Assignment 4 : The Day After

Assignment 4's Theme: Photomontage in artist David Hockney’s style which he called “joiner”. Hockney explored difference between mechanical view and eye’s/minds view (single vs. multiple point of view). Photomontage is the process (and result) of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs.

It had been a long time since I played with jigsaw puzzles. :) This assignment was tedious but fun at the same time. It is definitely time consuming to piece tons of photos together. For me, the beauty and intriguing part of a photo montage would be how the imperfections looked perfect. It may be an indulgence for some of us to piece bits and pieces together to create a picture in the way we see things. You can even create your own dreamland. :)

---------------- What was for dinner yesterday?----------------

The photos were taken during dinner on a Saturday night after my photo taking outdoors. I enjoy taking pictures when eating with friends and family so anytime I look at them, it will remind me of the happy moments then. Making this photo montage was enjoyable because when piecing the photos together, I could recollect the fun moments :) I was glad the camera was with me because this was not my initial idea. I was trying to be as discreet as I can in the restaurant but once I got into the mood, I couldn't stop shooting. Ended up taking more photos than eating. My brother said I was like a paparazzi haha (At least he had moments of how is it like to be a celebrity) Anyway, in the photo, I wanted to include a little bit of myself so I took shots of my hand and the food I was eating. Hopefully when you see the picture, you can imagine yourself sitting beside me and enjoying the food as well.

----------------------- After thoughts`-----------------------

I decided to remove the lights which I added in after feedbacks from Meimei and Christina that the initial light added to the picture didn't really fit in the ceiling due to the colours. Adjusted the lightings and colours but couldn't make it look more natural.

I made some mistakes during my photo taking, I didn't take shots of everything in view. Thus I didn't manage to include more angles to the top/bottom and the sides. Other feedbacks about my montage was it was quite interesting to see the people without legs such as the waiter and the boy, as well as my hand that provide an interesting view to the montage. If you have any other ideas on how I can improve, please drop me a comment? :)

----------------------- Peer Evaluation`-----------------------

After seeing all the works in class, I realized I was more captured by those that were not joint exactly but still looked so compatible next to each other. Really allures me. My favourite would be Meimei's 'The Day After - Uncover it' (edited version one). The montage was just so beautifully done and the fact that she was doing a montage on her favourite backalley added lots of sentiment to the picture. Maybe I am personally fond of things that changed in condition over time, every detail such as the rusty pipes, the signs of burns on the floor, the windows, ladders and creeping plants made my eyes glued to the picture. I give her 10/10 for the montage. I would love to see the completed version of the whole row of all the shophouses!

I also like Zhen Qin's montage. His idea of 2 moments in time merged into one was splendid. Sometimes I really thought of what is it like for a world to be more random. There are too much systematic things and we always have to follow...... For me, his montage says something like 'let's just have fun'. I really like this idea of an impossible traffic. I used to think how is it like for people to be walking upside down. Might be an inspiration for my next montage :) I give him full marks for his idea. Total of 9/10, a little improvement on his execution and techniques can enhance the aesthetics of his montage. I think Jasmine has a somewhat similar concept but it felt quite scary to see people on the mrt tracks.

I like Paul's concept of 'Day after tomorrow' a lot. Sometimes when you sit down quietly, thoughts would just engulf your mind. In his concept, the same bench but everyday there are different people who sits there. And all of them sits there with different feelings. For some, it may be an escape from the buzz of the stressful life, it may be loneliness that fills the person or just a simple place for a family to enjoy the happy moments together. The bench may just be a static thing, but different individuals sitting on the bench day after day gives different meanings to the bench. I give him full marks for his concept. Really very thoughtful and thought provoking. Anyway, this module seems to have become quite philosophical for me... haha :)

----------------------- Self Assessment`-----------------------

I would give myself 10 for effort, 8 for creativity/concept and 8 for techniques. Total of : 8.6/10

The 1.4 marks left for improvement would be for a better execution. I should have taken more photos and include more angles such as those on the left and right on me and even above and include them in my photo montage so I can display a better overview of the place that I was in. :)