Photomontage

"The Blues of Amanda"

ARTIST STATEMENT

1) My subject matter was my friend Amanda in an alley. I really wanted to do something in an alley because I thought that it would be an interesting setting and I wanted my friend to dress kind of grungy looking. All of this was important because I wanted to do a picture that showed the many hiding places of an alley. I wasn't so successful with this because of the time of day I took my pictures. We took the pictures at around 6:45 pm on a cloudy day in the alley behind the Chinese restaurant on Main. I wanted an alley that looked as old as possible with buildings on both sides, but living in Aberdeen... I was limited. I was trying to make it feel like you were in an alley, watching a person getting closer from different directions. I what the viewer the get the sense of depth.

2) There's so much line usage, including the effect of the "graphic pen" that helps to draw your eye towards the back of the alley. The shape is very geometrical. There's plenty of texture. I think the values play a key role in drawing your eye into the alley because it starts off bright around the edges and gets dark in the back. I have movement throughout my picture through the placement of my subject, Amanda and also the lines, like; the stairs, the buildings and power lines. I added a light blue background because I wanted the drop shadows to standout a little more but i didn't want it on a plain white background either.

3) My subject is not always clearly seen. Only the ones closest to you. Its sort of like real life when things aren't quite so clear till they're almost right in your face. I think the lack of detail in the back works because it creates a stronger depth of field... you lose detail.

4) The pieces don't fit perfectly, angles are off.. but that's how i wanted it.

5) I really liked this method. It was a lot of fun... and I think its a great way to express emotions and to tell a story through one picture made of many pictures. I don't think there's anything I would do differently, I just think things can't be done the same way for every photomontage.