This semester I am interested in studying the human figure. I intend to complete a body of figurative paintings that largely relies on demonstrating the figure ground relationship between the body and its relationship to the space it embodies. The paintings themselves will illustrate nude figures in a variety of postures, color schemes, and perspectives while overlapping film onto the canvas. The purpose of this project is to merge film layers onto two-dimensional work and document a process. The film overlay, which is to be projected onto the canvas, will construct a build up of layers acting as if they free the figure’s presence from the enclosed space of a rectangular picture frame.
During the execution of filming, I plan to document nude figure models and /or experiment with successfully capturing silhouettes and shadows on film. I will work with various lighting setups and conditions to capture both and then determine how adequately the film can be projected on top of a painting. For this process I will need 1 person to assist, plenty of lights, models, concise film editing, and access to a projector. I plan to shoot as frequently as possible a single model or figure at a time and never having more than two simultaneously in the film. Depending on how large I decide the painting will be and how much space I am given for the senior show I would like to leave a portion of the figure incomplete so that the rest would be filled in with a projection of the footage. If I properly manage to shoot silhouettes of the figure, I intend to use the film as way to project these shadows on top of the work. The shadows will consist of the painter themselves (me) standing over the painted figure and demonstrating the action of making brushstrokes on the canvas while another silhouette of the model changes positions in a succession. The success of the projection will also depend on indoor lighting conditions during the BFA installation.
I will need the following:
· Camera equipment (camera and tripod) No sound equip needed.
· Lighting kit, may need more than one, good lighting conditions
· May need 1 crew member
· Access to professional models/hired models
· A projector
I plan to shoot weeknights, or whenever a model is available
I plan to shoot weeknights, or whenever a model is available
Your idea is very clear and also interesting. I really like the combination of painting and film. When you say film will it be stills or actual video? If it is video you could do several things with the silhouettes, such as keying out the shadow or the light to create negative space in the film and show parts of the paintings with nothing projected on them. In my opinion I think video would be more interesting than stills so you can create that contrast of a moving video onto a stationary painting. Overall this sounds like a strong project.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wes on this that your idea is pretty concise and the combination of painting and film us great. The idea of something moving along something stationary is visually compelling like the last video you referenced where everything was stationary while the image itself grew. What I would like is a rough sketch of what you plan on doing, nothing fancy but something to create a better mental image of what your going to achieve. I like the idea of have part of it incomplete to have film on it. It would make a good contrast with the stillness of the rest of the project.
ReplyDeleteI think I understand what you are planning to do. Is it that you are painting the on the canvas as the video is playing or is it a pre-made canvas drawing with projected images on them. The projection of images is clear, but I'm asking are you one of the models in the silhouette and the installation is contained in one video?. Or will you be interacting with your project during the BFA? I hope I am clear with what I'm asking. But other than that, I believe this is a interesting concept to work with. I haven't seen anything like this before so I'm looking forward. I think you may need to be more specific about you schedule so that it's not all (spur of the moment) when it comes to shooting. So that way you ask your actors to be ready by a date or you can work around a deadline.
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