Week 14: Representation, Abstraction, Symbolism

Representational

This advertisement uses vegetables to represent the body's organs in order to communicate to the viewer that vegetables are essentially all the human body needs to sustain itself. Clever use of color and shape, the cauliflower represents the lungs, the tomato as the heart, the ginger as the intestines, etc. The representation of the vegetables as internal organs produces a double meaning as it operates to communicate the health factor and the necessity to the body.

Abstraction

This abstract image is a compilation of various components of China's industrialization, featuring buildings and traffic signs. Utilizing a heavy diagonal throughout the image, the various buildings and signs are suspended and artfully placed and rearranged such that the abstraction is rather evident. Decorated with intentional blemishes, the image communicates to the viewer the destructive nature of China's industrialization, albeit illustrating the beauty and creativity of such destruction. Individually, each component is dirty and unappealing, but combined in such a manner, the pieces are beautifully gathered in this composition.

Symbolism

This poster for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind features what appears to be a section ripped out of a publication. This ripped area symbolizes the erasure or discontinuation of a relationship. The cutting of ties with the woman featured in the poster is symbolized in the ripping, and this is evident to the demographic of the audience who have seen this movie. With the prior knowledge of important themes of the movie, the viewer would understand the significance of what exactly the text and ripping symbolize, which is the idea of erasing a person from one's memory.

Week 13: Applications

(via Paul Johnson)

This film poster illustration depicts flatness, regularity, balance, accent, and understatement. These visual techniques are evident in the poster's emphasis towards the bottom of the image, as the vertically aligned text guides the eye down toward the figures. The muted colors also introduce a sense of neutrality to the image, also enhancing the flatness. The two-dimensional quality corresponds with the sense of understatement and balance. The two figures above are obviously accented from the five Japanese men on the bottom, but are standing side by side, sharing similar grim expressions, lending to the poster's sense of balance.

(via Paul Johnson)

This poster, also an illustration by Paul Johnson, depicts exaggeration, activeness, intricacy, and spontaneity. The use of color is quite exaggerated, especially contrasted with the figure's pale skin. However, the deep reds, blues, and yellows definitely bring about an animated dynamic that the previous poster lacked. The implied air blowing across the figure's skirt also depicts activeness and motion. There is a heavy diagonal motif throughout the illustration, as the text is slanted from bottom left to the upper right. Similarly, the figure's hair and skirt blow in the same direction, following the same line as the clouds in the background. The heavy use of detail offer a sense of intricacy, which is further enhanced by the contrast in color, as opposed to the previous poster in which detail was indeed utilized, but was lost in the muted colors.

Week 11: Contrast

This advertisement for this household cleaning product is depicted in the fashion of a typical perfume ad. The contrast between the elderly cleaning lady and her young male counterpart makes for a humorous and therefore effective advertisement. In order to mock the passion and overly dramatic perfume ads, the intent of this ad campaign was to make the product seem irresistible and sexy, conveying the "have-to-have-it" factor. The approach is very amusing due to the dramatic contrast between the two subjects, making for a bizarre pairing. By replacing the typical sexy woman with this cleaning lady, the viewer is caught off guard and left to wonder why on earth there is an elderly lady instead. The moment of realization allows the viewer to then analyze the product itself. Moreover, this advertising campaign is thoroughly successful in its use of contrast of its subjects.

Week 10: Movement/Motion

(via Richard Avedon | Dovima with the Elephants, ca. 1955)

Avedon's famous photograph depicts a model, Dovima, donning a Dior evening gown, amidst a starkly contrasting background of several elephants. Movement is a prevalent motif in this image as the silk from the gown creates a line, but does not dismiss the fluidity of the silky material. Also, her arms are positioned in a way such that they create a fluid yet powerful juxtaposition against the large, textured elephants behind her. The elephants are incredibly effective in depicting movement in the image in that the various shapes of their bodies (i.e., their trunks, legs, leathery skin, large ears) are in motion, yet they offset the silkiness and softness of the gown. Similarly, the way in which the model is facing away from the camera gives her a sharp edge, enhancing the depth of field by creating shadows along her neckline. The elegance of the model's graceful, yet striking pose effectively counteracts the enormity of the elephants in the background, however both subjects depict motion in their free-flowing movements.

