James D. Elliott: Modern Renaissance by James D. Elliott

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JAMES D. ELLIOTT

MODERN RENAISSANCE

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ABOUT

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Modern Renaissance is a publication exhibiting a set of images exploring the combination of Renaissance Art and Hellenistic Sculpture in a modern and minimalistic setting. These images have been designed deliberately to transform the aesthetic intention of the beautiful originals, in an attempt to communicate an entirely new feeling and allow viewers to partake in a new experience. This project, at its core, is a personal and visual explanation of my current design journey. I have chosen to explore this use of content contrast by designing modern environments in 3D, focusing on clean, simplistic architecture, intriguing lighting and texturing as well as unconventional subject placement. This publication marks the end of a chapter in my creative career, finishing my degree and

venturing off into the professional word of Communication Design. These set of images, in a way, visually demonstrate my current style of design that I implement throughout all of my work; simplicity, deliberate contrast, bold colour, and photographic inspired composition. The publication is designed as a coffee table book, created on a 12in x 12in square layout, designed with the intention for leaving open on one of the large image spreads. I have utilized the skills I obtained during my time studying publications with RMIT's Stuart Geddes, focusing on a clear marriage of content and design. Concentrating on showcasing these images in an appropriate and truthful way, letting the images dominate the space and unobtrusively designing the excess information about the images if the reader so wishes to dive deeper.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Orange Series i

Orange Series ii

White Series i

White Series ii

Black Series i

Black Series ii

Acknowledgments

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INTRODUCTION

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This publication is a combination of three distinct sections, Orange, White and Black. Designed with the intention of leaving open on top of a coffee table, these three sections are categorized by colour but also by design, content, intention and mood.

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Created with an immediate demand for attention, the Orange Series attempts to communicate a more unconventional feeling. Focused on stark contrast, unconventional subject placement and modern experimental lighting, the Orange Series pulls on the more adventurous side of my design thinking and ideology. Although still following the over aching design aesthetic of simplicity, photographic composition, bold colour and deliberate contrast, this series focuses on more conspicuous changes to the original placement of these beautiful artifacts, in order to give them a unseen purpose, feeling and function.

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In this reimagining of Niccolò dell’Arca’s Mary Magdalene ‘Mourning over the dead Christ’ sculpture, the statue has been repositioned in an unconventional, modern setting. Flipping the sculpture upside down allows viewers to experiance a new perspective of this masterful sculpture. Combined with an impactful, bold backdrop and a modern ‘Halo’ inspired focus lighting, the isolated sculptures extreme emotion is heightened by its unconventional placement, in an attempt to show a more modern and raw version of itself.

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The conceptualization of this image started with the sculpture. Originally placed amongst other equally as detailed and beautiful sculptures, the cloth work and play of light that it casts stood out to me immediately. Originally carved in a dark marble, I chose to rematerialize this sculpture in a soft almost plaster, stone. The consistent white tone allows the craftsmanship of the sculpture to be seen in full form, with no irregularities or shift in colour to distract from the stunning artistry. Rotating the sculpture upside down, although the argument can be made that it is inappropriate due to the religious significance of the sculpture and the connotation of upside down figures, my intention was to create an unmistakable focal point that screamed for attention. This also allows for a new perspective to view this sculpture in, allowing the viewers to figuratively walk up close and see the detail from a never seen before point of view. The ring light underneath the sculpture hints towards the religious connotation of the original sculpture, reflecting a ‘Halo’ and beautifully lighting the sculpture from all sides. To heighten to boldness of the placement of the sculpture the walls and lowered ceiling are coloured orange, to enhance the playfulness quality of the image. Inside the room are two leather seats in each corner, added both to enhance the overall composition, but also to add a sense of scale to the entire room.

