APD Week 9 - Play and Abstraction

Theme: 

In response to the theme of Play and Abstraction, I create a short animation.

Context:

As a method of artistic expression, abstraction is no longer restricted by whether a painting can represent its topic in a figurative and realistic way. Can we convey more, if we rely on the effect of colors and shapes? Can these difficult-to-depict concepts be incorporated into our works through this form of expression? Wassily Kandinsky was one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century, he aims to depict the connection between people and the spiritual realm by portraying the feelings and consciousness of those who cannot be seen. He lays tremendous attention on the psychological and emotional effects of color. In this direction, both Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian had a profound impact on succeeding generations. Taking that into consideration, I planned to create an animation. Color and abstract expressions are used to convey emotion.

A series of paintings by Norwegian modern oil painter Lars Elling show a dreamlike artwork between figurative and abstract art that profoundly represents actual life and stories in Nordic visionary art. I believe his works will inspire people's with inexhaustible imagination and creativity. Lars Elling's paintings provide a visual impression of an extraordinary dream world when seen.

According to Gregory Bateson theory, "Within the dream the dreamer is usually unaware that he is dreaming, and within 'play' he must often be reminded that 'This is play.' Similarly, within dream or fantasy the dreamer 'does not operate with the concept 'untrue'." Most dreamers are unaware that they are dreaming, and some dreams are actually abstract interpretations of reality or higher dimensions. In dreams, time passes differently than in reality. Occasionally, people will experience lengthy dreams, although, in reality, only a few minutes have passed. This is precisely one of the reasons why dreams properly can serve as representations of higher dimensions — time is variable. 

I intend to convey a whimsical and abstract dreamscape through animation and use color rendering to portray these emotions during the whole dream. Dream sequences are based on reality but differ from reality in that the dream frequently features a more choppy plot, an incomprehensible process, and different time passages.

Method:

This animation is frame-by-frame. I believe this incoherent and unconventional style is more consistent with the overall theme. The entire animation will be created using Photoshop and After Effects.

Reflection:

Even though I was confused about how to proceed at one point, I enjoyed the entire work process. This sort of abstract animation, which does not require strong logic, allows me to focus on conveying emotion to the audience. I didn't need to spend lots of time on how to make the plot more coherent just like standard animation. However, I think it's a pretty challenging task, and it's difficult for me to explain this idea and emotion accurately. 

The entire story of dream is inspired by Baiqi Shi's song "Blue." (https://youtu.be/BG6L03nCRzw) The song contains the deep emotions of a person in a relationship, including struggle, agony, escape face, etc. The reality is that many people struggle and suffer from the endure toxic relationships. Some people will attempt to improve their appearance through plastic surgery, weight loss, etc, to maintain a dying relationship. Perhaps not limited to relationships. One of my favorite YouTuber once stated that she already accepted her skin, face, and body as imperfect, but after a few months, she underwent plastic surgery to make herself "more perfect" in an attempt to save her marriage. Psychologically and physically, people would certainly suffer greatly if they decide to get plastic surgery. Bleeding, heavy swelling, inflammation, slow healing of the incisions, lack of feeling, and anesthesia are health-related hazards. It’s their own body, and they have every right to do anything with their body. However, losing one's individuality or their own persistence due to a broken relationship is not something that should be encouraged. I wish to convey my sentiments and emotions about this phenomenon through this animation. Overall, I believe it was an exciting experience to experiment with this approach.

References:

Kandinsky, W. (1977). Concerning the Spiritual in Art, New York: Dover Publications

Wassily Kandinsky's Color Theory [online], Available at <https://study.com/academy/lesson/wassily-kandinskys-color-theory.html>

Bateson, G. (1967). A theory of play and fantasy : a report on theoretical aspects of The project for study of the role of the paradoxes of abstraction in communication, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill

Outcome: https://youtu.be/RfJnSwnWPfA