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Assignments
Here is the general area in which I submit the work I produce for my Digital Imaging class of 2016 and afterwards. Following each piece is its title (in italics), the name of the assignment it was created for, and a brief explanation of the piece. Note that several works have titles in Japanese, Spanish, or languages other than English. Their translations are provided in parentheses.
Kowareta Michi (Broken Path)
Formalism (2016)
Iro No Mizu (Colorful Water)
Motion Scan (2016)
Moeru Hana (Burning Flower)
Formalism Manipulated (2016)
Scrambled Data
Weave (2016)
Kagami Matsuri (Mirror Festival)
Formalism/Symmetry (2016)
This piece is based on the style of formalism, an artform of arranging items in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. The works of Andy Goldsworthy (b. 1959) serve as inspiration for the work. This compostion is meant to utilize bright colors using my preferred medium: LEGO®.
This piece is a physically altered work by creating a formalist composition and then forming intersting shapes during the composition's scan. While the scan took place, I readjusted the composition with rampant movements to create the wavey impression.
Based on Kowareta Michi, this piece was an experiment to test my abilities of creating a mirror image with Photoshop. This was my second work involving Photoshop. Through instructions from my class, I was able to composite the image into a symmetrical arrangement.
Another experiment based on my lessons, this work utlizes two sources to form a pattern that resembles weaving. I utilized Photoshop to take elements of two photographs and arrange them in rows and columns. The layer masking and marquee tools of Photoshop enabled me to reveal the hidden layers of the composition.
The objective of this assignment was to create an engaging compostion with depth by using individual items. For Moeru Hana, I utilized apple slices and Photoshop to create the illusions of a flower decaying into darkness. I experimented with color balance, hue, saturation, lightness, and distortion to create the piece.
No System of Play
Montage (2016)
Here, I used multiple photographs to create a single, intentionally distorted image of an everyday object. In this case, the subject is a classic LEGO® brick with a few extra accessories. This solid, yet disrupted form certainly deviates from the brand brick's uniformity, the "system of play" which keeps the iridescent pieces so well-put together.
Octuplet Troll
Arbitrary Color (2016)
Based on the work of Andy Warhol, Octuplet Troll was an experiment of color, saturation, and the usage of the Posterize tool on Photoshop. Carefully utilizing a unique color palette for each section was essential for creating a vibrant composition. The subject ofTroll is a stuffed toy of the Studio Ghibli character Totoro from the film My Neighbor Totoro.
Kyouto Sansaku (Playing in Kyoto)
Tilt Shift (2016)
The intention of this project was to create a compostion that would have a toy-like quality. Making a real-life setting appear more playful and iridescent involved the use of the lens blur, hue, saturation, and spot healing brush tools of Photoshop. The quality of the original image (right) was improved and the date was removed to create the final composition (left). The subject is a shot of the city of Kyoto, Japan from an overlooking hillside.
Bunka Taifuu (Culture Typhoon)
Personal Map (2016)
This personal map is a culmination of my thoughts of my past and how the future (forcefully) brings them together. It is a necessity for my success in the future. The left side of the piece is clearly dimmer, implicating the past. The faded flower at the extreme left is the harbinger of the start of my tolerance for my mixed heritages. The upper tier of the typhoon depicts the first family reunion of my father's lineage: the African American Davis' are shrouded in savanna-like thickets, representing my lack of familiarity with my fraternal heritage. The lower tier of the typhoon depicts a more recent family reunion: me amongst my less alienating Japanese cousins and grandmother. My attachment to this lineage is represented by a fragment of my Japanese language notes. The two tiers are divided by my radiated arm emerging from claws which propel it to the present and future. Additional appendages sprout in protest, depicting my inner struggle to tolerate a change of my cultural idiosyncrasy. Into my unknown future, a light of change is not grasped by the arm, but it instead absorbs the arm and the typhoon into one unstable yet defined focus. Amid the turbulence, the two landscapes of the left switch places and witness the blend. They fade into the background, omnipresent yet unobtrusive in the light of my future career of architecture. One of my conceptual sketches blends in with the harmonious families, implying that my newfound tolerance will undoubtedly benefit my success in later years.
Love That Crashes Beyond Waves
Stop Motion (2016)
Presented here is a stop motion animation that I created in collaboration with colleague Khayree Davis (with whom I have no family relation). A stop motion is created by taking a series of photographs that, when edited together in quick succession, create the illusion of movement. This is most applicable to inanimate objects such as cups, ribbons, cloth, and other nonliving items. The purpose of the project was to create such a stop motion that presents fine art and may not need to be realistic. In fact, it was preferred that we create a more abstract piece of art. This particular project has approximately eight frames (or photographs) per second and was created over the course of about eight hours.
What is That?
Electronic Mirror (2016)
For this project, I collaborated with my brother, fellow aspiring artist Ricardo Yuuki Davis, to create an electronic mirror, quintessentially a video "reflection" of myself. Apart from the use of altering footage speed, the shots in this project are wholly unedited. As seen here, my 2015 work Helmet is utilized here to portray sweltering hatred that must, and can, be quelled. As the hate rises above my head, a narrator rhythmically asks, "What is that? What is that? What is this? What is this?" in Japanese. Relatively less time consuming to produce than Love That Crashes Beyond Waves, total time to produce What is That? took no more than four hours.
