Pieces / Lines / Elements

These are the pieces of hand draw elements that could evoke certain characteristics. Lines could emote different meanings from what I researched.

Thin lines are fragile. They appear easy to break or knock over. They suggest frailty and convey an elegant quality. They are delicate and give off an ephemeral air.

Thick lines on the other hand appear difficult to break. They suggest strength and give emphasis to nearby elements. Thick lines are bold and make a statement.

Horizontal lines are parallel to the horizon (hence the name). They look like they’re lying down, at rest, asleep. They suggest calm and quiet, a relaxed comfort.

Horizontal lines can’t fall over. They accentuate width. They’re stable and secure. The convey an absence of conflict, a restful peace. Horizontal lines by their connection to the horizon are associated with earth bound things and idea.

Vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon. They are filled with potential energy that could be released if they were to fall over. Vertical lines are strong and rigid. They can suggest stability, especially when thicker. Vertical lines accentuate height and convey a lack of movement, which is usually seen as horizontal.

They stretch from the earth to the heavens and are often connected with religious feelings. Their tallness and formality may give the impression of dignity.

Diagonal lines are unbalanced. They are filled with restless and uncontrolled energy. They can appear to be either rising or falling and convey action and motion. Their kinetic energy and apparent movement create tension and excitement. Diagonal lines are more dramatic than either horizontal or vertical lines.

Diagonal lines can also appear solid and unmoving if they are holding something up or at rest against a vertical line or plane.

Curved lines are softer than straight lines. They sweep and turn gracefully between end points. They are less definite and predictable than straight lines. They bend, they change direction. Curved lines express fluid movement. They can be calm or dynamic depending on how much they curve. The less active the curve the calmer the feeling.

Zigzag lines are a combination of diagonal lines that connect at points. They take on the dynamic and high energy characteristics of diagonal lines. They create excitement and intense movement. They convey confusion and nervousness as they change direction quickly and frequently. They can imply danger and destruction as they break down.

– The Meaning of Different Kind of Lines

Visually Interpreting “Masks Transcending Time”

Holding on to the concept of Jung’s archetypes – a primal part of humans, ever present through various cycles of life, I am required to find a constant that does not change through time.

1. I decided to use the basic face shapes of humans as a basis / system to layer the elements of the masks on. These basic elements differ as the uses of mask differs too. My aim is to find visual representations for each use, by using visual metaphors which evokes the characteristics of the masks.

2. Above are examples of the treatment that I will be using, a lot of organic textures, hand drawn to give it a primal, basic feel that comes from using the hands to draw/make.

3. I am looking into how the pieces would contribute to the meaning / characteristic of the masks.

For Light and Memory – Painting and Collage by Sergei Sviatchenko

This is an interesting technique where the face is being cut out and you can literally see right through them. Perhaps the face is only a veneer that when removed, it could possible reveal so much more.

Drawing on and harnessing all of the cultural tides he has experienced in 40 years of image-making, Sviatchenko’s oeuvre spans the known and the unimaginable. It cuts through the boundaries of traditional and contemporary visuals to merge pop culture with politics, personal memory with collective histories, and architecture and science with the logic of dreams.

For several years now, Sergei Sviatchenko has produced photo-collages that look like his own and no one else’s. A Sviatchenko piece may consist of only two or three interlinked elements floating on a vividly colored background of blue, yellow, green or pink. One of his periodic series is titled Less and reduction is his unfailing aim. The fewer the images, the more the pressure on each component increases, and the more crucial the acts of selection, excision and montage become, since everything depends on the associations and implications forced from this relationship. The flatness of the backgrounds is jarring and unusual; many collagists prefer to set their images into delicate beds of paper that can be savored for their colors and texture. Sviatchenko’s harshly bright and depthless backdrops deny his images any sense of location and push his constructions forward graphically as sculptural objects. The sharp cuts that he makes around, and into, his often monochrome source pictures give them a blunt, aggressive, anti-realist outline that helps to counteract the otherwise overpowering color. The final outcome is a limited edition C-print, which further flattens the image.

–Design Observer

Despite the disquieting intimations of violence, exploitation and control as the image grapples with itself, this “elephant man” exists first of all to fulfill the collagist’s desire to make another world from the chaotic visual debris of a planet in a state of permanent flux. All Sviatchenko will add is that reconfigurations of this kind create a new “story” in which viewers must discover their own associations: “Then everyone can look for their own reality.”

Takeaway: These collages by Sviatchenko are not overwhelming in terms of the use of elements, instead he uses a few pieces, more often two to three and creating a tight composition that is well balanced. The use of bright solid colours as the background elevates the collage pieces. I am especially interested in the portraits that he did via collage. Displacing the face, it is as if, the more you cover it, the more you are revealing. Not in a literal sense but more of a symbolic sense.