Abstract
Language is the most systemized and direct method of human expression; it is the medium by which groups and individuals convey, communicate and understand. We most directly and effectively reveal our identity through sharing language with others.
A similar situation exists in the expressive function of visual imagery. Much of my work abstracts and interprets the nature of objective reality, notably in visual relationships between space, lines and edges. I think of my artworks as extensions of a distinct visual language, and the vocabulary by which I abstract and compose is communicated in a systemized manner similar to language forms.
Connotations has been an ongoing pursuit of discovering images from the camera on my iPhone. This was an unpretentious pursuit, concentrating less on the technology that inspired the images and more on defining my own vision when expressing a personal composition. Using the mobility of the iPhone as a means for visual journaling, I realized subtle visual patterns surfacing in the process of collecting hundreds of images. A certain vocabulary of personal taste was developing. Images that most strongly reinforced this opinion were then extrapolated upon through a process of digitally drawing and manipulating colors, textures and forms to more clearly define my personal taste. In order to distinguish my own visual identity from the influence of the technology, I insisted that my own thought process manually manipulate the original images, rather than an algorithm or filter predetermined by a computer or phone application.
My work aims to loosen the literal interpretation of imagery in order to challenge the viewer’s mind to see beyond the physicality of the subject matter and explore a more expressive and conceptual approach to composition, whether in art or language. By focusing on banal and commonplace snapshots of life, I aspire to provoke the viewer to notice the communicative power of the formal relationships within an image, so that they too may analyze preconceived notions about their own reality by understanding different vocabularies and methods of communication.
Recommended Citation
Harrington, Justine
(2012)
"Connotations: An Exploration of iPhoneography,"
Art Journal: Vol. 2012:
Iss.
1, Article 14.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/art_journal/vol2012/iss1/14