My Digital World, Digital media

The digital world in which we live has developed so fast over the last couple of decades, the technology that we all take for granted today was once just a spark in someones imagination, early computers that could only compute basic mathematics used to be housed in an entire room, whereas today they are just another tiny application on your mobile phone.

I have seen both signs of the coin, I grew up as a child without technology, and had my first computer as a teenager. This was a ZX80, quite laughable compared to todays technology, then I progressed to a Commodore 64, then the Amiga1200. I feel this has given me a good grounding and appreciation of todays technology, but I must admit that even I take this for granted at times.


The title of our recent study is "My Digital world" This presents a wide spectrum of possible ideas that can be carried forward towards a final body of work. Our task has been to actually display the pixels within our images. A pixel is a square that contains coloured or monochromatic shades of information, which when placed alongside thousands of others it creates the overall picture. Pixels exist within cameras, webcams, mobile phones, televisions and visual display units amongs many others. Every digital image medium contains some form of pixels within its technology.


Our starting point has been to actually photograph ideas for this assignment with various forms of technology such as mobile phones, webcams, compact cameras and DSLR's. This is to enable us to compare overall quality and resolution within these images and hopefully bring out the pixelation within these compositions.


Here are my results:

This image of a computer mouse was taken with a Nikon D80 DSLR, No pixels are apparent at this point.

This is the same image zoomed in to 400% The image has begun to go fuzzy round the edges, clarity, sharpness and definition is lost at this magnification.

 This shows the image with zoom set to 1200% pixels can now be clearly seen, the image has slowly begun to breakdown into its basic makeup of dots per inch.

The image below was taken with a Nikon Coolpix compact camera with 8.1 Megapixels

This shows the image with a zoom of 400% in Photoshop. This image has deteriorated far more than the image taken with the Nikon D80 DSLR.

This shows the image after a zoom of 1200% The image has deteriorated further and now appears very blocky or pixelated.

This image is shown at 3200% zoom. This image appears very blocky and urecognisable. It appears as simple blocks of pixelated colour.

FURTHER RESEARCH ON PIXELS

After carrying out in initial research on pixels I decided to take this idea further. I have taken an image of some berries and zoomed in on them, once this was done I saved it as a low resolution JPEG (1) This meant the image was really compressed and quality was lost. Here are my results: 

Here is the image in Photoshop & here is the image after it had been zoomed in, cropped and saved as a low resolution JPEG, already pixelation is beginning to appear within the composition.

Here is the image after it had been zoomed in even further and again saved as a low resolution image.

Blocks of pixelated colour can now be visibly seen. The image appears fuzzy and disjointed, but has an unusual appeal to it. I decided to take this idea even further to see what i could achieve.

I began a new project in Photoshop and created a canvas size of six pixels by ten pixels. I then dragged an image into the canvas, instantly I could see definite blocks of colour, but they appeared to have pixels within these pixels. This image had to expanded because it appeared very small on the screen.


Here is the image below:

This image appears to have a variety of tonal ranges within each pixel. This experiment was discovered by accident and could not be  simply saved as a JPEG, because when saved in this format the image appeared blurred. This image was captured as a screen grab from photoshop. I used this idea to try and create a coloured pixelated graph.

Here are the results:

This graph has been created in photoshop and features bands of colour, this has then been saved as a JPEG and appears very fuzzy, but does however emphasise the pixilisation within the composition.This image has depth and somehow looks 3d. It appears to draw the viewer into the composition and has holographic qualities. 


