joana with one n [has a thesis blog]

These are the final prints I’ll be installing at the Design+Technology2009 symposium (May 2nd and 3rd, 65 Fifth Ave, 2nd floor!). The teeth are already done, and the last two are being printed on Monday. I’ve got frames being made for them. The whole shebang will be ready on Thursday, just in the nick of time (I hope).

I traced a bunch of photographs of me making a grr face, and I’ve been layering the drawings onto some scans. I really don’t like how the scans look, but the grr faces are kind of cool. Well, at least I like them.

Bart and Lucy are so fucking cool. You know what I mean?


I love how they play with form. Too cool.

Ted thoughtfully sent me some interesting precedents to consider alongside my work:

Osang Gwon is the man. These sculptures are so cool.

He worked with Keane for their Perfect Symmetry album, and these articles at Hypebeast and Creative Review shows some of his process:

Rad.

This all got me thinking about David Hockney’s photo collages. I did a project in high school emulating his work, and I since forgot about how much I like it. Interesting…

My projected scans, let me show you them:

Birthmark on torso

Hand on stomach

Face on Rich’s arm

Knuckles on shoulder

I did a project a while back, projecting slides onto a person, and the resulting photos were cool but confusing. I don’t like how the scans of my leg and knuckles come out like a bad metaphors for disease. The photos are very dark, so it’s difficult to reference the body parts without picking an obvious landmark (like a navel). The scans lose all of their detail, and a lot of the photos are out of focus anyway. The whole thing looks kind of cheesy, like telling ghost stories in the dark with a flashlight.

Rich was my trusty assistant, and he did a fine job. That being said, it’s very difficult to simultaneously pose in the photos and direct the composition of the images.

I’m not very happy with these images in particular, but they could be the start of something interesting.

I’m currently in the process of making a list of things to do with these scans, as Adam has recommended. That will appear here in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, I’ve scanned some more bits.

Knuckle close-up.

I like that it looks like light is being emitted from my knuckles. Super knuckles.

This is actually more interesting on its side. It becomes more about texture and less about form.

Tongue (see below).

Trying to stay absolutely still is remarkably difficult, especially while lying on the floor with your face pressed against a scanner. Try it sometime.

Here are some closeup chunks of the scans in the previous post. At a distance, the scans look just as they seem–like I put myself on a scanner. Up close though, the images are more interesting, more compelling. I’m not sure how to make my entire arm (as an example) as equally compelling as a closeup of fingers… thoughts?

Foot

Heel

Arm

Then I started scanning Richard, who was kindly assisting me during my scanning endeavors.

Beard

Chest

I realize there are parts missing. I’d like to add my hands, my upper arm and my thighs. Believe it or not, I scanned my ass, but chose not to include it. I don’t think it’s a compelling addition…yet.

Stay tuned.

Like John Gerrard’s Dark Portrait’s, I want to throw my friends into a box, and make them wait until I take a picture. Rather than looking into the dark for an unknown amount of time, they will look at themselves. Behold, the mirror booth.

Matt showed me this unbelievably great site: Laser Portraits.

God, that is so brilliant.