Elements: (1): Rotated Sculpture of Niccolò dell’Arca’s Mary Magdalene ‘Mourning over the dead Christ’ to show a new perspective and provoke bold and playful emotions. (2): White soft stone material to eliminate any irregularities in the sculpture to allow the beauty of the craftsmanship be expressed fully. (3): Orange walls and ceiling to again elicit bold and unconventional emotions. This also focuses attention towards the sculpture. (4): Leather chairs to assist in the composition as well as introduce a sense of scale of the room. (5): Reflective marble tile floor has been implemented in order to keep the lower third of the frame unobtrusive but also reflect a slight bit of colour to complement the room. (6): Halo inspired lighting to enhance the religious tonality to the image, and cast a soft, complete and flattering light to the sculpture in order to highlight the craftsmanship of the original.

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14 ORANGE SERIES: II

This reimagining of the 1895 Oli paining; Flaming June, by Sir Frederic Leighton contains the original painting suspending from the roof of a light box styled room. The vivid orange of the original and Sir Frederic’s masterful shading and tonality throughout the silk dress has been enhanced by a vivid orange backdrop. Demanding attention by designing a minimal and deliberate environment to surround the painting creates a bolder and more playful feeling then when viewing the original.

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Often cluttered and crowded in their original positioning in a fine art museum, the conceptualization for this image began with placement of the painting. Suspending the painting midair demands pure attention from the viewer, with a carefully designed extruding wall behind it to enhance the composition and draw the viewer’s eyes towards the painting. A lightbox has been added to the roof to illuminate the entire room in order for the viewer to experience the entire environment and let it influence the aesthetic of the original painting. Sir Frederic’s masterful shading on the orange dress inspired this environment, when looking at how it is placed in the Museo de Arte de Ponce in a large and overbearing gold frame, I have replaced this by positioning it in a subtle thin gold frame to allow for more attention to be drawn to the painting itself. Elements: (1): Suspended painting in order to place unquestionable emphasis on the painting (2): Orange walls to further bring out and complement the original orange dress, designed to add a modern touch to the room and evoke bold and playful emotions

(3): Leather chairs to assist in the composition as well as introduce a sense of scale of the room. (4): Reflective marble tile floor has been implemented in order to keep the lower third of the frame unobtrusive but also reflect a slight bit of colour to complement the room. (5): Light box roof lighting to illuminate the entire room and help the bold orange colour dominate the space. This illuminates the whole room and makes the environment feel deliberate and part of the experience. (6): Extruded corners to complement the composition and draw attention to the suspended painting.

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Incorporating deliberate, simplistic composition and a purposeful absents of demanding colour, this series focuses on a more isolated style of design. The reimaging of these paintings and sculpture has been designed in a more secluded and introverted form, focusing on the shape and colour of the original artworks to demand the attention rather than the environment or surroundings. These images have been created to express a more self-reflective and self-interpretative emotion, appearing isolated and remote.

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This reimagining of Italian Master Pietro da Cortona’s 1639, Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power Fresco, has been positioned upright in order to give viewers a more modern experience when viewing. Often difficult to capture the detail and beauty of the original by standing underneath and looking upwards, the Fresco has been scaled down and framed up against a minimal backdrop with nothing surrounding it in order to allow viewers to bask entirely in the artistry and complicated beauty of this amazing painting.

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WHITE SERIES: I This image was one of the first I created; it follows a close relation to my original inspiration from The Sistine Chapel Roof exhibition: Oculus World Trade Centre New York. Utilizing a stark contrast from the blank and minimal surrounding environment draws complete attention towards Pietro da Cortona’s Masterpiece. The bright, complicated colours and composition of the painting demand attention immediately and placed in such a minimal environment allow viewers to purely focus on the artistry, compared to the busy surrounding environment of the original where you can get distracted by the complicated surroundings. Implemented into the space is a soft lightbox roof to illuminate the entire room in order to eliminate shadows from the walls and allow greater attention to the painting. A single leather seat has been placed front and centre to allow viewers to sit and view the entirety of the paining if they wish, and positioned far enough away to allow viewers to figurativly walk up closer to enjoy the subtle details of the Italian Fresco. The minimal and almost secluded and introverted environment complements the contrast of the complicated Fresco, allowing for the viewer to feel completely alone when viewing. Such a complicated painting has a unique effect on everyone, designing an unobtrusive environment was purposely implemented to allow the viewers the space and isolation to figure it out themselves without feeling overwhelmed.

