Due 5/6
Collect your semester’s essays with a full bibliography or works cited.
● Illustrate your final document with photos of your works in progress and your final work.
● Demonstrate your core argument and the most effective answer to the thesis concept
For my thesis, I have not solved any issues or dilemmas, I have merely created multiple visual representations, through the mediums of painting and projection mapping, that both depict and signify my growth over the past few years, through the use of motifs of nature. Why have I decided to use these mediums? I’ve always been a painter. I find painting freeing and it’s one of the only things that I can do without overthinking. One of my favorite parts about painting is the movement. In particular, my movements when I’m painting different strokes; the movement of the paint on the canvas; and the illusion of movement in a finished painting. However, I often find that paintings, no matter how many layers are tacked onto the canvas, still turn out too flat. So, I thought I’d take it to the next level and add another medium into play: projection mapping. I wanted to bring projection mapping into the mix to achieve more texture, depth and movement to each piece – my goal for my thesis.
As an artist, I have always hoped that my work would expose my audience to myself, and I wanted my thesis to do just that. I have aimed to create something intimate that elicits a variety of interpretations. One of my favorite painters, Mark Rothko, once said: “…A painting is not a picture of an experience; it is an experience” (Seiberling,1959). Not only is it an experience for me but a unique experience for every viewer as well. And with each experience to the painting comes the exploration of expansive ideas and thoughts. I think that this is so powerful. Paintings evoke “…contemporary states of being” (Twemlow, 2013).
Art always conveys meaning and tells a story. But there is something in melding the natural with the technological that other mediums can’t convey. It is why I chose Design and Technology as my major and I wanted to create a thesis project that conveyed this as well. Additionally, by melding the natural and technological worlds, I want viewers to recognize the undeniable significance of both in our lives. Taking a painting and transforming it digitally allows me to create a piece of art that is totally new and everchanging, with different layers and textures.
My new Thesis idea consists of a series of paintings with projections that abstractly depict the different stages of my personal growth over the years, as well as, depict my personal relationship with nature now and over the years. It is a reflection on my different stages from before getting accepted into Parsons, my time during Parsons and where I am now, now that my time at Parsons is coming to an end. Each painting and projection represent how I’m changing, how my views are changing and how my moods are changing. I will always have a bad day, but I will also always have a good day just like the weather. I, as well, will always continue to change just like the weather. My Thesis consists of three paintings – my more innocent self; my in-between self and my more jaded, adult self – and three projections. The projections are manipulated pictures and videos of places that I consider home during different stages of my life and, as well, different types of seasons and weather.
Adding this technological aspect to my painting has inspired and transformed my creative process. Instead of just thinking about my painting, I’m also actively thinking about my projection and what it will look like against the painting; how the relationship between the paint, the canvas and the projections will all interact together. This has also allowed me to create visually appealing and meaningful abstract statements through multiple mediums. Additionally, it has enabled me to become more in touch with the personal and almost spiritual aspects of design and technology, producing work that elicits stronger emotional responses!
As a painter, I’m interested in the relationship between the paint and the canvas. Specifically, how the paint reacts to the canvas before it dries, after it dries and everything in between. This relationship is one of my favorite parts about painting. I like to disrupt this relationship by spraying copious amounts of water before and after I apply the paint. I do this repetitively, building layer after layer. Though they are quick motions, every placement of paint and spray of water is very thought out. By doing this, I can adjust the texture and levels accordingly. This is how I approached each of my thesis paintings.