I have been researching various artists who have used the principles of digital technology and pixils within their artwork and came across these two artists:

THOMAS RUFF (1958-Present)

Thomas Ruff is a renowned German photographer who lives, works and studied in Dusseldorf, Germany. He studied photography at the Dusseldorf Art Academy from 1977 to 1985 under the supervision of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Ruff then taught at this establishment between 2000 to 2005. He says his main influences were Walker Evans, Eugene Atget, Karl Blossfeld, Stephen Shore and William Eggleston. Ruff’s work is described as conceptual serial photography. His initial focus was the interiors of German households during the periods of the 1950’s through to the 70’s. His more recent work is digitally rendered to show the pixels within the images. These photographs are displayed in a large scale to emphasise this pixilation. Here are examples of his work:

 

This is an image of a building with trees and a fence in the foreground. It appears very pixelated, this was intentional and was shown on a very large scale when presented in galleries. from a distance this image would possibly look normal, but close up every huge pixelated disjointed block of colour would be evident. I don't actually like this image, I find it boring, perhaps I would appreciated it more if I was to actually see it in person so to speak. 

Evidence of colour, line, tone, pattern and contrast are visible in this composition.

 

This is another image by Thomas Ruff and features a cloud of smoke, possibly from a volcano. This image again appears very pixilated with its evident blocks of monochromatic colour. I find it hard to appreciate this work purely because we strive to reach perfection as photographers and try to eliminate pixelation, but this turns that theory on its head and goes in the opposite direction. I do understand what Ruff was trying to achieve by exhibiting this work, but for me it doesn't work.

Evidence of colour, line, tone, contrast and pattern can be seen within this composition. 

 

This is another pixelated image by Thomas ruff. Pixels are evident within this monochromatic composition.

Examples of monochromatic colour, pattern, tone & contrast are visible within this photograph.

JOSEF SCHULZ

Josef Schulz is a german photographer who also studied at the Dusseldorf Art Academy under the influence of Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Schulz’s work portrays mass manufactured industrial architecture with a twist. All his images display mundane scenarios such as petrol stations with every aspect of literature, signs of life and imperfections removed from them. It is hard to believe that his final images were once just a carefully composed photograph. His pictures appear very surreal, cold, precise, minimalistic and very calculated in their appearance, almost like a computer generated image. His work would look quite at home in some type of architectural publication.

Here are examples of his work:

 

This image portrays a service station. All rudimentary elements of detail such as branding, written text and evidence of life forms in general have been removed from this composition. It appears to be very digitally contrived, as though it had been designed in some type of architectural design programme. it is hard to believe that this image once started out as a photograph.

Elements of colour, line, tone & contrast are evident within this composition.

 

This is another image by Josef Schulz, again all signs of life have been removed from this architectural photograph. The subject almost appears as an island in the middle of the page because details of the sky and road have been erased. The image appears very cold and clinical.

Evidence of line, tone, colour and contrast can be seen within this image.

This image shows a motorway flyover and appears as though it is in the desert. It is very monochromatic in its composition and because of its position within the frame the main subject tends to lead the eye into the shot. This image once again looks very digital and contrived

I really like this image it shows evidence of shape, line, tone, contrast and shadow within its composition.

 

DIGITAL TIMELINE PROJECT

Todays task has been to create a history timeline of all technological developments ranging from the identification of silicon in 1787 to the first 12 megapixel camera phone released in 2011 by Nokia. This was a joint effort by all in our class, we each had to research important technological dates in history and upload them consecutively to google docs. This proved difficuilt at times because everyone was trying to input information at the same time, but I found this experience fun, enlightening and rewarding. It was nice to complete a task as a team, rather than individually.