Elements: (1): Fresco has been scaled down and framed up against a minimal backdrop with nothing surrounding it in order to allow viewers to bask entirely in the artistry and complicated beauty of this amazing painting. (2): Soft lightbox roof to illuminate the entire room to eliminate shadows from the walls and allow greater attention to the painting. (3): Reflective marble tile floor has been implemented in order to keep the lower third of the frame unobtrusive. (4,5): Parallel lines from the lightbox roof and marble tiled floor to enhance the composition of the room and in-line with the framing of the painting, implemented to lead the eye towards the centre. (6): A single leather seat has been placed front and centre to allow viewers to sit and view the entirety of the paining if they wish, and positioned far enough away to allow views to walk up closer to enjoy the subtle details of the Italian Fresco.

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Containing the Hellenistic Sculpture, the Farnese Bull, originally apart of the Farnese Collection in Rome, this image contains a partially submerged and re materialized version of this beautiful sculpture. Placed in a minimal and modern room with a contrasting marble tile roof and lightbox, this image is designed to isolate the partially submerged sculpture and allow the viewers to feel secluded and alone while viewing the beautiful emotive characters and bull.

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Containing one of the oldest original artworks in this series, the Farnese Bull has been rematerialized in a soft almost plaster, stone material. The consistent white tone allows the craftsmanship of the sculpture to be seen in full form, with no irregularities or shift in colour to distract from the stunning artistry. Being partially submerged in the floor freezes the sculpture and allows viewers to feel like they have stubbled upon an unfinished sculpture. Combined with the minimalistic and modern surroundings the viewer is left to feel almost voyeuristic while looking at the partially visible sculpture. The emotion of the bull struggling to break free from the characters is heightened by its partial submergence in the blank floor. Contrasting with the beautiful sculpture is a marble tiled roof with a lightbox to illuminate the sculpture below and cast just enough shadowing for the viewer to experience the artistry of the Hellenistic sculpture. Black skirting boards have been incorporated to emphasize the seemingly rising floor, and contrasts with the black outline of the lightbox roof, completing the symmetrical composition. The lowered marble tiled roof has allowed the room to feel small but not claustrophobic, the intended effect is to isolate the sculpture and have the room complement the partial submerged figures and heighten the emotion of the bull attempting to escape. This leaves viewers to experience a completely new emotion then when viewing the original artwork.

Elements: (1): Partial submerged sculpture to heighten the emotion of the bull attempting to escape. (2): White soft stone material to eliminate any irregularities in the sculpture to allow the beauty of the craftsmanship be expressed fully. (3): Minimalistic and modern surroundings the viewer is left to feel almost voyeuristic while looking at the partially visible sculpture. (4): The lowered marble tiled roof has allowed the room to feel small but not claustrophobic. (5): A lightbox to illuminate the sculpture below and cast just enough shadowing for the viewer to experience the artistry of the Hellenistic sculpture. (6): Black skirting boards have been incorporated to emphasize the seemingly rising floor.

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Designed in grand, adventurous and almost ostentatious environments, the black series has been created to reflect a more moody yet extravagant side to my design thinking. Utilizing minimal lighting and gloomy, yet intricate, environments, this series transforms the original artefacts in an unconventional way. Deliberately transforming the environments in a darker and moodier setting re imagines the artworks and forces them to communicate an entirely new and moodier feeling. The originals often feeling outspoken by their surroundings, these environments force the focus and narrative but still leaves room for interpretation.

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Featuring the beautiful Hellenistic Winged Victory of Samothrace statue, this moody image incorporates dark and directional architecture to focus your eye towards the shiny black tiled floor to the illuminating white sculpture. Appearing like a beam of light in a corridor of darkness, allows the viewer to feel a range of darker and moodier emotions.

