone throughout the subject and the room persuade me to view the animation as sad and mellow. Another piece from the artwork that represents the piece as depression and sadness is the emotion conveyed on the subject's face. In the artwork the subject seems to be frowning while staring out of the window, indicating signs of sadness. The added use of the clouds and their colors help give the artwork a more uplifting perspective on the subject but based on the other factors of the work, the use of the clouds and figures running out help elaborate more on the sense of depression by reading as the happiness of the subject is running away from their souls.
Based on the interpretation of the work, I feel it reads very well and is easily understood. From the use of the color tone and the emotions displayed by the subject, viewers can catch the emotion that is being displayed through the work. The digital composting of the piece is well displayed. From viewing the environment of the work, the artist did well in creating a distorted and torn environment that helps give the audience a better feeling of emotion that is being conveyed through the work. Though the execution of the work is well done, I feel the added use of the white figures in the clouds could have been left out. The concept of them reads well but with the use and movement of the clouds I see the subjects as unnecessary extras.
I feel the reason for this work helps represent the emotion of people that struggle with depression, stress, or any feeling of just being overwhelmed. The artwork expresses sadness in a dreamscape style that helps represent the feeling of depression that is not too easily displayed and brash, subtly easing viewers into understanding the emotion of how others going through the issue may feel.
From the artwork, the artist uses a great display of emotion to capture the viewer into the dreamscape of the animation. With the use of blue color tones and the movement of pieces within the artwork, the artist represents the feeling of depression and isolation that many may feel within their daily lives, opening the issue and emotion to viewers. Though certain pieces of the work could be changed, the artist displayed their work well with great execution of displaying its purpose.