Our Digital Timeline

1787 - Silicon was first identified 1867 - Cinema was invented by William Lincoln. it was founded in the United states.
1876 - Telephone Invented by Alexander Graham bell
1895 - Cinema + Radio invented
1915 - The first presentation of 3D films before a paying audience took place at the Astor Theater, New York, on June 10, 1915.
1936 - Z1 was created Konrad Zuse Considered to be the first Binary Computer
1939 - Hewlett Pakard is formed, they develop the first Audio Oscillator, which was used in the Walt Disney film "Fantasia"
1940 - Konrad Zuse finishes the Z3 computer, but this was destroyed by bombing raids in Berlin in 1943 - Poject Worldwind begins, this was an idea put forward to create the first flight simulator to train pilots, this proved inaccurate and was reinstated and finished in 1951, but interest had dwindled, so the idea was scrapped.
1957 - Internet was invented as part of a space program.
1957 - The Hamilton Watch Co of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, produced the world's first electric watch.
1960 - NASA converted from using analogue to digital signals with their space probes to map the surface of the moon (sending digital images back to earth).
1961 - The silicon chip was invented by two American electrical engineers, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce.
1969 - portable computer
1970 - The Creeper Virus was first detected on ARPANET, the forerunner of the internet in the early days.
1971 - Floppy Disk invented
1972 - Magnavox released the first home video game console which could be connected to a TV set—the Magnavox Oddyssey, invented by Ralph H Baer.
1973 - First mobile phone call
1973 - Martin Cooper - inventor of the first portable handset and the first person to make a call on a portable cell phone in April 1973.
1975 - This is when the first personal computer was invented
1979 - Seymour Rubinstein's & Rob Barnaby - Word-Star Software - First word processor.
1979 - First cassette Walkman, first digital alarm clock
1980 - ZX 80 invented and released by Sir Clive Sinclair.
1981 - International Business Machines Corp. entered the personal computer market, with a micro-computer.
1982 - Adobe was invented by John Warnock and Charles Gescke
1982 - Commodore invent and release the Commodore 64.
1987 - Commodore relese the Amiga personal computer.
1990 - Photoshop Released
1992 - first touch screen phone launched1994 - Playstation was launched in Japan on December 3rd
1996 - Internets 25th anniversary- 40 million people connected to the Internet
1997 - First social networking site - SixDagrees.com invented
1998 - First handheld MP3 player arrives (developed by Diamond Multimedia) memory stick invented
2001 - Apple ipod released
2001 - The original Xbox video game console came out on November 15th
2003 - iTunes Music Store launches in US
2003 - Pirate Bay is developed
2003 - Isohunt is developed by Gar Fung 40 milion downloads are performed each month.
2004 - First Official UK Download chart announced. Westlife are first digital number 1
with ‘Flying Without Wings’.
2004 - Mark Zuckerbeeg launched Facebook
2005 - First wearable computer, could be worn like a pair of sunglasses Antoine Lavoisier2005 - Ipod shuffel arrives, itunes sells 3million videos
2005 - Youtube was invented by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim.
2005 - Google maps was first announced
2006 - Digital downloads makes up 78% of all single tracks sold

2006 - Nintendo Wii released
2006 - Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey
2006 - 10th October Google buy’s YouTube for $1.65 billion.
2007 - IPhone released.
2007 - The first Kindle was released in the United States on November 19, 2007 by Jeff Bezos.
2008 - 2 million downloads sold each week in the UK.
2010 - Apple Ipad released.
2011 - First 12mega pixel phone camera released on the market manufactured by Nokia.


There are three key areas within this timeline that are important to me, they remain in red. This was the introduction of the ZX 80 in 1980, the development of the Commodore 64 and the Amiga personal computer. These were important stages in my life, the ZX80 was my first real computer. I spent hours typing programs in as a 13 year old child only to receive the words "Syntax Error" on screen on several occasions, and then when it did work you found that you had spent days typing in basic commands to merely watch a cursor move around the screen...How frustrating, thankfully things have moved on.


I then progressed as time moved on to the Commodore 64, this was good in its day, but still took absolutely ages to load a game from an audio cassette to the annoying screechy sound and vision that accompanied each upload, which could last upto 10 minutes...or even longer if it worked at all!


The Commodore Amiga arrived and all this changed, each game was now on a floppy disc...which felt amazing, no more waiting for unreliable cassettes to load. This was revolutionary at the time. It was faster, games were smoother because of a special gaming chip and quite advanced databasing tasks could be performed.


These systems are just a distant memory for me now, but I did have some fun with them, no matter what platform I used, however todays technology is light years away from my first ZX80...Luckily!        

