Vogt_P4 Thumbs

(Please be prepared as this is quite the post.)

While trying to decide the subject of this project, I realized something: I could not do that. I had numerous ideas that I really liked, so I decided to set a few of these on paper. Because of this, I tried (I believe successfully) to create my designs in a way that the ideas (subjects) and the compositions were interchangeable (for example, I could take my idea from my second design and apply the composition of the third). I have also included a short description—as well as the approaches that could be taken—for each unique subject. This is what I came up with:

A day in the life of a…

1/1: “…chain-smoker.” Instead of making my subject an occupation, as was my original instinct, I decided to do something a little different. The idea behind this composition is that chain smokers, well… chain smoke. I tried to depict everyday activities that each include some hint (or, in most cases, more than a hint) about the subject: in the foreground is a table on which sits an ashtray with smoke rising from it, indicating that the cigarette showing has either just been put out or is still burning, while behind this is a man at an open door holding a lit cigarette; on the right side (top) is a person washing dishes in a kitchen sink with a smoking ashtray beside them; and below that is the image of a person playing a guitar while holding a lit cigarette. In addition, the smoke from the ashtray in the foreground is covering all of the images, putting each in a haze (as would be the case with somebody who smokes so often). The words “a breath of (fresh) air” are scrawled across the man at the open door; the entire phrase is meant to be ironic and almost comical, while the parenthesis surrounding the word “fresh” are supposed to convey that this individual really does, on a regular basis, breathe smoke (again, this idea is reinforced by the smoke hanging on the entire composition). All of the photographs could easily be taken myself, and the type would be hand-written.

1/2: “…coffee addict.” The composition begins on the left with a face that appears tired, grouchy, strained, and completely miserable. It is upside down as a sort of cheesy depiction of how this person’s world is “upside down” (one might also say in a state of turmoil, confusion, or delusion) without coffee. Next comes the image of this same individual in the process of drinking coffee (shown from a distance so that neither the “miserable” features nor the features of the next image are shown, as this person is in the middle—both literally and figuratively). Note the clock on the wall. The third image—that on the far right—is meant to be the same person, now right-side-up, looking wired and alert to an almost frightening degree (even some of the features, such as the line defining the right side of the face, are “wired”). Finally, another clock is shown—this one set only a couple of hours after the one in the second image—after which follows the first face, bringing the composition full-circle. The images all fade into one another in a sort of chaotic way; this conveys the chaos that this person’s world is constantly in (they are either in a state of exhaustion and misery or a wild state of alertness and hyperactivity). The word “clockwork” lies in the center of this circle, playing on the images of clocks, the shape of the composition, and the phrase “like clockwork,” which is how the subject acts in regards to coffee; I am unsure of my feelings about the type however, and it could be removed. As with 1/1, the photographs could all be easily taken; unlike 1/1, however, I plan to construct the extreme details of each face, rather than the type, by hand. This is both to allow greater control over some of the most critical details of the piece and also to show that these reactions (both to caffeine as well as a lack thereof) are not permanent or natural, but rather created, and could be kicked along with the addiction itself.

1/3: “…office worker.” Here is where I started to stray from my “addiction” idea. The composition is a series of six evenly-sized, evenly-placed images in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (representing the office environment). Each image is identical—a typical office desk with a typical office worker… with a bag on his head (representative of the loss of individualism, and sometimes even identity, when working these sorts of jobs)—save for the clock on the wall. Each clock shows a different time, and each will be hand-drawn to show that time is the only dynamic thing in this person’s life; everything else remains the same, hour after hour.

1/4: “…porn star.” This could definitely be controversial, and I’m sure will not be used, but I liked the idea so I sketched it out anyway. The composition is a statement about the wrongful dehumanization of people in the sex industry. There are four frames: the first is a woman eating a bagel; the second is the same woman, scantily clad, removing her shirt in front of a studio light (which would ideally be bright enough to make the subject a silhouette and hide anything in the background), implying a camera farther back; the third image is the same woman washing dishes; and the fourth is the same woman reading a newspaper. It’s meant to show that these women (and men) are still human beings, regardless of their occupation. The woman’s face is never shown, implying that, while these people are, as indicated by the piece, definitely still human, they are nonetheless often horribly objectified. I originally wanted nothing “racy” at all in the composition, and the only indication of who the subject is would be in the title, but I’m sure that would fail to convey the message.

2/1: “…video game addict.” Though the sketch itself doesn’t show it, I would like to have the subject farther back and have multiple sets of arms and hands protruding, all playing the different types of games set up before him. I would also like each of the images to be chaotically blended, as in 1/2; all of this would combine to represent the “distorted reality” in which this person lives.

2/2: “…chain-smoker” (alternative). This composition uses the same subject as 1/1. Each image is of somebody smoking in ridiculous situations (in the pool, while playing football, and even while performing surgery). Everything but the cigarettes (and ashtrays, if any) would be hand-drawn as a way of putting the emphasis on the habit of smoking and just how far that habit can go.

2/3: “…office worker” (alternative image). This is an alternative image for 1/3’s composition. I have depicted a faceless man sitting at an empty desk. I feel facelessness may convey the message more clearly, but I also fear it will set an eerie mood, which is not what I’m going for.

2/4: “…coffee addict” (alternative). For my final thumbnail sketch I went for a more typical collage. Shown are the following scenes: a mug of hot coffee next to what appears to be a business letter; a waste bin full of empty (disposable) coffee cups; and a coffee cup sitting in the cup-holder of an automobile.