Arts 102: The Conceptual Art of Photoshop, UCSB


Final Project: a 3d lenticular image, 8" x 10"

Return to Childhood, Nicole Barefoot
Working from cropped, and enlarged photographs of brain scans, neural circuitry and other imagery I deemed brain-like: cityscapes, and sliced lettuce, juxtaposed with vibrant hues of greens, and reds, I aimed to describe the brain loss seen in many Alzheimers patients. Titled, "Return to Childhood," the image focuses on the decline of those with Alzheimers, especially in the areas of sight including motion, depth, color and contrast. The first colors that one with Alzheimers is unable to distinguish are cool colors thus I placed the blue greens next to reds as a caregiver might place warm colors adjacent to cool colors in order to allow the patient to distinguish the contrast. The difficulty of perceiving what one sees rather than how sharply one sees is not caused by the eye, but rather by the brain.

Fey Cha

Fingerprint in the Desert, Andrea Chase
Working from formal photography techniques and inspired by Cartier Bresson this work is a juxtaposition of natural and man-made elements into a triptych format. Titled "Fingerprint in the Desert" this work's imagery is derived from the utilization of the man-made satellite program Google Earth in order to procure the natural rock formation in the Sahara Desert that is placed in the center of the triptych. The various abstract stairways on the two outside sections of the piece symbolize the progression of man concerning the understanding and ability to capture the essence of nature. All three sections of the triptych come together and interact through the interlacing of the foremost black ink-like spill that is present in each sectional.

Untitled, Paulo Fong
The loss

Tulips, Allison M. Harrod
Tulips" uses various 3D layers on differing Z-axis planes that are positioned extremely opposite one another and thus result in much of the overall 3D effect. Having layers in perspective paired with one that is vertical (the tulips) sort of utilizes an "old school" 3D tactic that tricks the eye into imagining that a 2D image is actually 3D, and the black background simulates a black "space" that is subtle enough for the viewer to imagine the image floating on its own.

Dreaming Self, Kimmie Heintz
For my project I wanted to create a visually abstract and interesting 3D image. I decided to use appropriated images of fractals, defined as geometric figures that repeat themselves under several levels of magnification, and merge them together in a visually pleasing way. My image consists of five layers of different fractal images set on planes ranging from -100 to 100 to create the greatest field of depth possible. In order to create even more depth on top of that, I skewed the three images that sit in the middle of the foremost and the back most

Yesterday, Sara M. Putnam
I started with a saying, "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday," and then found an image that I thought fit the concept of the text. The image was of a dark figure walking along a street and their shadow being cast down on the wet pavement, along with the building behind them. This image intrigued me and I wanted to reconstruct it with more meaning and aesthetics.

Conceptually, I wanted to use the image to illustrate the text by playing with perspective; since the text itself has three perspectives, them being "today," "tomorrow," and "yesterday." The image is a reflection, so therefore its perspective looks to be upside down at first. However, the image is right side up because the text shows the viewer how to look at the image.

The dark figure is meant to represent the present, the past, and the future because the text explains that people should live in the present and not worry too much about the future because it is soon going to be the past at some point in time. I copied the figure's shadow, re-sized it and pasted it into different layers to give the feeling of depth and perspective, along with giving the illusion that the figure was walking out of the page, and into the present. So don't worry about yesterday or tomorrow, live in the now.

Turntablism, Frank Rivera
For my project I decided to continue with my interest in turntablism. The image I decided to use was of a famous DJ who is standing in front of a huge crowd. The idea of my assignment was to emphasize the depth between dj and crowd in order to provide an appealing 3d image.

Waking Self, Lindsay Stapleton
The Mysterious Stranger" inspired the basis of my project. Twain's novel concludes that life itself is all a dream, and that "The dream-marks are all present; you should have noticed them earlier,"-- I wanted to play with some of these themes in my image. All of the text comes directly from the novel, while the photographic elements represent some of the main themes of disillusionment and existentialism. Like a dream, everything in the image is mixed up and confused, and though some of it is possible to piece together, most of it is indiscernible. Much of the text is unreadable but lends texture to the image. I made one of the background layers from numerous multiples of the entire last chapter of the novel.

Dreaming Self, Lindsay Stapleton
This second image is built as a companion to the first, and from that thought I drew inspiration for a number of aspects of the image. I wanted it to be more stark and clear, simpler than the first and a much lighter image. I incorporated a silhouette, while most of the other elements are pieces of images of smoke from smokestacks and piano wires. It also uses text from "The Mysterious Stranger," which I wanted to be more legible. Mark Twain's concept on the dualities of the self are the source of inspiration for the twin titles between the two images.

At the Train Station, Patty Vargas
I call this piece "At the Train Station". I gave it this name because I am currently undergoing a life changing event and it reminds me of the choas when waiting at the train station. It is a place that is filled with color and movement and it was something I wanted to capture in this piece. I also wanted to incorporate some of the techniques I learned in class, such as noise and distorting an image through scale. As I began experimenting with the 3D effects I realized I wanted my viewers to really experience the power of 3D images. This was achieved by giving the back image the illusion that it really was far away and making the subway train appear as though it is popping out in front of the viewer. It is a piece that makes one think, feel, and experience.

The Beast in Me is Caged by Frail and Fragile Bars, Georgianna Wilson
The image is a composite of Johnny Cash's mugshots. In the background I copied his side profile and flipped it to give it the effect of his movement as he turned from left to right for his mugshot, and to also have the aesthetic of a multiple exposure image like that of Étienne-Jules Marey. I also played with the opacity to give it a sort of "ghostly" feel. In the foreground I added a prescription bottle with pills spilling out because Johnny Cash was arrested for having narcotic pills in his possession. I felt that the addition of this in the foreground would break up the symmetry of the composition and also create an element of something popping out from the image to add to the 3D effect.

Untitled, Edith Yeh
This image came together extremely sporadically. I wanted to apply various things I had learned in class to this final project, such as noise, layers, and masking. By exploring different techniques with images that I happen to come across, I was able to arrange them together in a cohesive manner. I also wanted to explore and fully utilize the 3D capabilities of the lenticular lens. By placing song lyrics in the piece, I made it more sentimental and personal rather than something that is able to be interpreted.

Out There, Serena zahler
My final project, titled Out There, is built upon the works of Andreas Gursky and Ed Ruscha who use minimal aesthetics to create depth and aerial-type perspective. I wanted to create an interesting composition with the simplest aesthetics possible. By using pieces of long exposure light and changing their dimensional perspective, I created an environment that is reminiscent of a galaxy or unidentified place unknown to the viewer. Conceptually, the viewer’s eye will float around and within the depth of the space similar to the movement within the floating discs. The 3-Dimensionality of Out There focuses the viewer into a calming, meditative state to discover the nuances and curiosities of simplicity.