Reconstructing Times Square

Review of Pictorial Space at the MoMA

Linear perspective creates depth in Giorgio de Chirico’s painting. He uses cool tones in the background and warm tones up close. I was inspired by this technique and thus chose to add a deep blue night sky to my piece. Just like Adrien Derain, I also used complimentary colours, blue and orange to create even more depth in the piece. Shape also plays a role in all of the above paintings, with the scale of the arches becoming smaller with distance in ‘The Enigma of a Day’. While I reconstructed Times Square in 5 point perspective, I sketched a bridge using the same concept.

Besides linear perspective, several other attributes add to the pictorial depth of the above paintings. These include the wide array of colours used, value of contrasting colours, size of the buildings in the distance as well as the overlapping shapes that create the illusion pf space. The trees in my piece decrease in size as they move further along as well overlap each other with distance. The skyscrapers and mountains too, are drawn with the concept of overlapping to enhance pictorial space.

Compelling photographs of Times Square

I found these images to be extremely interesting as they speak about the place and ambience of Times Square. The first image showcases the juxtaposition of ‘Pediatric Cancer’ alongside a ‘Coca Cola’ and ‘Samsung’ advert. Times Square is known for it’s larger than life hoardings and I felt like the photograph best captured the vide variety of things being advertised in one space.

The second images shows the amount of talent that exists in this tourist location. Besides the well known musicals there are several other theatres and dramas that are showcased in and around Times Square. The third image taken from the steps at the North end, is the perfect example of the amount of people that are visiting Times Square at all hours of the day. I felt like Times Square would be incomplete without it’s crowd of tourists and visitors. The fourth image is an example of the trash and dirt that exists amongst all the craziness. Even the bright lights don’t stop you from taking a peek at the floor and all the rubbish that is thrown on it. The fifth image is taken at a money exchange, with Minnie Mouse and several other Disney characters hanging around outside. I felt that the characters are a huge element of Times Square. And finally the last image is an image of someone getting their photograph clicked in the middle of the square. Each side you turn, you are going to witness such a view!

Perspective Analysis

 

1 point perspective

1 point perspective

1 point perspective

Sketches and ideas 

 

For this revision of Times Square, I thought of showing falling or toppling buildings in the centre, with concentric circles around it. These circles would act as seating for the visitors. The hoardings would ne loosely hanging on hinges instead of being attached to the exterior of the skyscrapers.

 

For my second idea to reconstruct Times Square, I took a sustainable view of the space and wanted to make a geometric green seating using wood and well as Terrarium stools. The surface of the buildings would be made of solar panels that would absorb the sunlight and provide electricity for all of the lights.

My third revision, was to flip Times Square by putting the advertisements in a zig zag pattern on the floor and pushing all the buildings very close to each other. The windows of the buildings would be looking out to the steps at the north end, as if Times Square lost all its sidewalks as was enclosed in a smaller space.

My last idea, was to make Times Square into a globe with the buildings looking like disco balls themselves. In order to make it a winter wonderland I wanted to add ice skating rinks, icebergs as well as a figure skater. The drawing was to be made in a 5 point perspective as if it was being seen through a fish lens just like a snow globe is.

Line Drawing of the reconstruction of Times Square

After drawing out my final sketch, I traced it with a fine black pen and scanned it. Using ‘levels’ on photoshop I cleaned up the image to get it ready for the colour.

Using illustrator to add colour 

While adding colour to the piece, I decided to use hues of the same colour in the building windows. The colours I chose were tones of pink, peach, purple along with blue and grey. The icy mountains in the background were coloured a pastel blue along with the ice rinks, in order to balance the background and foreground I incorporated a grey sky and moon. To make the bridge stand out I gave it a warm brown colour and added hues of green to the trees according to the light source. (the image is showing up to be much more saturated than it really is)

Creating texture and patterns with photoshop

My goal with photoshop was to add more dimension to the piece. To achieve that I eliminated the dreary grey sky and replaced it with a black starry night sky. This change added contrast for the buildings as well as the mountains. To make the mountains more realistic I superimposed the impression of icebergs onto them. Lastly, in order to eliminate the flatness of the ground that surrounded the ice rinks, I photoshopped an image of a snowy path with a little greenery creeping through. This grass complimented the green in the coniferous trees.