Drawing-Reimagining Times Square

There are two pictures from the MoMA visit that I think have an influence on my work.

The first image is From a Day with Juan II by Georgia O’ Keeffe, created in 1977. Space is shallow because most lines are horizontal, the value is limited, and colors are all cool, no overlapping shapes. I like the changing of value in this work and this influence my choice I color my line drawing in PS.

The second image is Green Rug by Philip Guston, created in 1976. The space in this painting is shallow. The outlines of the rug and the vibes are horizontal and vertical, which flatten the space and look static. The value is also limited. The color is darker in the upper and right halves, giving some sense of space. The vibes overlap too. The influence that this image has in my work is the color, as well as the black outline.

Below are five Time Square photos.

I love stair in the Time Square that it fits into the busy surroundings but people can take a rest, do something they want and observe the people passing by.

There are a lot of people in Time Square and they all walk fast. The piles of newspapers on the ground keep moving when people walk past them.

Time Square is such a busy and prosperous place.

I like the picture because I can see a lot of clear lines pointing at the vanishing point. It has a very strong sense of deep space.

This picture is just one angle of Time Square and it is not from any popular photo-taking positions. But it clearly points out the prosperity of Time Square. This is also the original picture of my line drawing.

Quick perspective sketches in class

My perspective sketches of Time Square

Perspective Analysis – digital analysis of 3 times square photos.

Sketches – images of all ideas/concepts

My three ideas are jellyfish, coral reef and chains.

I want to keep part of the buildings the as the way they look now. So my choice is between coral reef and chains. I am more fond of the city undersea and I love the complex structure of the coral reef as well as its texture; that’s why I choose to use coral reef mostly, with a few jellyfish as decoration.

 

Line Drawing

Illustrator file

I want to use cool, modern-like colors on the tall buildings. As a contrast, the coral reefs are all in vivid, warm color. The sky is gray and the ground is yellow. I want to make the picture has a sense of absurdness. It has some parts of reality and coldness, but it also has childlike warm colors that look like come from fairy stories.

Photoshop file, in process

Final image

My goal is to make the undersea scene has a strong visual expression and interesting contrast. Just like things undersea, it looks a little bit messy but everything is in order. At first glimpse, it looks like an image of a lively undersea scene, where a lot of creatures busily live in. However, if look carefully, it is actually a scene of death and horror: The carol reefs are dead and they climb and cover the tall, modern buildings. The fishes from deep sea where is complete darkness and full of danger.