I began by looking at what photos I had to work with and chose some that I felt could work well with each other. I chose photos of myself and backgrounds I like, and from there decided on a continuous narrative. I put the photos into a spread and sketched out how they can be arranged in photoshop.
I chose to organize the subjects as seamless and interactive with each other. I places things on the ground that belong there (cars, standing self and others) and other landscapes with skies toward the top of the page. I was inspired by some of my favorite hip hop artists such as ASAP Rocky, ASAP Ant (from the greater ASAP Mob) who make music videos that are very fast moving and active. I was inspired by ASAP Mob’s “ASAP Forever” music video which uses surfaces of objects are a frame for the next scene. I was also inspired by Trippie Redd’s “A Love Letter To You 2” album cover, which is a collage of pictures of him throughout his life and scanned to look like one busy photo. I am photoshopping the work and print it out many times. I will rip up the work by subject and paste them onto one print out in a few areas. I will also paint over some areas to add color and analog methods to the piece. When complete, I will scan the work and reprint, having photoshop, paint, and exposed ripped paper components.
Process
Beginning with the compiled photos I found throughout my camera roll from the past year or so, I worked from the bottom right corner of the Photoshop file clockwise until the area was completely filled. I put my skills to a test, using layer masks, adjustment layers, and layering to jumble and organize these pictures in a creative way. I carefully exposed certain scenes to make each facet of the piece interesting. Once the organization of the piece was to my satisfaction, I put an hue adjustment layer over the entire thing and played with the different colors I could manipulate the piece with. Since two of my favorite colors are green and purple, I went with that theme. As I was shooting to create what would essentially be my album cover if I was a rapper in today’s day and age, I put my Photoshop document in the frame of a Youtube video to complete my work’s aesthetic.
For some reason, the picture of my car remained white, which I then thought to my idea of watered down paint to use on that section of the piece. My first thought was to paint it blue, but I made four versions of the piece and chose my gut instinct which was the blue version. As far as titling the piece “Cellar Door”, I had just seen Donnie Darko in which it is written on a blackboard in cursive in a scene toward the end of the movie inspired me to use the phrase. “Of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, cellar door is the most beautiful.”
Final Product
