For the final project I want to do a piece about growing up. Going from the carefree days of childhood, to a teenager, to an adult.
My idea is to have a row of a girl growing up in stages through part of her life; having it end in college. She'll be in profile in all of the stages. It will start off with a little girl in a dress and hair clips - that cliché kind of image, then go to her a few years older. I'm thinking she could be in a superman costume with that hands on her hips, in that superhero stance. Next have a freshman year high school version of her, with a book bag; nervous, but her head is still high. Then maybe a senior year high school hunched over from all of her books.
It will keep going after that, but the point is to visually show the "heaviness" of responsibilities and adulthood, and how difficult it is to deal with. I want to start off with her head high, exited about life, but as it goes on, she gets weighed down, till eventually I'll probably have her on the ground covered in books and bills and anything else I can think of.
I have also thought about having an old man leaning out, staring at the girl at end covered in books and whatnot; saying "This generation is so lazy" or something. Because I've heard older people say stuff like that, and its really unfair of them. Its something I'd like to call attention to. <----(EDIT) After thinking about it more, I might not do the old man at all. I think it might draw attention to itself and take away from what needs to be focused on.
Also, I'd like to point out that this will probably look like the Evolution of humans thing, but that's not what I was going for at all. I got the idea, when I was listening to the song "Into the Sea" by "As Cities Burn". It talks about our "Posture start[ing] to bend" and how "Nobody's back is straight". That got me thinking how heavy stress is, and that the burdens on our backs, really do weigh us down and break us. I just want to make that struggle visual.
ANNNDD.....I'm working on a sketch of this, so it will make more sense.
DISCLAIMER: The links are just jokes, to be funny.
I think its a really solid idea, just keep in mind the overall look to keep it cohesive!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Cohesiveness is definitely something I'm worried about, but I've got some ideas. Hopefully it will work like I want it to.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your thoughts and advice!!
This is great! Love the idea of showing the progression of age and the adding of weight. Make sure if you add the old man, that it fits with your theme and composition and doesn't just look tacked on
ReplyDeleteI really like this concept! I can definitely relate to this feeling of the weight of responsibility, I'm sure we all can.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that this is absolutely necessary, but if you are planning on this being just one image, it might be a good idea to narrow down to two life stages.
Another thought I had is that you could make several images, one for each life stage, and display them to where they are looking at eachother to kind of symbolize us reflecting and looking back on the lost innocence of youth. This is just a random idea, like Ed always says, "I'm just riffing here." :)
But either way, I'm excited to see your sketches.
Loved the links by the way, they made me chuckle.
How are you planning on making this? From photos or sketches? Sounds like a cool idea but think about the best way to make this
ReplyDeleteI am planning on doing photos, but I might put some kind of a brush or pencil effect of them.
DeleteNot sure yet, I'll have to see what looks best.
This is a great idea! I think showing the progression is awesome. I agree with Elisabeth, just be aware of your theme and composition.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this a really in depth concept and it will work really well depending on how you decide to lay out composition. I'm excited to see how the colors you choose effect this piece.
ReplyDeleteAs others have mentioned you will need to think about your composition. To that I would add - be thoughtful about your background. You say you want to escape from the "evolution of man" idea. Without any background it will be really difficult, as that piece is basically a sketch chart on white background.
ReplyDeleteYou can also explore the idea of background being more busy and cluttered... more heavy.
This would take the focus away from the figure and move it onto the idea of how more complicated life gets the older you get.
This idea is fantastic. I wonder if you've thought about displaying it as separate prints for each stage but arrange them all together to show as one piece.
ReplyDeleteI love the concept, and I can visualize what you have already described. Part of me wants you to include the old man! But I understand that it could be taking away from the main idea. Maybe the scale and look you give him could allow for it to be used, but cause the viewer to really look in the image to notice him. Either way, the overall idea is well thought out and I'm excited to see it.
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