Album Cover

For the album cover analysis, I chose Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad.  I was drawn to this image because of the dramatic lighting that was chosen.  There is an intense key lighting coming from directly in-front of Rihanna.  This makes for interesting contrast in the fast fall-off on the back side of her body.  There is also a background lighting that is placed in just the right way that it highlights around her body.  This gives the effect that she is glowing.  The album cover is done in black and white but there is a extensive use of the gray scale represented.  The intense white of her dress contrasts with darkest black of the background.  Her face also has a nice composition.  The highlights on her nose and lips are set off even more by the intense black of her hair seductively hiding a single eye.  The decision to make her name in aqua, the only use of color in the images, is also a nice choice.  This adds interests and makes her name stand out as much as she does.

 The framing in this album cover is a medium shot hitting her body at the thigh.  I almost feel that her body itself is a graph vector since her body is in a position that causes such a dynamic swiping curve.  This vector is directing you to look up her body and settle on her face.

 The title of the album Good Girls Gone Badis a symbolic cultural expression signifying the rebellion from innocence.  This combination of the once pure rejecting conservative nature for the wild side is a very seductive and intriguing idea.  Especially since the conservative, innocent side is still apart of the person only now mixed with something more seductive and exciting.  This title is signifying that Rihanna is the good girl who has gone wild.  Her white dress has a connotation to the purity of her innocent and the contrasting darkness in the background and her chic black hair signifies the wild, bad side that she has taken in the album.  She takes on the mixture of classy and seductive in the cover, making for a pleasing and intriguing composition.

That’s Questionable!

In reading Chapter 7, I enjoyed reading about images that conjure up stereotypres.  I was particularly interested in the section Sexism in Advertising.  I didn’t realize how often I look at images that invoke sexist stereotypes without even realizing it.  The book states, “hair care, clothing, and makeup advertisements regularly give women the impression that they are inferior if they do not measure up to the impossible beauty standards demonstrated by high-priced models.”  As a woman, I agree with this statement.  If it wasn’t for the commercial advertisments for beauty products containing beautiful models who appear to have power, wealth, and attention from men I would have never considered putting chemicals on my face.  I look at those models that appear to have it all and think, “why wouldn’t I want to have all that?”  I also find myself putting alot of pressure on myself to measure up to those perfectly airbrushed Barbie dolls.  I am aware that I am easily influences by advertising and its frustrating in a way to know that advertisers manipulate their strategies to control people like me. 

That’s Questionable!

In Chapter 6, I find a very questionable statement under the section Advertisements and Social Issues.  An advertising photograph for Benetton’s clothing is being analyzed.  It shows a white woman giving a kiss on the check to a black woman.  His hands are holding her face and he is really pressing his kiss into her.  The book quotes Dr. Kauffman, a professor at the University of Louisiana, saying”‘ The black woman’s face is completely confined, contained, imprisoned in the white man’s hands and forceful kiss. Indeed, for his hand to cover her forehead like that, he has to have her entire head trapped in his left arm. That would be a problematic image if the woman were white!’”  I disagree with this statement.  When I look at this photograph I see all the things that Dr. Kauffman sees but I interpret it quite differently.  I see a biracial couple goofing around and enjoying each-other.  The man is holding the woman’s head to kiss her but his expression is joyous and playful, not angry and dominating.  And the woman has a goofy look on her face like she is pretending to be embarrassed but it secretly enjoying it.  I don’t like in when people try to look to far into to something like this and turn a simple, rough-housing moment between a couple into a race issue.  And even if the situation was between two white people, my mind wouldn’t go to domestic violence either.  I would look at it is as a silly boyfriend trying to embarrass his girlfriend because he can’t get enough of her. 

Movie Poster

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 It selected the movie poster from Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  The lighting in is photograph consists of a directional key light coming from the right and a fill lighting coming from the right.  The base light in this image has a overall high intensity because every aspect of the subjects are illuminated; however, the incident lighting does create some fast fall off seen in the attached shadows on Julia Roberts’ left leg and arm.  It appears that Julia and Richard have been photo-shopped into the stark white background, making them appear that they are flowing in thin air.  This causes intense contrast between the subjects and their background, making you focus on them specifically.  The color in this photograph is extremely simple.  The only color can be seen in the skin tones of the subjects and the pink in Julia’s shirt and the movie’s title. 