DIGITAL WORD CLOUD

We were all asked to contribute in class to a digital word cloud. We each in turn submitted information about sites that we use regularly in our everyday lives. This cloud represents the personality of the class as a whole.

This information revealed that we use the web for shopping and purchasing items, downloading legally and illegally, catching up on TV programmes we may have missed, social networking, uploading images and protecting ourselves from viruses whilst carrying out these tasks.

INTERNET LOGO'S

We were asked to create a piece of artwork using the most common icons of the sites that we visited on a daily basis, whilst searching the net. This experience is quite personal to each individual and I find that it could display an aspect of ones personality when considering which sites they had visited.

This assignment was created in Photoshop. I took various icons that are personal to me and placed them in a collage. Each icon was blended into its neighbouring emblem using Photoshop. For this particular piece of work I used the darken fx filter from the blending palette.

Here is the collage I created. This image shows evidence of colour, pattern, line, tone, shadow & contrast in its composition.

MY INITIAL IDEA

I have been thinking about the subject of my digital world and what it means to me. This thought trail took me down the path of hardware, surgical implants and androids. I know this idea seems far fetched, but maybe not so in the not too distant future. Something as simple as a human pacemaker could be considered to be a piece of implanted hardware.

I have taken this idea and tried to create my own interpritation of it. This has been done by using various royalty free images from the internet and mixing them up a little to create an initial composition that has fuelled me with thoughts of a possible project.

Here are the three images that sparked my imagination:

This is an image of a circuit board that contains various chips and diodes.

Here is an image of a camera lens

And finally an image of a very futuristic looking woman

I have taken all three of these images and laid them on top of each other in Photoshop to create my interpritation of My Digital world in the future. This has been done by using various layers and blending modes to create the overall effect.

This image shows the three main layers open in Photoshop, which are the model, camera lens and circuit board.

This is the final result. I have taken the circuit board and overlaid it over the main image, turned down the opacity and painted the image of the woman back in by using the eraser brush. I am quite pleased with the result, I hope to develop this idea by using my own images and creating a series of consistant images in the same vein.

  

This shows the above image, but with added wiring in the models arms, but I don't think this idea works, the image appears too busy. The coloured wires detract from the detail of the models face. Perhaps this idea would work better with just a single image of the models arm. 

My Research And Ideas



I have looking into the subject of human digital implants within the world we live in and have been surprised by the technological developments that have taken place. Bionic eyes, ears, arms and legs are no longer a fictional idea from a 70's TV show, they are now reality and do exist. Here are some of the facts i have discovered:

Micro Chipping Humans

Today microchip devices are widely available for identifying stray animals. These implants about the size of a grain of rice and greatly improve an owners chance of getting their loved pets back. Approximately six million of these devices have been used worldwide. 

Could these implants be inserted into humans? These ideas have been considered since 1967, identification problems would be eradicated, lost children could be found easily, alzeimers sufferers could be returned home and illegal immigrants could be refused job applications by one single scan. People could also be tracked by computers if a chip was inserted.

Although all these ideas have their uses, the problem is privacy. Who would actually agree to be tracked twenty four seven, I certainly wouldn't.

The chip is a passive transponder, without any power source, which has meant it can be kept very small. The information is non volatile and can be activated by low frequency radio waves and so read in a manner not unlike the reading of bar coded items. It is an application-specific integrated circuit. The code is burned in at  the time of manufacture. It has a non-magnetic, ferrite core and a copper antenna and is encased in biocompatible glass and as it is so small it can pass through the bore of a needle to be inserted.

The technology to carry out this process is available now and has been for a few years, but I feel it will never be implemented because of confidentiality issues.

Blind Man Sees With The Aid Of Bionic Eye

A blind man has regained his eyesight after nearly 30 years, thanks to todays incredible technology. Ron, 73, can now follow white lines on the road and can pair his own socks independently. This has all been possible because of a bionic eye transplant which he recently had fitted at London's Moorfield's eye hospital.

