Time Square Reimagined

 

         Seeing Place: Reconstructing Times Square

 

Max Ernst

Two Children Are Threatened by a Nightingale 

1924

Oil on wood with painted wood elements

The scene is dominated by cool colors. Different tones of blue create the illusion of space.  I tried to imitate this effect in my work.  The city and people in the background are very small while the house in the foreground appears to be big. The space is very deep.

 

Giorgio de Chirico

The Anxious Journey 

1913

Oil on canvas

Multiple perspective points were used in order to create an unsettling effect. The title itself suggests the mood of the work, colors like grey and black and sharp lines only add to this.  The space is deep, geometrical shapes create a feeling of order.  The sense of space is created by the black tunnels that seem to have no end. I tried to use multiple perspective points and geometrical shapes to make my drawing more interesting.

Inspiration

Because the majority of my photos where taken from a perspective where I was looking up I decided to create a version of Times Square  from a looking down point of view.  I don’t like Time Square as it is over-crowded, loud and too bright for me. The photos say exactly that. The photos have multiple perspective points and I decided to do the same with my sketches.

My ideal version of this place is similar to the city of Venice. The scene takes place in a near future. New York is facing a challenge of adapting the city to rising sea levels, and so canals and roof top parks and gardens are built.  As a consequence of climate change the whole city is covered with water only bridges allow people to cross from one side of the street to another and subway is replaced with water taxis and cars with boats.

 

I lost my sketchbook so I am unable to include sketches here, but my idea was very similar through out the process of sketching. I wanted Time Square to be an area where people actually live, and not a commercial center of the world. In the first drawing it was just a serene neighbourhood, later I started incorporating water and plants into my sketches.

Line Drawing

Illustrator File

 

Final Photoshop File

Leave a reply

Skip to toolbar