Online Exhibition "World of Color"

http://jdkempf.weebly.com/

Shadow

When I think of the word "shadow", it automatically brings me back to my childhood.  I think of the sleepovers I had as a little girl; making shadow puppets on a wall with a flashlight of bunnies, dogs and monsters.  I always thought of shadows and a fun kid thing to do.  The Disney movie Peter Pan also comes to mind.  When he lost his shadow and had to get it sown back onto the soles of his shoes.

Until Jeff's project, I never really looked much more into what the different kinds of shadows are.  After seeing what techniques, tools and mediums that can be used, I was extremely intrigued to look more into it.  Knowing that shadows can be created using items like mirrors, metal and glass, I can now see all of the possibilities with shadows.  Another item that can add different variation with the theme of using shadows is light.  Different colors, strengths and the amount of the light directions are only some of the many options to change the simple bunny rabbit into an abstract shape.

Shadows can also give off different effects, depending on how you use them.  Some use shadows as a friendly way to have fun.  But they can also be used in thrillers and other scary movies.  Shadows can give off that extra fright.  I think because it reveals something that is there, even though you might not see the actual object makes it kind of creepy.  Viewing Jeff's first project and part of his second project, I am eager to see what else he does with the theme of Shadows.

World Travel: A Visual Journey

This being my own topic, most of the things I have to say about travel and color have already been told. When you visit a famous place of the world, like Hawaii for example, what do you think of? Of course you think of the beach, the ocean, hula dancers and gorgeous tropical flowers.  But few actually think of the colors within those things.  About how many different colors in the sand there are.  Or the color of the water as the sun hit it.  That is what I am trying to achieve when looking at my work.  I want people to really look at the color of the area, other than just the popular features. 

Traveling the world is something that I have always wanted to do.  If I could travel the world for the rest of my life I would be happy.  There are just so many things that aren't here in the United States and so many different cultures to experience.  Now don't get me wrong, it is different everywhere you go in the U.S.; from here in Michigan to Texas, in the South.  But the atmosphere is so different in other countries the farther you go, and I can't wait to experience them.  I know I have mostly dealt with color in my work with travel, but the theme gives me so many options to work with later on.

Perception vs. Reality

Kelsey's theme of Perception vs. Reality was a topic that I found to be extremely interesting.  Its a theme that I can relate to; as can most people.  How one perceives themselves often differs from how they really look.  For the majority of people, there is at least one thing; if not more; that they wish to change about themselves.  Whether its a teenage boy who wants to be taller, or a woman who wishes she looked younger or thinner, everyone sees themselves differently.
We are our owns worst critics.  Its a sad thing to say, yet so true among most people.  Its amazing how low our self-esteem is in the world and is a rising problem,  That is how illnesses like bulimia and anorexia have become such a huge issue. People look at photos of models that have been altered or changed with programs like Photoshop, and think its real life.  People with anorexia or bulimia look in the mirror and see an altered or larger image of themselves.  When in reality, they are usually no where near that.
For most people, their body issues never reach to be that extreme.  But issues with too much plastic surgery have also been a rising problem.  Now, I'm not saying that everyone should be cocky and full of how amazing looking they are because everyone sees themselves as imperfect.  No ones perfect and it would be boring if people were.  We just need to learn to accept and appreciate our flaws.  As soon as we learn to perceive and accept our real image, the sooner issues like anorexia and bulimia end.

Picturesque Geography: Flint to Detroit

The theme of Picturesque Geography: Flint to Detroit is a very interesting one and I for one love the different things that can be done with this style.  It reminds me of the documentary videos that are shown on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet where they show what the sky or the ocean looks like as it goes from dawn to midday, to dusk, to night.  This style has so much potential to be beautiful, no matter what the subject matter is.   I think its fascinating that it looks so much like a video and yet it is really just a bunch of images piled together.  It almost looks like a video that has been fast forwarded over a days time.

With the theme regarding this technique and it applied to the space from Flint to Detroit makes me think of when you see the traffic views that they show on the news and they seem to look really choppy sometimes.  It is very similar because it looks just like a bunch of images shown one after the other.  Usually, those images are somewhat blurred and hard to see so I am interested to see what Alex does with this concept and how he interprets Michigan's streets and scenery to create a something that can be considered an art piece.  It will be nice to see crisp and clean images come together to form a more video like piece.  I always enjoy seeing the things we see everyday here in Michigan being used to create beautiful art.

Food by Colors

Well we all know how much I like color by my project, so you can only imagine how excited I was to hear that someone else also wanted to focus on color as well.  Food is a great way to create a colorful art piece.  It is an extremely attractive thing in this world and if photographed the right way, can be transformed into an interesting photograph.  You can just do so many things with food and take it into a ton of different directions that make food look exquisite.  Like we saw on Sarah's theme page, food can be photographed to look appetizing for a graphic purpose, or you can put the food together to create an interesting composition. 

If I were to create a piece using food, I think I would like to put the food together in some sort of landscape, like Sarah's first idea.  I really like the idea of creating a composition using each color for each photograph.  Like a landscape using all red food, or all blue food.  I love looking at what artists have done with food in color in the past.  The textures and shapes of the food easily form the natural shapes and look of things like trees, grass, etc.  Especially because most, if not all, of the food we eat are found within the natural world.  From looking at what Sarah has done with her first project, I can tell that a lot of research and hard work comes into creating a piece using food.  I think that you have to look deeply at all different kinds of foods to create the right shape for each element of the design.

Perception, Stop Motion, and the Circle of Life

Amanda's theme of Perception, Stop Motion, and the Circle of Life is such a brilliant idea.  I love that she is taking the subject of a flower and photographing them as time changes it; and then is putting them into a video.  Watching the flower over time as it wilts and dies is absolutely beautiful.  The stop and go feel of the video creates a whole new look to it, than just a normal real time video.  It almost makes me think of those small flip books that make the object appear to be doing something, or moving.

There are many different ways to take this theme of Perception, Stop Motion, and the Circle of Life.  I'm glad that Amanda chose to stick with the time lapse feel of a natural object.  The video of the two guys fighting all over the place was extremely clever, however I feel that the flower fits Amanda's artistic style more.  It feels more sophisticated and natural, as opposed to the other video, which is more chaotic and a little bit corny.  I also think that the flower relates more to time; which is another thing I love about this style of art.  Its amazing that with this technique, you can see something that usually takes days to change and transform; in a matter of seconds.

I especially love when people use this style when the subject matter is landscapes and the sky.  the way the colors and the clouds change the whole composition through time is extremely breathtaking.  This is definitely something I would love to try on my own for a future project.