This technology is known as Argus II and uses a camera and a video processor mounted on sunglasses to send captured images wirelessly to a tiny receiver on the outside of the eye. This receiver then passes on the data to an array of electrodes which sit on the retina. When these electrodes are stimulated they send messages along the optic nerve to the brain, which perceives patterns of light and darkspots in response to each individual electrode that has been stimulated. Eighteen patients have been fitted with this technology so far, which is being developed by U.S company Second Sight.

Woman Fitted With Bionic Arm

A former US Marine has become the first woman in the world to be fitted with a "bionic" arm that she can control by her thoughts alone.

Claudia Mitchell lost her left arm at the shoulder in a motorbike accident.

Her new arm works by detecting movements of a chest muscle that has been connected to the remains of nerves that once went to her real arm.

The first prototype was fitted to double amputee Jesse Sullivan four years ago, however this latest version has been greatly improved.

Using it Ms Mitchell, 26, can now fold clothes, eat a banana and do the washing up.

At a press conference in Chicago to reveal her new arm to the world, Ms Mitchell said: "I can move my elbow up and down and I can open and close my hand simply by thinking that that's what I want to do."

With her older prosthetic arm, she could only do one thing at a time - either bend her elbow or open her hand.

The technology, developed by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), took about five hours to install.

The ends of the nerves that once controlled the arm were removed from her shoulder and connected to nerves in the chest muscle, some of which conveyed sensation from the skin above.

Over several months the transplanted nerves grew into the muscle tissue.

Once this happened electrodes fixed to a harness worn on the shoulder were able to detect impulses emitted from the nerves into the muscle and forward them to the arm.

These impulses are processed by a computer, which is able to direct the arm to make very precise movements.

Ms Mitchell said: "Before the surgery, I doubted that I would ever be able to get my life back.

"But this arm and the RIC have allowed me to return to a life that is more rewarding and active than I ever could have imagined.

"I am happy, confident and independent."

She said the arm was heavy, but that was due to extra motors which gave it a greater range of function.

Many could benefit

At present, if Ms Mitchell is touched on the patch of skin on her chest where the nerves to the hand have been re-routed, she feels that her hand is being touched.

The next step will be to develop a way to have the signals come back from the fingers on the prosthetic to the nerves in the chest and then the brain, so that Ms Mitchell can feel pressure, heat or cold, and even a sharp edge.

The Chicago team estimates that the technology could potentially help more than 400 US military personnel who have had amputations after serving in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Todd Kuiken, the director of RIC's Neural Engineering Centre for Bionic Medicine, said: "It is so rewarding for me as a physician and a scientist to lead research with the potential to positively impact the lives of amputees."

Ms Mitchell said she was concerned that her new arm looked as attractive as possible.

"When we got the glove that goes over it I asked them if I could put nails on it and they said yes, so I headed straight for the nail salon.

"She (the manicurist) was pretty terrified, she was afraid she was going to mess something up, but I assured her it was OK."

Robot That Can Crawl Through The Human Body



Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a micro robot that can crawl through the human body.

 

“Micro robots are being developed in many research centers, but this is the first time we’ve been able to create one that can crawl through the body,” says Professor Moshe Shoham of the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, who headed the university’s research team. Prof. Shoham is the developer of the FDA-approved SpineAssist spine-surgery robot.

The robot is propelled by micro legs, a mechanism especially adapted to the movements of a tiny body through water. It is only a millimeter in diameter and 14 millimeters long, fitting on the tip of a finger, so it can get into the body’s smallest areas. It is powered by either actuation through magnetic force located outside the body, or through an on-board actuation system. Made of silicone and metal, it can be made completely biocompatible, so it could remain in the body much as a stent placed in arteries does.  

“In the future, we hope the robot will be able to travel through a blood vessel, the digestive tract or the lungs, delivering targeted medicines to specific locations, clearing blockages, performing biopsies, or placed inside a shunt to drain body fluids from clogged areas,” Shoham explains.

