Semester and Year: Spring 2017

Course: ARS 281

 

Student Name: Kelly Smith

Date: April 20, 2017

 

PROJECT TITLE

Trash or Treasure

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

All my life I have lived in a world of mess.  Year old newspapers, plastic bottles, useless knick knacks always in a line of sight.  Growing up with a hoarder created far more than just the visual mess.  It expanded to stress from both being in arguments about throwing out a cracked bowl and getting reprimanded for buying new clothes.

For this photo assignment, I want to capture the mess I live with and put it on display.  The goal is to take a plethora of photographs showing the visual chaos of my world, through my eyes.  Ideally, the light will wash out the image, in either light or dark, to parallel my emotional exhaustion.  After these images are captured, I will print them into tangible objects.  Then I will rip apart or cut up some of the photos, while also layering them atop one another.  Basically, I want to translate the mess through photographs and then bring it back into the real world.  Therefore, the presentation of my images will mirror their subject.  I’m hoping to build these images out to create 3D structures, rather than just hanging them flat on a surface.  These images will be on the wall, on the floor, and perhaps on objects in the room.  The purpose of my project is to create a feeling of being overwhelmed due to a chaotic environment.  I want to emphasize the multitude and randomness of a hoarder’s prized possessions.

 

OUTCOMES

  • 100+ images
  • 4” x 6” , 8” x 10”
  • ripped up, cut up images
  • create 2D images into a 3D mound of images and trash/objects
  • use corner to pile up objects and spill into space

 

METHODS AND MATERIALS

  • DSLR to shoot project
  • X-Acto knife
  • Duct tape
  • Garbage bags
  • Plastic bottles
  • Other hoarded objects

 

REFERENCES

“Sara Cwynar: Between Kitsch and the Hyperreal.” Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017. <http://www.foam.org/nl/talent/spotlight/sara-cwynar-between-kitsch-and-the-hyperreal>.