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How have artists explored the theme of self reflection using the recent advances in computer technology in their artwork? In recent times advances in technology has meant that professional artists and commercial users alike can portray the theme of self reflection in many different ways that once seemed impossible. These advances in technology have made the 21st century superior above others in making the impossible possible. The technology available to create these pieces of artwork are a common part of modern day life, such software is available on nearly all platforms such as smartphones, computers and tablets. Using the recent technology in pieces often creates a style of being implausible and developers are still finding new ways of breaking the boundaries of impossibilities. This type of impossibility has left many people, including myself, totally bewildered! Nowadays it isn’t a paintbrush that creates art, many different platforms are used. ‘Old style’ artwork is still very popular in the 21st century however the technological art is very quickly stealing the spotlight. In this essay I will explore how artists have used the recent advances in computer technology to explore the theme of self reflection and will also analyse artists which have used the recent advances to rocket their way to fame in the art world, including artists such as Daniel Barreto, Brian Oldham and Miki Takahashi, I will also be adding an artist from a previous generation to show a historical aspect. In a way you could argue that self reflection has been used in artwork since day 1, most people make their artwork as a reflection of their own feelings. Generally speaking most people make art as a way of expressing how they are feeling and what is happening or has happened in their lives, this can create a sense of self reflection and the ideas I am going to discuss, however I believe that due to the advances in technology self reflection as a topic has been able to be explored further. As well as the essay I will adapt some of the styles of the artists to influence and create my own pieces of artwork. Also included will be a full bibliography of the sources used for some of the information.
Technology advances The technology in question is software such as Photoshop. Photoshop is an image editing software that was made by Adobe Systems Inc. that is used to edit and manipulate images. Photoshop is considered one of the leaders in photo editing software and in largely used in the art and graphics industry. Many people argue that using software such as Photoshop is ‘cheating’ and would not classify it as art, however I believe that creating something using a computer is almost exactly the same as creating physical artwork such as sculptures as they have the same elements, they start with an idea which is then ‘made’. Artists that use software like Photoshop are purely using the resources available to them to create a new level of artwork. This is reiterated by one of my artists Daniel Barreto, who mentions on his website, Technology intrigues me and I appreciate it as a tool and as an art form”. Also Erin Heatherton once said “Photoshop- Its just a part of life now” reiterating my point that as of many years ago artists would pick up a brush, nowadays they pick up a mouse. Photoshop has become normal. Photoshop decreases the limitations even further, software developers are still developing the software further to make it even easier to make artwork that pushes the boundaries. Photoshop also allows for artists to use handmade artwork and simply ‘tweak’ it to their own desire, this makes it even further appealing to the industry, not to mention the simplicity, most people would be able to use and understand Photoshop without any expertise.
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‘Self-Reflection’ Self reflection is defined in the English dictionary as ‘serious thought about one’s character and actions’ however I believe that a further analysis could be made. When questioned about self reflection people often give a regurgitated version of the definition, however many will go further and explain that it will give an insight on the subject/character’s past, present and future life. Self-reflection is very open to digression and can have many definitions, this is because it is a generic topic, all artwork could be seen as self-reflection as most artwork portrays the moods and feelings of the artists. Art is a way of expressing feelings; this is why self-reflection is shown in many artists work, self-reflection can entail ‘finding you’. I chose the subject matter of self-reflection as it has featured in many artists work that I was unconsciously drawn to, I also feel that I include self-reflection in my work due to the importance it plays in not only my life but also many others in the world. Self-reflection plays a part in everyone’s lives, throughout our younger years in school all the way to our very last years where we re-live our memories however the thing that attracts me the most is the way in which the artists of the 21st century create a sense of self-reflection amongst their artwork.
Artist Analysis I will now begin to analyse some artists that I feel have explored the subject of self reflection using the current advances in computer technology. All of the artists included use software such as Photoshop to create the final artwork that is shown. Most, if not all, of the artists use such software on photos that were captured previously.
