Session #13: “Synthesize This”
First sketch of the project by Yuting Zeng
The progress of the project by Yuting Zeng
Further progress of the project by Yuting Zeng
“Nature and Humans” by Yuting Zeng
Reflection:
There was one time that I felt my understanding of the world changed. I used to think that humans can live peacefully with animals. When I was little, I always felt that animals are kind and generous so I expected humans treated them in the same way. Until I saw an article which talks about how cruel human beings are to those animals who have attractive and valuable skins. I saw the ugliness of human nature.
In my project, my artifact applies multiple elements of design, such as color, shapes, and textures. It also has a strong contrast between the object and the background in order to show the relationship between humans and nature. My inspiration comes from my daily life experience. I loved animals since I was little. I felt like animals are gifts that come from God in order to teach us how to love and give to others. In recent news, it is said that savannah elephants in South Africa are endangered because of ivory trades, therefore, I decided to make a collage in order to remind people that we should bring protection to those animals. I found out that making a collage brings my ideas together because I could use different materials to present my ideas.
Getting into the details of the project, first of all, I drew the sketch of my artwork. Then, I used the “pen tool” in Adobe Illustrator to contour the shapes of the deer. I used the laser cutter to cut out different shapes and I felt really excited because this is my first experience with it, but it is also a challenging part in this project. During the laser cutting, I found out that the laser didn’t cut through the plywood for the first time, so I have to do it a couple of times. Furthermore, I used fake feathers to fill up the deer shape in order to highlight the focal point in my art piece. Therefore, it helps people to interact with the art piece which reminds us of the relationship between humans and animals. At last, I used fresh leaves to decorate the background to represent nature. The main idea of this project not only reminds me that this was a time period that my understanding changed but also to remind people to love and protect animals, especially with appealing furs.