The development has been presented at scientific conferences where it has aroused great interest. Professor Menashe Zaaroor and research engineer Oded Salomon also participated in the research.

However, Prof.Shoham explains that a final product will not be ready for several years. A small enough camera needs to be developed, and an actuation device that will steer the robot once inside the body needs to be perfected. Animal trials are being performed, but human trials are about two years away. 

My Initial Ideas Taken Further 

After carrying out research on the practical and factual side of micro technology within the human body I have decided to produce some work based loosely on these ideas. The main elements that I have researched will be apparent within my project, but with a more artistic, surreal feel to them. I intend to carry out work similar to my initial prototype idea, but hopefully take these initial thoughts further.

My starting point for this work has been to firstly photograph my model. This was done by using a basic studio setup. I photographed Zak using my nikon D80, a soft box and a studio flash. This has been a learning curb for me and consequently some of the images turned out blurred. I think I may have had my shutter speed set to low and consequently some images appear blurred because either myself or the model moved during the shot.

Here are some of the initial shots that were taken:

These images will form the basis of my project. I intend to photograph circuit boards and wires and then overlay them over these initial shots.

I then began taking images of circuit boards and wires. I used a variety of items to obtain these shots, an old DVD player, sky box and mobile phone. Here are some of the images that I have taken:

Experimenting With My Own Images

I have produced an initial test piece of my own for the task ahead. This was achieved by selecting an image from the ones previously taken of my model.

At this point nothing has been done to the image, it appears in its raw state straight from the camera. I then added a new layer to the photograph.

This layer contained an image of a circuit board. It was placed over the model with a lower opacity of 63% using the overlay blend mode.

The same idea was applied to the models torso. It was then shaped using the warp tool to fit the contours of the models body.

And then I finally added a background to my image. This has been a starting point for my ideas and has given me a grasp of what can be achieved in Photoshop.

Here is the finished image

Artist Links And Research

I have searched the internet for artists who have created robot style imagery, but I have found it very difficuilt to actually pinpoint one, I have however found some pictures that I really like. This one was found on the internet, but I cannot find the name of the person who created it

This image portrays a terminater style humnanoid and has obviously been created in some type of image manipulation software such as Photoshop, various layers of skin have been peeled back to show the workings beneath. I think this is a very dramatic image and I like how the vibrant red eye adds weight to the image whilst also complimenting the left green one. Various strands of wires can be seen poking out of the humanoids jacket sleeve, they could almost be strands of a raggy jumper. I think the distressed skin layer adds to this picture and also give the impression that she has been fighting for her life. There is also an element of sex appeal provided by her provocative stance and long black fingernails. I find this image very interesting and would love to recreate something very similar.

Here is another image that I find very interesting. It features a manipulated image of a female robot with various wires and circuitry in the background. The back of the skull is exposed to reveal the inner workings of the robot. I like the robots pose within this shot, she almost looks angelic in her appearance as she gazes into the distance. The background is a little dark, but I find this adds to the overall compostition, it is hard to tell what is happening, perhaps she is being manufactured on a production line in the not too distant future. Again I find this image very dramatic and well composed. 

This is another image I like from the Cyberpunk website. This work was created by DaStafiZ, here is some of his work on deviant art http://dastafiz.deviantart.com/

His work appears very dark and sinister, but very appealing in a strange kind of way. This image portrays an image of a half woman, half android. She appears to have had a camera lens hooked into her eye, her skin is falling away to reveal mechanical workings beneath and there are various pistons sticking out of the top of her head. This could almost be a character from Star Trek. I like the overall composition, although strange. The image takes up most of the shot, leaving very little breathing space and is made more dramatic by the use of strong shadow.

My Images

My final body of work comprises of three images that are based on fact and relate to the title "man fitted with bionic eye" and "Man fitted with bionic arm", but my overall compositions are portrayed with a fantasy theme. Here is my first image in this series of prints:

This image features my model with a camera lens attached to his face. This image is my interpretation of the title "Man fitted with bionic eye" and displays him with several circuit boards and wires strewn across his face. I have also inserted a clump of wires to the side of his head, which disappears into his hairline. This is not my strongest image in regards of composition, but I think it is my boldest image, due to the colour contained within the photograph. This image screams attention, where as the other two images in this trilogy are more subtle with better overall posture and elements within their structure. 