 The composition of the poster is also simple.  It consists of a extreme long shot including the entire body of the the actors.  This allows from more body language to be visually communicated.  There are index vectors coming from both of the actor’s eyes and a graph vector seen in Richard’s tie being pulled by Julia.  The signage on the right of the poster balances the offset of the couples subjects. 

 I find it interesting that the graphic artists chose to enhance Richard’s hair color to black when it is grey in the movie.  Maybe they did this to make him look younger, making his relationship with Julia seem more appropriate.  The clothing worn by the actors are key signifiers in communicating the story of the film.  Julia is wearing very provocative clothing  signifying her role as a prostitute.  The connotation of Julia’s high leather boots are symbols of easy women.  However, instead of a sultry or seductive pouty stare, she has a warm and friendly smile.  This signifies her good-nature and fun-loving spirit that is what actually seduces Richard.

 Richard is wearing a power suit including handkerchief with very polished shoes.  The entire ensemble looks very expensive indicating that his is very successful and powerful.  However, his stance is submissive, signifying that he needs to balance his egocentric executive life with letting go and having a woman tell him what to do.  All of these components communicate visually to give the viewer details into the story of the film.

Change the Frame, Change the Meaning

Above is a photograph of Barak Obama, a democratic politician running for president, at a politcal rally in Madison, Wisconsin.  This picture was featured in Newsweek magazine in the article “Can Clinton Overcome Obama?”  This title paired with this picture (without even reading the article) gives me the feeling that the magazine is on Obama’s side and wants the readers of this article to be as well.  This photgraph is a  medium shot and even though there are many more people on one side of the picture than the other, there seems to be adequate balance in the photograph.  There are a number of index vortexes, seen in the people’s hands reaching out to shake hands with the presidential candidate.  This causes all the energy in the picture to be focused onto Obama, even though he is out numbered by the crowd.  There is also an index vortex coming from Obama’s eyes looking into the crowd, this gives me the feeling that he is connecting with the crowd. “The People’s Politician.” There is adequate headroom and the photgraph feels confortable and natural.  The downward facing fill light, highlighting Obama’s head and shoulders, also adds to this effect.  The ambient light in this setting is strong and allows for slow falloff in the photograph.  There is nothing mysterious about this man and he feels friendly and appproachable, the desired effect of anyone trying to promote a political candidate.  The article goes on to state the facts of the democratic race between Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama.  The article claims that they are very close in the polls but predicts that Obama will pull ahead if Clinton doesn’t step up her efforts. 

The desired visual effects through the subject’s placement and lighting are successful in projecting the attitude within the article. 

That’s Questionable!

Within Chapter 4, I found the section regarding perspective the most interesting.  The perspective of your viewer is the most important element in achieving the desired goal of the artist.  If you don’t take your viewer’s perspective into consideration, your visual image may not have the effect that you are aspiring for.  The author states, “Probably the most complex depth perception cue is perspective.  A person’s cultural heritage has more bearing on the interpretation of perspective attributes than any other factor.”   I agree with this.  A person’s culture is a basic foundation of a person’s believes and this factor will direct how they react to visual images.  Being aware of their perceptive based on these cultural and social factors, will guarantee your success in visual communication.

Feb. 7 Ass.

This is a still life painted by Mr. Sulkowski.  It features a simple display of peaches and grapes  and a antique brass coffee pot.  I was drawn to this image because of the contrast between the bright peaches and the reflection off the metal with the dark, somewhat mysterious, background.  Looking at it further I image this scene to be in a small, old cottage that has that is sunny and warm but has begun to show its wear.  Inside this cottage would be a collection of sentimental treasures collected over time.  I would image this scene on one of the dusty shelves in the kitchen, with the bright sun barely peeking through a tiny, dusty window.  The peaches are what first catches your eye because of their fast fall of between their brightness and darkness of the rest of the painting.