(via Essie)

This advertisement depicts a nail polish being thrown against a stream of water, creating an intense action shot of water splashing every which way. Motion is denoted quite plainly in this image, and offers a great deal of depth in relation to the bottle. The refraction in the water also gives the image dimension as the various whites and greys are evenly yet haphazardly distributed throughout the image. Also, the water contributes to the dynamic quality of the image. The viewer can interpret that the image, although static, depicts motion through apparent movement and the viewers' prior understanding of the world. The water droplets on the right and thick stream of liquid from the left imply that the water is flowing from the left into the direction of the thrown bottle of nail polish, caught in midair and engulfed in the liquid.

Week 9: Dimension, Depth, Space

(via Jan von Holleben | Dreams of Flying)

von Holleben's series "Dreams of Flying" creates the illusion of space underwater as he poses his subject laying on the ground, seemingly depicting a scene of scuba diving. The illusory water scene is constructed from tarp on top of which the subject lies on, however, the play in size of the props surrounding the boy gives the impression of depth. In actuality, all objects within the frame are of the same proximity to the camera. The varying sizes allow the viewer to believe some objects are further away than others, faking dimension and depth. However, the viewer is able to decipher the reality of the image's dimensions by analyzing the texture gradient of the tarp and small fish, and the relative size of everything that initially tricked the eye into perceiving depth and creating space that did not otherwise exist. Due to the cleverness of the size of the surrounding objects, this image was successfully arranged in depicting the various dimensions of depth and space.

Week 8: Tone & Color

Tone successfully demonstrates the contrast between the lightness of the bouncy house and the darkness of the shadows coupled with the lack of pigment in the adjacent houses. The use of tone is further enhanced by shape, in that the roundness of the bouncy house implies fun and whimsy. The three houses shown in the image have similar structure, but the bouncy house features very distinct and round shapes that is complimented by the playful tones.

Similarly, color plays an important role in this advertisement by communicating the playful nature of Windows Vista. Juxtaposing the neighboring houses, color operates by showing the consumer this house in particular is colorful and attractive. The brightness and saturation of the colors work to pop out at the consumer, using no subtlety whatsoever, emphasizing fun and entertainment. Additionally, color works with texture in this image by showing the smoothness of the plastic in contrast with the drab wood of the houses beside it. The primary colors and inflatable nature of the house lend to the metaphor of fun. The smooth texture of the house implies there is air within the structure, warranting the obnoxiously playful colors.

Week 7: Basic Elements - Architecture

Movement

The ceiling of this room offers a great sense of movement throughout the space. The geometric embellishments create a nice juxtaposition against the dynamic shape of the wooden panels. Similar to that of waves, the material of the ceiling also presents a refreshing contrast between the liquid it mimics and the dense wood. The fluidity of the ceiling creates a completely different composition for the room, and projects into the walls. It guides the eye down from the ceiling into the room, flowing into the space below and allowing the static elements to seem less inanimate.

Shape

(via Copenhagen, Denmark | office building)

This Danish office building shows a grid of 28 large rectangular windows throughout the front of the space. The linear shapes contributes to the heavy geometric element of the structure, in conjunction with the linearity of the multiple stairwells within the building itself. In addition, the doors reflect the shape of the windows, creating a heavier emphasis on the rectangle. The geometry of the windows allude to the office stereotype in which everything is very orderly and stagnant. However, the vibrant colors of the interior against the black window panes create a nice contradistinction while still preserving the linear perspectives.

Dimension

(via Phillippe Tournaire | Bague Paris)

This image depicts a French cityscape in miniature form atop a ring. Constructed out of platinum and gold materials, the cityscape looks extremely lifelike until the viewer sees the band underneath the base. With uncanny similarities with the actual structures, the models are, indeed, passable for actual buildings. However, the band underneath puts the image into perspective, giving the buildings dimension through scale. The juxtaposition of the model buildings with the ring insinuate that the buildings are, in fact, miniscule. The depth of the model gives it a hyperrealistic nature to the ring, also providing a surprising element.