Life Map Project

For my life map project, I chose to focus on the story in my write up revolving around my younger brother and I getting in a car wreck and my mother injuring herself attempting to save us. I chose this story because it is one of my most earliest and most vivid memories of my life. Throughout working on this project, I was heavily influenced by Tony Shipp's portfolio. I attended the faculty show where there was an art piece deep inside some extensive framing lit up by a lamp, making the art work the frame and lighting affects entirely. The method made the actual piece of art in the center pop out and I wanted to get close to achieving this effect. First I drew my mother using conte crayon on black artagain paper. Representationally, I drew my mother, conceptually speaking, I drew my mother distraught and with exaggerated features. I did this because I wanted the piece to give off a similar feel of what happened that day and a fearful emotion. I wanted the intensity felt when you leaned in close and looked into the eyes. The rest of the piece is more simple to explain the creating process. I built a frame using the same method I would use to build a frame for stretching a canvas over before painting. Next I painted the frame black. I kept the nails and screws visible intentionally when constructing. I copied black and white maps of Salado, Texas, where this event took place. I scattered the maps on a piece of masonite board attached with ModPodge, then I added another layer of maps followed by a second layer of ModPodge for a glazed effect over the maps. I also used ModPodge because I wanted the maps to be somewhat 3 dimensional from the masonite giving the effect of actual paper maps as if they were sitting in the seat of a car then tossed around in the air if that car were to wreck. Next I placed the drawing inside a glass and wood frame, cutting out the silhouette of my mother's head and leaving the background transparent so the maps behind would then be visible. I attached this frame with the drawing on top of the masonite and larger black frame by using long black screws, placing it in the center of the maps and sitting about 2 inches from the background. To light the piece and continue the black and white color theme so that it would seem apart of the piece as a whole, I placed a black and white lamp above the whole piece. Then, to continue the melancholy mood behind the art work, I used a red light bulb to light up the whole piece.