Project 6: Surrealism

For this project we took photos then transformed them in photoshop, adding layers, cutting out, experimenting with blending modes and transferring images to create a surreal effect. I was inspired by older surrealist artist like Salvador Dali and newer artist who create photos with a similar effect. I was drawn to the simplicity of so many of these surreal paintings.

Flowers on the mind- For this photo I was inspired by photos by Erin Chase. She took landscapes and put them where people's faces should be, I liked this idea but I transformed it to make it my own. To achieve this effect I erased my friends face and the background behind her. I filled in the negative space with black then added the flowers and erased the parts of her hair that covered them.  I then re- cut out her body to make it a new layer so it was easier to erase and fix how the flowers look. I also duplicated the flower photo many times to get this look. I then added a photo of flowers I took in Colorado and made it less opaque to get the texture. I also brushed on black and blur to blend everything together nicely.

  

Lucille- For this one I was inspired by the more complicated aspect of surrealism. I liked the idea of all these images coming together to make a photo collage. I used the magnetic lasso tool mostly to cut out various objects and shapes then layered them. To achieve this surreal effect I experimented with blending modes to get a dream-like feel. All of the photos in this image I took.

Surrealism

Surrealism was a cultural movement that started in the 1920's and continued through out the 1900's. Surrealist painters often portrayed dream-like scenes, they would develop painting techniques to allow the subconscious to express itself. These paintings would often portray illogical and unnerving scenes; Created from everyday object combined to make a new creature. One major artist during the surrealist movement was Salvador Dali.

The persistence of memory- Salvador Dali.

Swans Reflecting Elephants- Salvador Dali

Another influential painter during the surrealist movement was Rene Margritte. He was Belgian surrealist painter. He was known for clever and thought provoking paintings.

The son of Man- Rene Margritte

The mysteries of the horizons- Rene Margritte.

Project 5: Photoshop