I, Robot
Aesthetics of the Ordinary (2016)
For this project, the objective was to depict an ordinary object in an abstract style and to reveal a more aesthetic quality of said object. In the case of the microwave oven in I, Robot, I tried to create a "horror of the ordinary" by heightening tension with extreme closeups and increasing the sound tempo and concentration. Referencing the novel series I, Robot by Isaac Asimov with the title, this piece depicts a sentient being. It also addresses contemporary fears of artificial intelligence and its likely limitation thanks to human rationale.
Cesped Largo (Long Grass)
Fictitious Advertising [Chindogu] (2016)
Based on the phrase coined by Japanese inventor Kawakami Kenji, Chindogu is a playful art of creating inventions that may be helpful but either create more problems or have an embarrassing effect. Here, a gladiator is hopelessly commissioned to advertise his "natural lawnmower" with his reliable companions. Instead of fighting in a coliseum, the gladiator finds himself courting his goats to eat.
Sonyaa
Animorph (2016)
The animorph is intended to be a mixture of a human face and a non-human face. Depicted here is a close associate of mine who would prefer not to be fully identified. The name of this piece is a play on words combining the subject's name (Sonia) and the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow (nya). The extra "a" in the title intentionally extends the sound to emulate a cat's meow.
Luna Obscura (Dark Moon)
Miscellaneous (2016)
A Sunday Afternoon on an Isle of Friendship and Interests
Appropriation (2016)
This image is another experimental piece as a test of filter options on Photoshop. The name of the piece is based on the disconsolate, yet somewhat comical situation bestowed upon the subject. The subject used was a family pet named Candi prior to being given a shower.
This piece is an example of what is called an appropriation. In such a piece, a famous work of art is changed or integrated with changes to either present a message, humor, or a different purpose. For this particular piece, I parodied Georges Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in order to create a tribute for one of my closest friends, identified as Tomo. I chose Sunday Afternoon due to its fame and its French origin, which coincides with Tomo's pride in her French heritage. Along with Tomo herself (at bottom) are some of her favorite figures of popular culture. At center are two characters from Japanese animation, or anime: Iyami from Osomatsu-san (left) and Alucard from Hellsing: Ultimate. Additionally, there are three pairs of suited men scattered about the scenery. They are the British musical group, The Correspondents, who are famous for the cloning effects used in their music videos. The vastness of outer space replaces the original lake background to represent the great artistic potential that Tomo possesses. Superimposed into the vast space is a profile of Robin Taylor, who depicts the character called the Penguin from the television series Gotham. Tomo admires all of these characters and would probably love to spend an eternity with this random bunch.
Tokage Mama (Lizard Mama)
Animorph (2016)
The animorph is intended to be a mixture of a human face and a non-human face. Depicted here is a special gift for my mother for the Mothers' Day 2016 (May 9). Because of her fondness for lizards and all other reptiles, I chose to add her likeness to an innocent, yet somewhat ominous chameleon. Photoshop enabled me to add both her hair and glasses.
Taajaa no Sakuhin (Taja's Masterpiece)
(2016)
Deja's Tribute
(2016)
Surrounded by her art and talent, my best friend and Platonic Soulmate Taja Emmanus smiles in pride. As an artist, hope, and friend, she continues to improve, inching closer to her masterpiece.
Deja Emmanus is encapsulated here along with her own image. This birthday tribute, made by combining layers and using Warhol-inspired techniques, was made to symbolize Deja. This is akin to her twin sister's tribute (at left).
My Dad, The Dragon
(2016)
Pictured here is an animorph of my father mixed with a dragon illustration. Created for his birthday, the image is representative of his strength, rage, and power. A dragon was also chosen because he was born in a year of the dragon, an animal represented in the Chinese horoscope.
For Father's Day 2016 (June 19), I created this Warhol-inspired canvas for my father. The character superimposed at front is the Chinese/Japanese character for "dragon." Much like My Dad, The Dragon, this image directly compares him to the mythical creature.
My Dad, The Dragon 2
(2016)
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Stop Motion (2015)
For a project in my Senior Seminar class in high school, I had to make a presentation conveying a general summary of a given book. The subject here is James Herriot's 1974 autobiography, All Things Bright and Beautiful. Instead of making a typical PowerPoint presentation (though I was still required to make one), I created a stop motion video using my favorite medium: LEGO®. Though this does not intentionally depict any part of Mr. Herriot's book or his life (all similarities are mere coincidences), it does express my general impression of the book and what it was about. In which case, it was a fun piece to make. The ending song is the victory theme from the Final Fantasy video game series (copyright Square Enix), used to parallel Herriot's witty and lighthearted narrative. This work was completed circa November 28, 2015.
Senior Exit Video
Stop Motion (2016)
This project was my final project relating to high school (though unrelated to my Digitsl Imaging class). One task bestowed upon the senior class of my high school was to create commeroative "senior videos" under the theme of "Films." Given its incredible popularity and ease, I chose to create a movie based on Star Wars as a whole. This work was completed circa February 21, 2016.
Medieval Tussle
Stop Motion (2016)
As my first independent stop motion video, this was nearly an experimental piece. With a baisc plot and little direction in terms of "storyline," the title of this piece says it all. I merely had fun making it and using various techniques of making items fly, fall, or move in tedium (thanks to Photoshop and abundant 忍耐 [see the Artist Statement]). This work was completed on June 20, 2016.
A Not-So-Still Life 1
Stop Motion (2016)
Another experimental piece, I was not particularly focusing on lighting or even the setting. I focused mostly on introducing our subject to the world. As a shorter piece, this piece is likely to not be the last of its kind from me. I will additionally try to improve the Photoshop effect in this series. This video was completed on July 13, 2016.