Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

Lee creates a depth effect using shading and sizing of the individual walkways. (Lee, 2013)

The artist, Jiyen Lee, creates mesmerizing digital photographs by repeating and overlapping photos of walkways. This unique style of digital art can confuse the viewer because of the seamless transition between the layers. At first glance, you are unable to tell which way the people on the walkway are traveling. Lee creates these pictures in a way to make them seem endless and appear to have no beginning or end.

This is an abstract image of various walkways traveling in different directions. (Lee, 2013)

The ability for the artist to create his art digitally, on programs such as Photoshop and illustrator, make up the majority of these artists work. If Lee were to attempt to use a cut-and-paste method to make the same kinda of artwork, it would not have the same effect on an audience. This would also create a different style of artwork because there would be a clear separation between each of the walkways.

These images share similar tools and effects to deceive the human eye. Lee uses contrast and value to create a depth effect within the image. Also, all of the individual pieces of the collage are the same so the use of repetition creates a balanced feel across the digital photograph. Lastly, color and size of shapes plays a major role is his style of artwork. Size can help create a depth effect and show what layers sit on the surface of the image while color draws the eyes to whatever the artist wants the viewer to focus on.

Lee Krasner “City Verticals” (1953)

When looking through the collages within the class readings, none of them stood out to me in particular at first. I loved Sophie Standings Rhino and was amazed to find it was done with fabrics, but It didn’t feel right to me. In the first reading, I stumbled upon Lee Krasner’s City Verticals and for some reason I fell in love with it. At first glance it looks pretty plain, like nothing crazy is going on. However, with further examination, one can see how much thought and work went into the creation.

The first thing one notices when looking deeper is the texture. Lee Krasner used strips of canvas to layer the collage. After these strips were put into place, she then used oil paint to add color wherever she wanted. The main element that is seen is Krasner’s line work. She created vertical lines with her strips of canvas, but they are imperfect. If you look closely you can see sporadic horizontal lines where the canvas was torn. Krasner also uses texture, she juxtaposes the oil paint and the un-painted canvas in order to create both tactile and visual texture. The way that Krasner uses repetition in the piece is quiet different than usual. She repeats the use of torn canvas, as well as the same colors.

Lee Krasner created City Verticals in 1953. This was well before the time of digital collages, so Krasner had limited options for collage medium. She is well known as an abstract painter, and that is shown even in her collage. She used her painting skill to create an image that is very interesting. I think the way in which Krasner created this piece really makes me think about how much effort was put into it. Whenever I think about collages, I think about the collages we made in middle school to represent ourselves. It involved little work and was often times done the night before. Krasner however cut strips of canvas and on top of that painted specific ones to abstractly show a city skyline.

Sources:

• Shaffer , Jessica. “Lee Krasner Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, 2018.

Jiyen Lee Collage

The piece I decided to reflect on is by a Korean artist named Jiyen Lee. Born in 1979, Lee attained a Bachelor of Fine arts from Hong-Ik University in 2005. She then went on to study at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she graduated in 2010 with a Master’s Degree. This specific piece is part of a series where Lee has created a variety of digital collages. She manipulates images of crowds to develop hypnotizing works of art that are quite captivating. The images that she uses are usually from a bird’s eye view of people on staircases or escalators. Lee’s work is very puzzling which provokes her audience to use their imagination.

It was unclear exactly what kind of software Lee has used for her work, but I assume she used something similar to Adobe Photoshop. Considering that she completed her education within the last decade, she must be somewhat familiar with today’s technology. In addition, this piece was created in 2017 which means she most likely used software that has recently been developed. Since Lee has probably used newer technology, I think that the tools provided by this software influenced her style of work. A program like Photoshop would allow her to generate such intricate pieces, where before it would be much more difficult to produce.

