Some pictures for the project at half size because blogger doesn't allow over 8MB. Also I don't know how to put the words above the pictures.

Research Artist #3 - Kyle Butler

This picture is a digital self portrait by Kyle Butler. It seems as though the space in this picture is used efficiently. The images shown on the screen follow an implied curve along the bottom of the screen allowing room for the artists face to show through almost unblocked. The artists hands and face also follow a curve from the middle of the image to the bottom right. The exposure on the original photo fits nicely with the idea that he's in front of a computer screen because the hand touching the screen is very bright and the artist's face is also lit up by the screen.

Identity is addressed in this image through showing a self-portrait of the artist performing an activity. Instead of a stationary self-portrait, the artist is interacting with the computer and you can see his reaction to what is happening on the screen. Many parts of the artists identity can be gathered by what's displayed on the screen. There are photos of various friends or possibly family, and Batman the Dark Knight is playing.

The aspect I like most about this image is the concept behind flipping the desktop backwards so it appears that the viewer is inside the computer looking out at the artist. I think the black border around the main part of the image helps this concept of being inside the computer. Finally, I enjoyed how the artist was able to include many more insights into his identity through what he put on the screen.

Research Artist #2 - Chuck Close

This piece of artwork is (I believe) traditional paints and created by Chuck Close. First off this piece has a strong sense of rhythm because of the repetition of squares. It's not too repetetive though because the squares somewhat blend with the other surrounding squares. There is very little actual line in this image. Like in realism much line is replaced with gentle gradients. This picture seems to have a good balance of light and dark. The colors in the individual squares are very vibrant yet so small that when seen from a distance the eye blends them into the skin tones. It seems to me that the eye on the right is a little too high.

This image deals with identity most apparently because the subject of the image is the artists self-portrait. I believe that the style they chose to represent themself shows some of their identity also. The squares remind me of pixels on a computer each filled with their own individual data. This could mean that the artist is strongly connected with technology. I'm also noticing that in the portrait the artist has a blank expression and I wonder if there's a significance to that.

The reason I was interested in this picture was the interesting variation on what could have been just an every day portrait. I have always liked pictures that have two very different looks when viewed from various distances. I also find it interesting that even though the squares remind me of pixels, the artist turned all the squares diagonal to make them seem less pixel-like.

Research Artist #1 - Negar Nahidian

This is a Digital Imaging and Collage piece of artwork by Negar Nahidian. The colors in the image are all on a grayscale value of one hue which gives the image a uniform and almost old-fashioned look. The focus of the piece is the double self-portrait which is centered and framed with a black border. There is an implied diagonal that runs from the bottom left to the top right behind the center photos which adds some variety to the very uniform picture. There is also some text that fades in and out of the top and bottom portions of the picture creating another diagonal which aids in the composition. There are also many other flowing elements in the image to contrast the formal parts such as the texture on the right and the semi-transparent black lines at the bottom.

This paragraph addresses identity through a double self portrait. The two halfs seem to be opposites of eachother alluding to the possibility that the artist felt like she ran two seperate lives. Maybe on the surface she appeared nice but in her mind she had a darker side.

This piece appealed to me because of the overall feel the color scheme gives. Also dualities such as the light and dark in this image intrigue me. The two drastically different portraits make me wonder at what might have been going on in the artists life so I enjoy that this image generates more images in my imagination.

Digital Arts assignment 1

The reason I'm studying to be an artist is because I have always enjoyed drawing. I don't think that I would be satisfied with any other career because I'd always wonder what would happen if I became an artist. The parts of digital art I'm interested in are animation and 2-d modeling. I also want to try out some of the skills needed for video game design to see if I like it. By the time I graduate I hope to have a competitive skill in techniques and a clear idea of the type of digital art I want to pursue.