VISA 0120 Foundations Media: Computation + Art

This is intended as a rather light-hearted self-portrait. There was a time when I would colour-coordinate ALL my clothing and accessories. Now not so much, but sometimes I still find it hard to resist!

This portrait shows the difference that the colour of make-up, clothing and accessories can have, and in doing so shows different sides of the self. That is not to say that what I wear effects my behaviour, but I think it is an interesting exploration of the superficial differences bought by physically changing one’s appearance.

The mousepressed option takes a different look at the effects of changing colour, by setting everything else monochrome and making the eyes ‘flash’. The face takes on a different ‘mood’ as the eyes change colour, which I used to demonstrate the importance of ones eyes in expressing emotion.

People often see what they would like to see in others (and themselves as well) rather than their true selves. And just as often people try to present to others what they think they would like to see, making it even harder for the moment of true connection and understanding to occur. The same applies to one’s search for oneself. In a lot of cases what one sees in oneself is the mere reflection of what is going around one and inside one’s head. In this piece I tried to show the difficulty of finding one’s true self, both for the others and the person himself, and the beauty of the rare moment of revelation when they overcome such obstacles as prejudice and misinterpretation.

jinsol_portrait

For my portrait I wanted to create a photorealistic representation that played with the idea of code as an abstracted form for representation.  This is why the image relies on the visual pun of “blue eye” to show that the visual “picture” and “text” are simply structures subject to and created by a code that creates forms, both visual, that convey the same meaning.

 Dispersion

For my self-portrait piece using Processing, I started working with my name. My Korean name(Jin-Ah) in Chinese 振我 means “spreading myself” or “throwing myself”, etc (can be interpreted in different ways).  I referred to some of the monsters on http://www.processing.org/ and worked with the program to create this piece.

Inside out contrast

Self

This Self portrait has two components: unchanging, strong features and an interactive background.  Those who interact with the piece shape the portrait and have the power to influence it, but the features remain steady and independent of the interaction.

Quiet Personality
I chose to hide my self-portrait behind random squares and bars to represent my shyness and my reserved personality. Being quiet is not always a good thing. Sometimes I wish I could have the confidence to speak out and have my voice heard. In a way, I feel trapped behind these squares that don’t allow the viewer to see all the virtues and traits that I actually have.

This is my experimental self portrait. Using simple geometric shapes, I attempted to render my physical characteristics. I have never used Processing before, and though this piece is very elementary, I am proud to have created it and I feel I learned something new.

The concept behind my rather primitive piece is based on the hypothetical question, ‘what if ones allegedly most defining features (in this case, my glasses) weren’t there?’  The text reads ” What if even my glasses didn’t help me see in 3D/ or stop me from sinking into the background / two one none”, capturing both my frustration with not being able to actually make the piece 3D and also the very fading into the background the character fears. 

 
Into the Background