Artist Analysis – Daniel Barreto Daniel Barreto is the first artist I looked at, he has created a series of images using the advances in technology that focus on the subject matter of self-reflection. I chose this artist as I felt that it was the most technologic artist, he creates GIFS in his artwork, which is many images in a timeline that creates a sequence. GIFS are a moving image, for a few seconds. This allows for an artist to add many deferent elements compared to before when they only had a singular canvas to work upon, now they have a moving canvas, almost like a movie. The images Daniel Barreto had created are those made up of two main elements, one being the portrait of the persons face and another being the image inside the silhouette. The images only have one character being the person whose face is featuring in the image however, the images do not have a storyteller, this is the audience’s job. Daniel Barreto has begun the story and the rest is up to the audience. He emphasises this point when talking about his artwork he mentions that he wants to create “an inner curiosity” within the audience, which tells us he is trying to get the viewer to ask questions about the piece and to try and figure out the rest of the story. The images in the heads are portraying some type of mood such as the traffic and the cigarettes could signify having a manic, fast and busy life. Using the images the audience has to tell what is happening inside the persons head via the images. There are no background images only pure white dead space; this could be filled with a back image however, I feel that it makes the audience guess more as there is less in the pieces to tell the story for the audience. The dead space could have been
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filled with a background image to back up the story that is going on inside the portrait, however it has been left blank so the audience has to make up the rest of the story themselves, purely from the image inside the head of the subject. This also creates a very spacious feel, as I believe the background is meant to represent the vastness of the brain as well as drawing emphasis on the subject. The pieces create many questions amongst the audience such as; what is actually happening in the subjects minds?, what do the images signify?, why have these certain images been selected?, what is happening in the subjects life to have these images chosen?, Why? and Why is dead space used so much in the pieces? To make the plot clearer the images in the series have GIFs incorporated; created through Photoshop they are made to give a further insight into the subjects mind. GIFs are a further development in the technology of artwork and have recently become very popular in the industry as they show a further representation of feelings and give the artist more room beyond the canvas. Daniel uses GIFs to show images such as the leaves and traffic moving, this gives the piece an extra effect to make the audience guess the feelings of the subject further. The images created by Daniel Barreto are meant to portray self-reflection, as he mentions in his website regarding this range of artwork “Finally, we contemplate ourselves”, this shows that he has made this range of artwork to make the subject think about themselves, which in all is the topic of self reflection. The GIF element makes it easier for the audience to gain an accurate and deep understanding the feelings of the subject. Self-reflection is a large part of Daniel Barreto’s work. Talking on this range of pieces he adds “Those thoughts seem, at times, to be all over the place” as he mentions this regarding his work, he is telling us that the images are all regarding ones thoughts, which is also known as self reflection. Barreto shows the feelings in the subjects mind by using adding a different image in the silhouette. The feelings are, purely described by one image, this for me is very effective. The images are very vague and are open to discussion of the actual feelings of the subject. The series is made via photograph manipulation using Photoshop on the images that were previously taken of the subjects and then the images showing the insight on the silhouette. None of these pieces would be possible without the influences of Photoshop and digital cameras, in previous generations artists may have created such pieces but only using paintbrushes and imagination. The recent advances have rocketed Daniel Barreto to fame and made his artwork possible. Daniel Barreto’s work has influenced my decision on the question I am addressing as I feel that his work has explored the theme of self reflection using the most recent technological advances to one of the highest of standards, this has convinced me that this new way of expressing art through the newest technology is one of the best ways of focusing on the subject of self reflection. Using technology Barreto has crated artwork that shows a true representation of self reflection and how the world we live in effects our thoughts. Daniel Barreto has explored the theme of selfreflection through the current advances in technology by using software such as Photoshop to create GIFs.
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Artist Analysis – Brian Oldham For the second artist I looked at Brian Oldham, Brian is a 22 year old fine art photographer and visual artist hailing from Southern California. He is currently living and working near the Los Angeles area, and is available for commissioned work internationally. I chose Brian Oldham as my second artist as I wanted to look at the subject from a different angle. Brian doesn’t use the new advances in technology and instead sticks to the old fashion way of manipulating photographs, he uses a camera to take the images but then physically adapts that photograph. Brian Oldham uses sewing techniques to add an extra element to his work to make it stand out above all others by changing from the new ‘mainstream’ style of artwork of working on the computer and using technology to going back to old ways, which for a young artist who is only 22, is very rare. Like Daniel Barreto Brian Oldham uses similar mediums as they both use photographs as the main element of their work, however its how they use the images that makes them different. Daniel Barreto uses the images and manipulates them using modern day technology such as Photoshop however Brian Oldham manipulates and adds elements to the photo via physical and hand crafted work by sewing on to the image, although this is one of the oldest forms of artwork it is seen to be very effective in exploring self reflection. The artists are both of a similar age, 22 and 24, this could reflect on their images as this is around the age where as humans we ‘find ourselves’ and realize our true meaning and focus for the rest of our lives. This is told by Oldham in his website where he mentions “I make art to replace the words I cannot fathom” showing that he is using art as a way of expressing his own feelings and exploring the theme of self reflection. The pieces of which Brian Oldham has created is reflecting his personal feelings. The artists are male which also influences, subconsciously, the choices of images and development of ideas however I do not feel that this was a large influence towards the final pieces as a female artist could have created similar artwork but I have coincidently chosen two male subjects. We don’t know anything about the subjects in the images apart from what we can tell from the appearance of them, they all look of a young age, around the age of the artists (20s). Due to the nature of these pieces I do not believe that sexual orientation of the artists and subjects/subject matter are an influence or change the analysis of the pieces. I was initially drawn to the images as I feel that not only it tells a story but makes you think further about the subject and their thoughts more than other images i have seen, which relates back to the question regarding the subject matter of self reflection. The image is made up of a photograph, a portrait of the subjects face, a background, in this case a speckle dust background and finally a physical addition to the piece, sewing on to the image. The image only has one character which in this case is the male who seems to be in deep thought about present, past or future actions, however the images do not have a story teller, this image is made so the audience can dictate the story and variations of the thoughts and feelings that are being portrayed. In my opinion I believe that the image is trying to show the thought trails of the subject, it also shows a deeper meaning than the original image by adding simple sewing lines. The image is very minimalistic and doesn’t have a vibrant background, it features a lot of background/dead space which I think has been added to create a further effect on the audience. It has been added to show the emptiness of the subject and the thoughts of himself. This also creates a very spacious feel as i believe the background is meant to represent the vastness of the mind as well as drawing emphasis on the subject and the additional lines. Self reflection is the
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main subject of this piece, we know this through Oldham’s statement, “I strive to bring life to the quiet whispers at the back of my mind” which tells us that Oldham is trying to portray his own thoughts about himself that are currently not being expressed without the use of art. After looking at Brian Oldhams work I feel that to explore the subject matter of self reflection you do not have to use the current advances in technology, there are many different, more simple ways that can result in creating an art piece that keeps the audience guessing and focuses on self reflection. The artwork of Brian Oldham has influenced my overall thoughts towards the question in discussion, as the total opposite to Daniel Barreto Brian Oldham does not use the newest of technology to help create artwork based on self reflection, it has led me to believe that you do not need the newest of technology to create a stunning art piece, of course it helps to have the best of tools available but something as small as string has helped to create one of the best pieces of artwork on the topic of self reflection. Self reflection is a very open topic and is featured in many artists work, but Brian Oldham has manufactured a perfect outcome to explore all angles of the subject.