I find it interesting how Lee created these patterns using very similar images in each piece, if not the same image in one work of art. She uses repetition in a very inventive way throughout all of her pieces. The series is absolutely fascinating, and I find myself studying each piece to figure out what exactly I am looking at. When I first looked at this certain piece, I did not realize I was looking at people standing on what seems to be an escalator. Originally I just saw some sort of illusion that looked like a dark hole. The patterns get darker towards the center which gives off the impression that it is “deeper” there and that there is depth. Also, the lines are placed in a way that guides my eyes to the middle of the piece. Lee’s work is so captivating in the sense that one has to really analyze it in order to understand how she made it. Overall, I enjoyed learning about Jiyen Lee and the mystifying series that she has constructed.

When choosing an artist to focus on I was drawn to Luisa Azevedo’s art piece. Azevedo uses Photoshop to create her photomontages. Luisa is 20 years-old and has grown up in the same generation as I did. Through Luisa’s artwork, it is clear that Photoshop has influenced the way she is able to depict her artistic vision. I relate to Luisa because I love to manipulate and combine photos on Photoshop as well. In many of Azevdo’s photos, she implements unexpected objects into her photo to create a surreal piece that is intriguing and uncommon. Through her use of Photoshop, these pictures tend to look seamless.

This is a photomontage created by Luisa Azevedo. Azevedo originally posted this photo on her photography instagram account when she reached 40,000 followers. (Luisa Azevedo, 18-Year-Old Photoshop Expert Pairs Unexpected Objects to Create Dreamy Composite Photos, 2017)

In the picture to the left, you can see that Azevedo replaced the parachutes with succulents. These succulents add texture and contrast to the photo which makes the piece appealing to look at. When looking at the photo you can see that the colors are very soft, however, the succulents are vibrant and add contrast to the piece. The pink in the succulent to the left caught my eye when I first looked at this photo. The pink in the first succulent creates a since of contrast when looking at the following succulent. The composition of this photo is also incredible. The two skydivers make the photo balanced because of the way they are distanced. The canyons also add a since of framing to the photo. The lines of the cliffs help guide the viewers eye to the skydivers and the succulents. The flow of this photo is very appealing because of the composition tools she incorporated. The lines in the succulent really flow seamlessly into the lines leading to the people skydiving. The tools she used such as balance, contrast, texture, leading lines, and shape really make the photo captivating and interesting to interpret.

Rosalyn Drexler, ‘The Dream’ (1963)

The art piece that I decided to reflect on was Rosalyn Drexler’s The Dream (1963). I chose this picture because I have learned about pop art in the past and have enjoyed trying to mimic its elements and principles. The idea behind pop art is to be peculiar or send a serious message. In most pop art, there is a main picture or item that pops off the page more than the other aspects of the image or collage. Pop art normally is full of bright colors to make it “pop,” hence its name. Drexler originated her work in California and created many pieces using metal and wood to create sculptures alongside her love for pop art. The technologies of Drexler’s time (1950-1960’s) influenced her creative choices because during the 1950’s-1960’s, the idea behind pop art was to be noticed and have their artwork mean something. Artwork during this era suggested change or the artists wanted to send messages that can be interpreted differently, depending who is viewing it. Artwork allows each individual who sees it to feel different, every person has a different reaction to the same art piece. Pop art is known for bold imagery, bright colors, and being repetitive. Their choice of tools and materials affect the way I interpret the composition because pop art artists uses less balance in various works and uses more texture, sizes, and lines. The lines in The Dream are seen in the gorilla, the calligraphy that acts as a wall, and in the woman, who is laying on the floor of the image. Line and size, I feel, are the two biggest aspects of this art work, with color following in third because these elements are what makes the “pop art” look. The Dream reminds me of King Kong because there is a fairly giant angry-looking gorilla on the top of the image with a damsel in distress laying on the bottom of Drexler’s pop art image.

One artist that I am very familiar with is Andy Warhol. Warhol made many pieces that are considered pop art including one of his famous pieces, 32 Soup Cans (1962). I am fascinated with how pop art can have so many different meanings behind one work of art or can have only one clear message. At my first college, Utah Valley University, I had the opportunity to learn about pop art specifically and how a viewer can gather different messages from one art piece. Pop art influences generations because although some artwork defines an era, pop art culture never really goes out of style.