INTRODUCTION
In this project we were required to work in groups of 4 to create a concept map based on a location within walking distance of the UC. There were no restrictions on the material, size, or color — the only “restriction” was the concept of maps. My group (Adriana, Alex, Hannah, and me) were put off by the idea of a structured map, and therefore tried our best to deviate from the classical grid lines and blueprints.
DEVELOPMENT
With our agreement to stay away from a classical physical map we tried to think of ways to incorporate the concept of what a map is in with our ideas. I began researching areas of interest with a rich history in the city. I was immediately drawn to the West village and its gems: the counter-culture history that took place is nothing but appropriate for a group of art students. I also thought about a more specific location within the village, its famous jazz clubs. The rich history of jazz as a way to unify different cultures interested me a great deal due to my multicultural background. Bellow are the three ideas for each location and its research.
After presenting our ideas to each other we all seemed to be drawn to Alex’s favorite location: Caffé Reggio. Located at 119 Macdougal St, the historic cafe sits just bellow Washington Square, and has been since 1927. We had a long discussion of what the final piece should look like and how we would incorporate a little of everyone’s ideas. Since 3/4 of the group was illustration/fine arts and wanted to explore drawing and painting I felt compelled to give in and have a drawing centered project. My only requirement is that I would not be drawing from life (however I was willing to do anything else). To accommodate for this we agreed that image transfer would be the way to go.
We thought hard about how to get around the mapping issue conceptually. This is something I tried to really get engaged in since I knew from the start I would not have as much physical work of drawing as the others (and since some people in the group expressed dislike for conceptual art). I suggested we look at what maps are most commonly used for: navigating a space. With this concept in mind we thought of how to merge the idea of navigating in the context of people. We proceeded to the cafe to observe what sort of scenario we were working with. Upon arrival we were immediately taken back by the large number of eccentric characters in the space, as well as the untouched artwork that hung around the walls. We were filled with inspiration and agreed that this overwhelming feeling could be used perfectly to develop our concept. In the end, we agreed that our final piece would be a “map” of the unusual characters and art, helping us navigate around the overwhelming experience that is Caffé Reggio.
After arriving and agreeing on a concept we decided to pull inspiration from the European Renascence art hung around the cafe (see example above). We wanted to create a Last Supper inspired piece with seven characters intertwined and not completed, allowing for a modern contemporary feel, with a overlaying light line drawing blueprint of the cafe. We also agreed that image transfer of lines in the space could be used to unify the piece. My group members spent that afternoon sketching interesting characters, and since I would be photographing the space I spent my time documenting their process and analyzing the lines and lighting of the space (see bellow). I realized how dark, grey, and underexposed the inside of the cafe was. I became increasingly worried of how I would get contracted images with a decent exposure without direct sunlight. I knew in that moment I would need to shoot digital raw images as to later on edit them in Lightroom. In addition, the fact that I mainly do portraiture played I role in my decision to use digital, as it would allow room for error.
After leaving we discussed roles (posted on canvas) as well as materials. The image transfer would only take to thicker paper, and unfortunately Blick did not have any long thick papers. We also realized upon drawing that seven characters in five days would lower the quality of our work. Since we wanted to stick to an odd number we decided to move on to 3. Our discussion of materials lead us to land on graphite, a brown charcoal (similar to the colors of the cafe), and a light brown wash of paint to unify the characters.
We meet up 2 more times in the cafe, once to sketch characters (which is where we got two our final three portraits from) and photograph in daylight, and another time at night to get the full spectrum of people that attend this location. During the photographing process I knew I should focus on two things: lines and contrast. I made sure to get a wide variety of shapes as sized within the cafe. I also tried to work with the contrast of objects against the brightness of the window light. I also looked at the white of specific pieces of art — which is where I got the images of the plates from our final piece. Bellow you can see some of the photos I though worked for our final piece (as well as some extras I enjoyed).
Next week, in class again, we combined our work. We hung up the pieces of paper we’d bought and I brought in the 200 edited images. Together, we decided what character were going to be drawn, composition, and how we would present the piece. Bellow you can see examples of our conversation on aesthetic principles. The first image is a sketch we all contributed to of the final piece. (We decided to abandon the use of lines as a connective motif among the images. We all agreed that having too much on the page would result in a crowded image with no sense of direction. Although this meant I would be doing less physical work I understood that it was for the greater good of the final piece. I tried even harder to contribute to discussions and decisions, as well as assisting the others during their work.)
We agreed that the portrait drawings would all be done by Sunday before the Tuesday they were due. We gathered that Sunday in the early afternoon at the UC in a private classroom, where we hung up the pieces and discussed our next steps. After a few hours putting the final touches on the drawings, we added the light wash of paint to each character, keeping in mind both the aesthetic preference of each individual, as well as the combination of all three works. We set the images with fixative and had a break, after which the pieces would be handed over to me. During this break I got the opportunity to think of how I would image transfer on to the delicate materials of the images. I did some trials where I would transfer on top of charcoal, graphite, and paint wash set and unset and analyzed the results to pick what would look best (As well as ruin the least). Bellow are images of my trials.
After deciding how I was going to go about it I began the transferring process. Starting with the old lady, I laid out the photograph in different areas around the head, looking for the most balanced and visible location. When the location finally looked right I taped down the image and began the transfer process. I decided to leave a little of the clack background so the place could be distinguished. I repeated this process 2 more times, avoiding transferring on top the image. In addition, deciding which plate would go to each portrait was rather clear; each character appears to represent something different: wisdom, anger, and innocence. With that, each plate had a different image (two angels and a conversation with a person), so I decided to give the two angels to the character at the sides, and the plate where one person appears to be calming down the other I gave to the character in the middle.
In the end we hung up the three pieces again to draw the light blueprint of Caffé Reggio on top. However, we soon realized how ugly this looked and instead decided to borrow from the form of a blueprint, adding graphic straight lines around the characters as a way to almost place them in space. Once we were satisfied with the piece we broke off and waited for Tuesday for our final critique.
CRITIQUE
Our critique was extremely helpful. We began by explaining our concept, to which the majority of our classmates understood. Overall, the feedback was positive, however we did receive some criticism. One person stated they did not see how our project fulfilled the map requirements of the prompt, to which we argued many of the other projects were also not literal maps, and that the concept of our piece was derived from maps. In addition, we received some comments on how we could have incorporated elements beyond the 2D realm as a way to explore a new medium. I actually agree with this statement, I feel as though exploring a new craft in a group would create a safe environment for error and growth. I am extremely happy with our collaboration and final piece.
