This week I have spent a lot of time on Photoshop CS6 digitally manipulating medical illustrations. As you are probably aware from my previous blog posts I did struggle doing this to begin with, however persistence and step-by-step guides meant that yesterday I was finally able to finish all ten manipulations.
The process of my images were all very similar and only varied slightly. Each image began with a medical illustration providing the framework as a background layer.
From this I carefully selected other images and subjects that I believed to help portray the desired emotion. These where then individually added as separate layers. To enable the layers to blend professionally and seamlessly I added vector masks and used the paint brush tool- black to erase particular areas, and white to re-add them back in. I found this to be a helpful tool in removing backgrounds, ensuring the images fit within my framework image and also to enable to layers to be woven between the anatomy which overall increased the effect of my images.
The opacity feature was also very useful as it enabled me to be in control of how much or little of the front layer was visible. This was not always enough to create the desired effect so to enable the images to blend the way I wanted them too I had use the blending options for each level. The blending options provide many different options to choose from such as hard or soft light, multiple or subtract etc.
I also found that adding adjustment layers was useful as they enabled the adjustments to be applied to the entire image, thus pulling all the individual layers together.
I was very fortunate in that the Bodies exhibition was shown in the Atrium Theatre of the Luxor Hotel when I was in Las Vegas.
The exhibition has certainly served as a source of inspiration for my recent studies as it showcases real full-bodies and organs. As my work continues to focus on the human anatomy as platform to interpret emotion it was really interesting for me to see aspects of the body that otherwise can be seen only in an anatomy lab.
Although this exhibit initially gave off an eerie aura I found myself captivated by the beautiful complexity of the human body. It was an amazing experience for my work to view the human skeleton up close and provided an opportunity to discover more about our muscular, respiratory, and circulatory systems.
Unfortunately photography was prohibited in the exhibition however I have since been able to view images of the exhibits online and continue to see them as influential to my work.
The exhibit showed examples of the hormones that are created by the pituitary gland, hippocampus and thyroid gland which create some outstanding chemicals that provoke many types of emotion. Looking at this exhibition I feel my work would not seem out of place. The ideas I have regarding the internal landscape and its relationship with our inner most emotions.
The Bodies exhibition is said to be similar to the Body Worlds exhibition that I am also interested in viewing. All bodies that you can view are from real human and have been preserved in polymer to prevent any decay.
One aspect that I found rather interesting was the composition of the exhibits. The bodies were displayed in everyday poses such as playing poker. This was interesting as they made me think about the way out bodies are perceived in everyday lives.
After a fair bit of planning we finally held our auction on Thursday 25th. Things started to get a little hectic and we were all rushing around to ensure the smooth running of the evening. By 6pm everything was ready and our guests began to arrive. I think I speak for many of us when I say we were pleased if not a little surprised by the successful turnout. People were laughing, drinks were flowing and myself and my classmates where able to give a brief sigh of relief. We were very fortunate to receive some wonderful works to auction from a diverse range of excellent artists.
At 7pm the wonderful James Neal started the auction and myself and a few others took pride in presenting each artwork to the eager bidders. I must be honest however there was a few moments where I was stood holding an artwork waiting and hoping for someone to bid. Once the work was sold we work in turn take the work to the packing team who all did a brilliant job in wrapping the work whilst keeping up with the speed we were bringing them out. Of course we couldn’t have been so organised without Sarah overseeing the event and lining up the work in order ready for us to present.
James Neal was brilliant. He had everyone, myself included laughing and smiling at his witty jokes and certainly helped people loosen their wallets. By the end of the evening we were all proud to discover that we had beaten the previous record for money made and can now all start planning a spectacular degree show for June. Myself and Emily even spoke about the possibility of exhibiting in London as well- its all so exciting!
Finally I must credit Alan Turner for capturing the whole event in his sketchbook which featured a range of mediums and some great moments from the event. I am not too sure who sure who managed to win his sketchbook but they certainly bagged a bargain and I am slightly jealous I couldn’t keep it myself!
This evening I took part in a computer experiment that was initially conducted by a team of scientists in Finland and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
They asked participants to map out where there felt different emotions on their bodies. It is not unheard of for people to speak about the way love and happiness can trigger a warmth across the whole body. Nor is the saying ‘feeling blue’ when your sad. Lauri Nummenmaa, a psychologist at Aalto University stated “Our emotional system in the brain sends signals to the body so we can deal with our situation”. For example, when you feel fear your nervous system increases oxygen to your muscles and raises your heart rate so you can deal with the threat.
The experiment asked volunteers to look at 14 different emotions. Two blank silhouettes are presented and participants are asked to paint the first in areas that feel stimulated by that emotion and the second areas where the body can become deactivated during that emotion.
The experiment was quite fun, and really had me thinking about each emotion as well as noticing areas of similarity between them. I think it is really interesting that out of 700 volunteers not everybody painted each emotion in the same way. When the team averaged the maps together, signature patterns emerged for each emotion.
It has also been noted that when you change your own body language you can alter your mind. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, who was not involved in this study, says he’s “delighted” by Nummenmaa’s findings because they offer more support for what he’s been suggesting for years: Each emotion activates a distinct set of body parts, he thinks, and the mind’s recognition of those patterns helps us consciously identify that emotion.
“People look at emotions as something in relation to other people,” Damasio, who is a professor at the University of Southern California, says. “But emotions also have to do with how we deal with the environment — threats and opportunities.” For those, Damasio says, you need your body as well as your mind.
Over the weekend I spent much of my time planning. Anyone that know me will tell you how I feel the need to exercise control of the unknown. I struggle a lot with freeing my mind of structure and organisation which can certainly pose as a difficulty when trying to create work without an outcome in mind. Frankly, I find the whole blank canvas concept overwhelming and find myself relying on lists, diagrams and various squiggles that depict a distinct desperation for control. Rather than spending the weekend working directly into my sketchbooks this weekend has been devoted to careful placement of attractive post-it notes structuring the whole of my sketchbooks so that they flow in a way that I need them too. What I find strange is that I am forever jotting things down or quickly sketching out ideas, yet when it comes to my sketchbook I struggle at making a mark if it has not yet been reconsidered. Tomorrow I plan on spending my time editing all of my images and going through ensuring I have all the images I need to progress to the next section of my planned timeline, which of course has had much time spent ensuring everything has a timescale.
