mark's project #3 statement of intent
It is rather intimidating to stare at a blank screen, filled only with a vague philosopher's quote, given the task to illustrate it. But then again, it was my project, so I had to have some idea, right?
Entering this project, I had few ideas of how to illustrate the quotations, but I knew that I wanted to have a cohesive set of images. Images that - like Confucius's adages - did not necessarily copy one another but carried distinct strands throughout that could be picked up as one takes in more and more of the writing, or in my case, the images.
For stylistic help, I based the first image slightly on one of the 36 views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai (see below for the actual image). From the first composition, I picked the color blue with accents of transparent white, the circle with red, yellow, and orange hues, and, finally, the split text, dividing the two halves of each saying that were very apparent in the three quotations I selected. Throughout the "book," these elements continually reappear though with different shades or purposes for each piece.
As I finished the second page and moved toward the third (having not yet done the cover), it became very apparent that each piece had become more abstract than the last. The first with concrete imagery invoking nature and city, the second being clearly cosmic and orbital, and the third being almost entirely metaphorical. I can honestly say that I have no idea how this occurred but it did and I'm glad it did. The three pieces highlight how the statements have multiple levels of meaning, and the design gives each a very unique style when compared to the last. YET! the common design element truly hold all the pieces together, and upon completing the cover and incorporating all but the typographical style, I think I fulfilled every facet of the assignment. The changes in style may be attributable to the fact that each piece was done in a separate sitting, but, whatever the cause, I think that the evolution of style through the four pieces is a clear progression toward a more abstract design, possibly showing a preference for that at least in the context of setting philosophy to imagery.
Of the three assignments we have completed thus far, I think this may be my favorite. I walked away with four unique images, different from anything I had ever created before and all with a sense of both beauty and meaning.