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Artist Analysis – Miki Takahashi My third and final artist is Miki Takahashi. Born in 1978, Takahashi is a motion designer / video editor / photographer from Tokyo, Japan. Taking advantage of recent technology she uses double exposure to create portraits of herself to portray her inner feelings and the concept of self reflection. She uses images such as busy cityscapes to show the fast pace of her world and the goings on inside her head. As for her “Inside� series she uses these images to show feelings and emotions. The images create an effect of making time stand still in that moment. The theme of self reflection is shown in many of her pieces but this series of images were the ones that caught my eye the most. Using the busy city center we get a deep insight into the life of the subject. The images only feature one subject to keep the pieces simplistic and less confusing. The images created by the artists are made from two main elements, the first is the portrait of the subject in a thinking or confused stance and the next is the image behind that is the image which gives all the clues to the thoughts of the subject. There is no real story teller in the images, the audience is open to decide how the subject is feeling and why they are feeling that way. The series is made via photo manipulation. Miki Takahashi relates to Daniel Barreto in the way that their final outcomes are very similar, although not of a similar age, Takahashi being 37 and Barreto being in his early twenties. To me I think that Miki Takahashi is a prime example of how using the most recent technology can help to explore even self reflection even further. Takahashi relies heavily on computer-based programs to create her artwork but still makes it seem believable. By using a mixture of reality and dreamlike elements she amazes the world using her art and helps audiences to explore the theme of self-reflection through single images.
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Conclusion In conclusion I believe that according to the research and analysis shown above using the recent advances in technology artists have been available to explore the subject of self-reflection thoroughly and to the highest of standards, this is made apparent by artists such as Miki Takahashi and Daniel Barreto. Their artwork has influenced my answer to this question as the final outcomes of their artwork explore the topic of self reflection thoroughly and easily compared to historical artwork. They have completed this by using techniques on software such as Photoshop to create different kinds of art including GIFs. The use of technology in art has made the work even more believable, once thought unreal things have now been made possible due to computer software such as Photoshop and artists have been able to break the boundaries and let their imagination run free which has resulted in a large amount of artwork that leaves audiences jaw dropped. However I also feel that to create a good piece of artwork based on self reflection you do not necessarily have to be based upon a computer or any type of technology, as Brian Oldham has evidently shown us by using something as simple as a needle and thread you can create a truly amazing piece that explores the subject of self reflection thoroughly by portraying the thoughts, or as he describes them ‘whispers’ within his mind. From my own point of view I personally believe that the best way to explore the theme of self reflection is through the use of the newest technology and computer software such as Photoshop as I have been brought up through the stages of these types of software and it has become very appealing to me, although the ‘old fashioned’ ways also produce amazing outcomes I believe the best way to explore this particular theme is through technology due to the sense of surrealism.
My Own Adaptations Of The Artists Work
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Bibliography Daniel Barreto http://dbarreto.com http://www.designboom.com/art/daniel-barreto http://installationmag.com/david-barreto-urban-density/ Daniel Barreto https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/miki-takahashi http://miki_takahashi.prosite.com http://photographyblogger.net/surreal-layered-portraits-by-miki-takahashi/ http://uk.complex.com/style/2012/08/miki-takahashis-mesmerizingphotography Brian Olham https://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_oldham/ http://www.saatchiart.com/brianoldham http://brianoldham.format.com/home Research on Technological Advances http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=photoshop&pg=1 http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/121403.aspx http://www.andrewkelsall.com/the-impact-of-new-digital-technology-on-thenature-of-graphic-design-the-digital-designer/ http://justcreative.com/2013/11/04/changing-technology-interview/ Self Reflection http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison/develop/my-skills/self-reflection http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/the-power-of-self-reflection.html