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Incorporating this phenomenal sculpture from the Louvre in Paris, replaced in a narrow hallway featuring tight dark columns and a shallow archway, the Winged Victory of Samothrace appears like a ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel. With two focus lights and one back light to illuminate the Hellenistic sculpture down the moody archway, the environment surround has been carefully designed to transform the experience of viewing this masterpiece. Incorporating a shiny floor to reflect the beautiful sculpture slightly, focuses the eye towards the partially deteriorated Angel. Complemented with modern, square down lighting which slightly reflect off of the tiled floor and illuminates the archway to display a sense of depth. The lights are designed to appear almost like a runway towards the light of the sculpture yet it allows viewers to interpret their own meaning when viewing. The dark archway and tight thin columns has been designed to almost feel like a tunnel, further focusing the viewer’s eye towards the centre. Deliberately transforming the environment in this dark and moody setting re-imagines the original sculpture and forces it to communicate an entirely new feeling. The original often feeling outspoken by its surrounding, this environment forces the focus and narrative but still leaves room for interpretation.

Elements: (1): Winged Victory of Samothrace appearing as beam of light in a corridor of darkness, allows the viewer to feel a range of darker and moodier emotions. (2): White soft stone material to eliminate any irregularities in the sculpture to allow the beauty of the craftsmanship be expressed fully. (3): Incorporating a shiny floor to reflect the beautiful sculpture slightly focuses the eye towards the partially deteriorated Angel. (4): The lights are designed to appear almost like a runway towards the light of the sculpture yet it allows viewers to interpret their own meaning when viewing. (5,6): The dark archway and tight thin columns has been designed to almost feel like a tunnel, further focusing the viewer’s eye towards the centre.

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Featuring Jan van Eycks’s 1433 Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait) in a grand yet dark environment, this image incorporates the use of extreme scale to draw the attention of the viewer to the suspended portrait in the centre. Incorporating large looming pillars and a slight fog to allow the light to travel in a moody and adventurous way allows the viewer to experience a new feeling while viewing Eryck’s masterpiece.

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Often overlooked by other paintings from this era, Jan van Eyck’s 1433 Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait) contains a mastery level of skill and detail and features an eye catching dark red turban. Suspended in mid-air to allow the viewer to enjoy both the surrounding environment but also allows the attention to be drawn towards the middle. This portrait is located in a huge room containing large thick columns that are raised to the same level as the paining. These columns introduce a scale to the room and contrast with the small portrait in the centre, connecting a sense of contrast and composition. The black tiled stone stairs add to the composition and reality by allowing the viewer to gain or retract height while viewing this environment and painting. Small lights line the columns to illuminate the shiny stone slightly and help with communicating the depth of the room. The only colour in the room comes from the portrait, demanding attention from the viewer and creates a moody and elusive feeling when viewing. The slight addition of smoke allows for the portraits two key lights to penetrate the smoke and create an eerie feeling while viewing Eyck’s masterpiece.

Elements: (1): Suspended in mid-air to allow the viewer to enjoy both the surrounding environment but also allows the attention to be drawn towards the middle. (2): These columns introduce a scale to the room and contrast with the small portrait in the centre. (3): The black tiled stone stairs add to the composition and reality by allowing the viewer to gain or retract height while viewing this environment and painting. (4): Small lights line the columns to illuminate the shiny stone slightly and help with communicating the depth of the room. (5): The only colour in the room comes from the portrait, demanding attention from the viewer and creates a moody and elusive feeling when viewing. (6): The slight addition of smoke allows for the portraits two key lights to penetrate the smoke and create an eerie feeling while viewing Eyck’s masterpiece.