I believe there is a single light source in this painting.  I believe this directional key light is coming from the front of the objects and slightly to the lower left hand side. This creates the cast shadow of the coffee pot onto the blue wall, or background, behind it.  The incident light intensity is strong enough to create the highlight seen on the peaches, bowl, and coffee pot but since it is directional and focused just of this objects, the outside of the painting is still dark and out of view.  There is extremely fast falloff in this painting.  Without the highlights and reflections of light coming off of the coffee pot we would even be able to tell that it is a coffee pot. 

The use of lighting in this painting is truly what makes it look so intriguing.  The choice to use a single directional key light made the illustration take on mysterious dynamic that wouldn’t have been achieved otherwise.

This is a still life by Mattew Bates titled Villa Cafaggio.  I choose it because I liked the different tones it has when compare to the Sulkowski painting above.  This paintings is so beautiful because it has the look of being a photograph.  I am amazed by the realism in the wineglass, the texture of the orange, and the detail in the woven basket.  I think this is a beautiful setting and it reminds me of a saturday afternoon in the middle of the summer where there is nothing else to worry about besides enjoying a glass of wine and the warm sunshine.

There is entensive use of lighting in this painting.  Mr. Bates uses a background light to illuminate the back wall and curtain.  Because of the these curtains, the viewer assumes that this light is coming from a window located just beyond the curtains and out of sight from the viewer.  There are cast and attached shadows coming off of these curtains which allows the viewer to see the texture in the curtains and wall while also seeing that the curtains have a depth that extends out of the wall.  There is also a directional key light coming from the right of the page and shining onto the table.  This light has a warmer color temperature than the light that appears to be coming from the window, suggesting that it is an indoor incandescent light.  This light also has the highest intensity because the objects it illuminates have the most reflected light.  Finally, there is a diffused fill light shining down on the table from the left corner of the painting.  I almost didn’t notice it until I saw the cast shadow on the orange and the pear.  This light has a low intensity but gives just enough light to produce a highlight on the top of the orange.  Since this light is shining down on the table, fast falloff is created.  Thus, producing the high contrast between the front hanging tablecloth and the rest of the portrait.

 As you can see, both of these paintings have a very different tone that is achieved through the artist’s choice of lighting.  With the careful consideration of the different types of lighting and the effects they create, an artist can manipulate their pieces in an infanite amount of ways.

That’s Questionable!

In Chapter 1 on page 7 the author , Paul Martin Lester, says, “the more you know, the more you sense. The more you sense, the more you select.”  I understand the context in which he is saying this to mean that an educated mind is more liking to take notice and think deeply into situations than one who is just passing by.  However, I can’t help but feel as if it should be the other way around.  I believe that the more we sense, the more we know. Therefore, the more we know, the more you can select to pursue.  This is clearly deminstrated by the learning processes in child, as well as adults.  The more you expose a young child to the more they can absorb the information and think critically about it.  Thus expanding their mind to take on more advanced senses and philosophies later on.  I greatly agree with Mr. Lester when he goes on to say, “The greatest aid to clear seeing isn’t eyes that function with ot without glasses or a telescope that brings into sharp focus the craters of the moon. The process of sensing, selecting, and percieving takes a curious, questionable and knowledgeable mind.”  If we can broaden our minds through exposing ourselves to a vast array of senses, our mind can have the experience it needs to develope opinions, philosophies, and insights.

Fine Art Ass.1

Fine Art Image

This image is a beautiful George Eastman photograph. I choose this image because I was attracted to the movement of the image. My eye was drawn throughout the picture. The subject’s pose is interesting and has a sort of fluid movement that draws you through the picture. The lighting here also has an impact on this moving effect. The fill lighting that highlights her face draws you in, inspiring you to notice every line and characteristic of her face. This fill lighting also highlights her pointer finger and hand. I believe that this has more of a dramatic effect than it would if just her face was highlighted. The background lighting in this photograph is also a significant feature that makes this photograph so dynamtic. This lighting effect illustrates the curves of her body. All of these elements together make a simple woman take on the persona of a heavenly dancer. Without these lighting elements working together this posing woman would be unexciting and flat. But instead your eye is drawn throughout the image and you are drawn to the every detail. 

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