The point of interest for me within this image is the eye, because of its bold clean colouring. It anchors the image and guides the viewers eye into the picture. Although this image is covered with wires and circuit boards, the models beauty can still be seen and appreciated. For me this image is very reminiscent of a Jean Paul Gaultier perfume advertisment.

Elements of line, tone, colour and contrast can be seen within this image.

This was the initial image that I started with:

This image was cleaned up and spots removed, before being opened up in Photoshop to be manipulated. The left side of the face was a little blurred, but I liked the angle of this image, so as this picture was only being used as a backboard to my ideas, i decided to use it anyway.

This image shows how I have placed a camera lens over the left eye. I have also emphasised the shaded areas and created a shadow for the camera lens. These have been created on seperate layers in Photoshop.

This image shows the model with another layer overlaid on top of the previous one, the opacity has been lowered to reveal the models features beneath it.

In this screenshot the wires have been added to head and manipulated to look as though they are woven into the models hairline. This has again been saved onto a seperate layer.

This is the final image after being manipulated in Photoshop. A final layer shows the body of the model with various circuit boards overlaid upon it.

This is my second image. This has also been manipulated in Photoshop and is in answer to the title "Man Fitted With Bionic Arm" The circuit boards that have been added to this image represent the technology that has been attached to this indibvidual. He appears to be looking down at the false arm in disbelief. Perhaps this thought is what enters everyones mind who is unfortunate to have a prosthetic bionic arm fitted.

Here is the initial image that I used. This screenshot shows how I have deleted part of the arm in preparation for the creation of the bionic arm.

This next shot shows how I have created the arm, this was done by selecting the ecliptical tool and creating two discs, these were filled with a grey colour and then burning and dodging techniques were applied to the inside of them.

This image shows how I have added the metal bolt and wires to the arm. Circuit boards have also been applied to overall body of the model. This is the final result.

This image shows good composition within the shot and has been created using a small studio set up comprising of soft box, flash and slave flash. I have deliberately positioned the model because I know exactly how I wanted the final image to look. This photograph relies heavily on shadow to create the atmosphere. The model appears to be clawing at his skin, perhaps his prosthetic arm is irritating him. He appears to be reflecting on his disabilty, perhaps just recently coming to terms with it.

Elements of line, tone, colour and contrast can be seen in this image.

This is my final image within this series and has been created basically the same way as the previous image. This picture is again in response to the title "Man Fitted With Bionic Arm" but also features an insight into the models inards, via his open midrif.

This image features our model staring into the flash, whilst holding his hand behind his head. He has a very provocative teen magazine pose. Various wires, engine parts and circuitry adorn his body. I have tried to use the circuit board images in a style that replicates tribal tattoos. I think this is my most successful image in regards of its commercial and correctly composed aspect, although it does help when you have a fairly good looking model. This image is a total contrast to the last one, it shows the model embracing his disability and saying "Hey look at me, I might have a disability, but im still sexy"

Elements of colour, pattern, tone, contrast and shadow are evident within this image.

The picture below was created using my own image. This idea was not submitted as a final piece because it was done as an afterthought wilst playing around in Photoshop. It features a digital image of myself that has been manipulated with various brushes that were available in Photoshop. Circuitry has been applied to my face on a seperate layer and blending modes applied. This is my interpritation of the digital technology, with all its advantages and disadvantages that is constantly whirring around in my head!

The Venue

Our work is due to be exhibited at The Electric Works in Sheffield on Thursday the 26th of May. The opening of this exhibition will be between 6pm - 9pm and will remain there for one week. This will be a very high profile event for the college because of its location. The ElectricWorks is a state-of-the-art contemporary office space for creative, digital and media businesses in Sheffield city centre. Its interior and exterior is very high tech yet welcoming inside. Every aspect of this building has been thoroughly thought through during its design.