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AKNOWLEDGMENTS BLACK SERIES

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My inspirations and infuences that motivated me to create this publication and images.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

40 THE INSPIRATION

The Sistine Chapel Roof exhibition: Oculus World Trade Centre New York City (NY) This idea of complimenting the old and the new began for me in 2017 before my time at RMIT. Still in the beginning stages of my own personal creative journey and exploration I was traveling through New York City and by accident happened to be wandering through the culus trade centre and stumbled by accident on this exhibition of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, The Sistine Chapel Roof. The exhibition included a complete print out of Michelangelo’s masterpiece sat up right in portrait rather than suspended above and in front of that were close up print outs of sections from the larger painting. When overlooking this exhibition, the extreme contrast laid before me, the modern and colourless yet extravagant and breathtaking architecture that the exhibition was located in, contrasted with the masterful artistry of impactful colours and busy overall aesthetic of this renaissance painting delivered a completely different emotion to me than ever before. Just a few months prior I had the opportunity to look at Michelangelo’s masterpiece in person in the Vatican and the feeling of seeing it in person is impossible to accurately describe verbally. The breathtaking scale and detail of the work is unparalleled added to the location of the piece in one of the most sacred and beautiful chapels on earth added to the ambiance and energy of looking at this mural. However when seeing it for a second time in such a different location gave me a new appreciation for the painting and on a larger scale, a deeper appreciation for the artistry from the renaissance era and even what came before it. The exhibition

showed me the possibility of incorporating these two extreme styles in order to deliver something completely new and relevant yet equally as breathtaking. My design style has always incorporated a very deliberate concentration on contrast, stemming from my original fascination with photography. This experience in New York heightened this ideology on a more conceptual side, realizing that contrast can be implemented not purely through colour or shape, but also content.

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42 DANIEL ARSHAM

Sculpture for me has always been a fascination, during my travels in Europe especially when visiting the Louve and Rome I was encapsulated by the craftsmanship and skill required to create such realistic and animated statues. However it was not until I saw modern implementations of some of these masterpieces that I truly appreciated the medium. Daniel Arshams is a New York modern artist whose work spans multiple mediums and ideologies, however it was his reimagining of Hellenistic and Roman sculpture that reinforced the feelings I had when looking at the Sistine chapel exhibition in New York. Daniel's works include deterioration of some of the most famous sculptures in the world, incorporating broken sections and open cross sections of some of these sculptures with his famous crystal and volcanic rock. For me, transforming the beauty of the original entirely and revivifying the modern relevance for some of these already outstanding sculptures. Daniels use of contrast is what stood out to me and had an impact on my design process the most. Comparing his work to the New York Sistine Chapel exhibition, Daniels use of contrast is located on a more conceptual side and approach. Daniel is colour blind so all of his works incorporates a very monotone and minimalistic colour scheme. The contrast I felt when looking at these sculptures came purely from the added elements of deterioration that were deliberately incorporated. Sculptures are carefully preserved in order to contain their original beauty and when an artist purposely incorporates cracks and breaks in the sculpture the viewer is thrown off guard, expecting to see and feel a certain way, but instead feels something completely different. This is where this projects proposal begins. All images on this page are propetrty of Daniel Arsham

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

44 STUART GEDDES

Throughout my time at RMIT and the various studios I have had the pleasure in undertaking, none had quite an impact on me like Stuart Geddes ‘Making Pages’ studio in which we discovered the fine art side of publication development and more importantly the marriage of content and design. Stuart’s success is grounded in his understanding of design being a tool to enhance a publications’ content. Stuart helped me realize that design is a tool that should only be incorporated when necessary and appropriate. Designing with purpose and functionality transformed my way of thinking in terms of a Designer, realizing what tools do what and when to incorporate them appropriately has had a lasting impact on my design thinking, and I believe it will forever. All images on this page are propetrty of Stuart Geddes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thank you to the following: Scan the World: For their amazing library of scanned sculptures and statues, without them this project would not have been possible. (Find them on Twitter: Scan_The_World) RMIT: The University in which I have completed my Bachelors Degree of Communication Design. The team of staff working there have been incredible. Friends and Family: You know who you are, Thank you.

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48 PUBLICATION EXHIBITING A SET OF IMAGES EXPLORING THE COMBINATION OF RENAISSANCE ART AND HELLENISTIC SCULPTURE IN A MODERN AND MINIMALISTIC SETTING.