NOUR SASSINE
"Using any medium or media, explore something usually overlooked within your daily environment. Choose one object, location, or activity. Interpret your discovery in three original pieces."
Theme: The Process of Imagination
1. Trapped
For my Parsons Challenge, I chose to represent my reflexive visualization of my own imagination; it is something I have usually overlooked in my own person.
My first piece “Trapped,” is a mixed media/ 3D composition. It consists of a foam board background with a newspaper collage, relief foam board in the middle with a bird collage and acrylic paint. The whole piece is covered with a Plexiglas box, on which I drew a cage using a black marker.
This piece represents the deepest layer of my imagination: my ideas could follow different paths, but like a bird trapped in a cage, I have to overcome various constraints that could either be personal or imposed by the local environment (the newspaper). Being a perfectionist, I only feel prepared to release ideas from my cage of thought when I am sure that they are ready to fly.
The colors are bursting out of the birds in the center to denote the possibilities of one idea. The black cage contrasts with this, showing that the potential of an idea can only be unleashed after careful inquisition and meticulous preparation. I chose the 3D effect to represent the fact that things are not always what they seem. From the front, the piece seems to be 2 dimensional, and there is no escape way for the birds. However, from the side, there is a gap between the birds and the cage: this represents the concept that, when there is a will, there is a way: I just have to find it. Sometimes, the cage is only a fabrication of my imagination.
2. Filtration
The second piece is a digital image that I created using pictures I have taken of a model and a lampshade.
This image represents the filtration of ideas. As the lamp is the traditional identifier for an idea, it is used here to denote my line of thought. This is the level at which the birds (my ideas) have finally been released from the cage and are now well defined and seeking implementation. The bird that is leaping from the top represents the refinement of all of these ideas into one clear concept or plan. I chose to create this metaphorical image to show that all ideas, no matter how apparently small or insignificant they are, contribute in some way to the greater ideas. This is why I choose to retain some of the smaller ideas (represented by smaller birds) within the lamp: they are extremely valuable and central to the development of greater concepts and to the regeneration of imagination once a defined idea has finally escaped.
Like a strainer, my mind filters the fresh juice from the pulp, but I always keep the pulp in mind because I know that it is full of nutrients and may later be used to make a delicious cake.
3. The Result/Owning it
The third and final piece of my challenge is a garment representing the “result” of the imaginative process. This is the stage at which my imagination can be shared visually with others. The bird on the garment is a manifestation of the idea; it is no longer flying, but is sitting down. I chose to use a static bird to represent the very brief moment of stillness during which I feel that my art-piece is perfect. I know that, after this moment, I will probably revisit my work, tear it apart, and create something new.
This is a two-piece outfit composed of a cropped satin shirt, and a skirt made of tulle and customized printed fabric. I chose to make a black and colored striped shirt to contrast and balance the light colors in the skirt. I also chose to use colors from my first two challenges to show how everything comes together, and all my strands of thought are tied in a neat knot. There is a printed collage on the side of the garment (shown in the second image), which represents my experimentation throughout the creative process of making this piece. The shape, movement, and colors of the skirt, convey a bird-like movement of flight when the model walks.
Wearing this garment made me feel that I have become one with my idea. Not only did I feel that I owned it, but also that I had developed a much more complex understanding of my creativity and self.