This image shows the interior of the Electric works. I like how the red chairs have been chosen to compliment the green carpet.

This image shows one of the areas that our work is going to be exhibited. The work will be hung on illuminated white perspex walls. Each work of art will be fastened to the wall with the aid of velcro strips, that can be easily removed after the exhibition has ended. The art work will be mounted at head height and displayed on foam board. I would have personally preferred to display my work in frames, but this idea was not feasible due to uniformity issues of the group

as a whole.

The Audience

Because of our high profile exhibition space I feel that our work will attract a wide range of individuals. There will obviously be the art enthusiasts, photographers and people connected with the college, but I think our work will be seen by graphic designers, IT specialists and business people visiting The Electric Works. Hallam university students may even pop in for a look.

I think that initially the audiences expectations will be quite low, because it is fifty percent first year students that have put on the exhibition, but i'm hoping that they will be pleasantly surprised and not too eager to judge us on our first exhibition. I envisage that the target audience will be expecting all the work to have some type uniformity because we are presenting our work as a consolidated group, rather than individually. They may expect the work to be in frames, because I certainly would, and they may be expecting someone to have created some type of installation. Because of the title (My Digital World) they could possibly be expecting some type of high tech extravaganza.

My own work deals with the serious subject of prosthetic limbs and todays technology working hand in hand to hopefully enable people in the future to live normal lives. My own work deals with this in a light hearted way, although I do not mock this affliction whatsoever. I have tried to create my own work in an artistic way, rather than a factual one, and I hope this idea is conveyed successfully to the viewing public.

I hope the audience appreciate what we were trying to convey singularly and collectively as a group, and that they can differentuate and appreciate our individuality as classmates. I do hope that they go away from this venue feeling inspired from our own interpritation of this subject matter and that they think that their visit has been worthwile. I would be satisfied to know that my work was appreciated for what it is, my interpretation of My Digital World, and that someone could have possibly stood and pondered about what I was actually trying to convey. If they have their own interpretation of my work, thats fine, so long as it has been noticed.

Evaluation

I have created three images in response to the title "My Digital World" These images are a reflection of todays revolutionary advances in human implants. Two images are based around the title "Man fitted with bionic arm" and one image is composed from the title "Man fitted with bionic eye" My starting point for this project was initial research, which dealt with the reality of bionic limbs, microchipping and invasive procedures fom micro robots within the human body. This inspired me to take photos of a work colleague in an attempt to create my own interpritation of these headlines.

I have been influenced by many images from the internet, but have found it hard to actually pinpoint a definite high profile artist/photographer who carries out this type of work, however I do find the work of DaStafiz fascinating and also compelling viewing. My work was constant throughout this project. I had a definite idea of how I wanted the images to look even whilst taking pictures of my model, but the actual manipulation in Photoshop changed as my leaning progressed. 

I have produced three A2 images that have been mounted on foam board and placed onto a white exhibition wall with velcro strips, this choice of material has been successful, but not my ideal. I would have preferred frames, but then again this is not my own personal exhibition it is a college colaberation, so certain rules have to be applied. This experience has made me realise the amount of work needed to actually create an exhibition and I fully support the hard work that my tutors and fellow coleagues have put in throughout this adventure. Prior to this assignment I hadn't really considered the impact that a neighbouring piece of art could have on my own. If the work was of a similar scale to mine it could look too uniformed, too consistant in terms of content and the images appear as one. I have been quite happy with the results from initial planning to the grand finale, and I hope it has got my work recognised in some form or another.  

I have found this exhibition a little hard at times, but this is partly due to a breakdown in communication, mostly due to missunderstanding and eagerness on my part, to which I apologise. I think that this whole experience has been a learning kerb for both staff and students. I look forward to what next year will bring, especially our portraiture tasks.