This is really hard for me to write now, because before I saw the work of everyone else in the class I thought I had created something truly unique. I wish I would have done something cooler with the documentation process because the projects where you could watch them develop were most often my favorites.
I developed a deep fascination with Rorschach tests after doing this project. I think the thing I find most interesting about them, is that after further research I learned that the actual image itself isn't even the main point of the process. It is more about the viewers response that says something about who they are as a person. I think that is why I picked images of myself in events that were memorable to me, because I think there is a really interesting play between events that occur and how other view them. The best why I can describe it would be a gay couple kissing, and to some people it could be a beautiful display of affection yet to others it could come off as totally disgusting. I think the saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder holds true into everyday situations. I may have been "living my life" in some of these situations and the connotations I associate with them could be completely different.
The red image is from a high school football game where we dyed our own shirts, and looking back now I thought it was so great and amazing to be with all my friends and show great school spirit, but what about the girls who weren't included? How did that make them feel? Do they then see these happy images as a time of when the felt ostracized?
I think the beginning stages of this project was really hard for me, yet as I look back on it, I still think the ideas behind my project is really interesting. It has hard for me to toe the line between simple and something that took the image completely out of it's element. I had originally planned on even blurring the photos but I remember thinking then that the point became mute if I did that. However now that I've had time to think about it, the blurring or lack thereof only has meaning to me, because I am the only one who was in those events. The "viewer" is witnessing completely foreign images, that emit no form of emotion to them per say unless they images remind them of events in their lives.
I mean it is such a strange feeling to think that these pivotal moments in my life, that have had such an impression on me, don't resonate any feelings or emotions from outside viewers. Which goes back to the Rorschach tests and the idea that the emotions we feel when viewing something have often very little to do with the image itself.
This is where my passion for art comes from. With a poem or book the reader feels the emotions that the writer wants them to fell. With words the writer is able to present emotions to readers through a common language. Sad means sad and the definitions are in black and white when with art it is not the case. I photo of a baseball, even if it is painted in dark somber colors could mean a time of happiness to someone, a time when they spent all day playing a sport that is their passion because to them the dark colors could reflect night time. But to someone who never had someone to throw a ball with, or was never allowed to play sports that image could resonate feelings of neglect and sadness.
One good thing I can say about this final is that I like how the images really look like the ink blots from far away.
I really hope this makes sense, because I feel like since I've had 5 days since I've finished these images I've had so much more time to let the effects of the creation set it. And my mind is a jumble because I don't even know where to begin when describing the points I'm trying to get across.
