Title: Coronation of The Child
Size: 61 cm x 91 cm Medium: Digital Collage Completed October 2022 - Exhibition Text -Coronation of The Child is a digital collage made up of photos shot by me. It is meant to emulate the darkness and refined style of the baroque period, while simultaneously using real subjects instead of painting as my medium. I wanted this piece to convey my relationship with religion and how it began to change as I grew up. Using Diego Velazquez and Giovanni Starzza help me with the deep religious inspiration in my piece.
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- Background Essay -
When I was younger I would ask my grandma about god. I don't remember much but I remember being so naive and curious about this concept my grandma held so close to her. My family (except for my grandma) doesn't really talk about religion but I can tell they still have their beliefs. I was still little but a few years after asking those questions I experienced a death in my family.
It was my great-grandma and I remember being so frustrated that I couldn’t go to the funeral with my mom, and instead I went on a field trip. Before the day of the field trip my mom told me to look out for robins, since that was my great-grandma's favorite bird, and if I saw one it meant that she came down from heaven to say hello. It was a comforting thing to think about and even now I still have that thought in the back of my mind whenever I see a robin. However after another death happened, this time my great-grandpa, I slowly became more and more desensitized with religion. Hearing people say certain things about god never lasted. It might be because this time I actually saw my great-grandpa before he died. He looked so at peace, but to me seeing his last moments in that hospital bed was too painful to process. He was just happy to be able to see his family one last time. They're at peace now, but I no longer cared about god or his existence, even others thinly veiled comfort surrounding death didn't mean much anymore. Those two deaths almost entirely shattered my whole family (while shattering the previous image I had of religion). The most recent death I experienced was my papa. It was so sudden that I was only able to see him once, I had the choice of seeing him but I couldn’t. He didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to anyone (he was in a coma), he wasn't allowed the same closure. I couldn’t stand seeing glimpses of him being so pale, this time he didn't look peaceful.
Since growing up I would try to talk to someone or something out there to help. There were times, even now where I would catch myself in the middle of the night just talking to something out there. I don’t think it was really praying but I would always ask and wait for a response. Nothing ever responded and I never thought something would. I was always used to begging something out there for help whenever I would “pray” but I was always greeted with silence. This silence just further solidified my feelings towards religion.Now that I’m more aware of my own feelings, death has become another thing to worry about while religion is just a funnel of silence. I wanted so desperately to see a sign, but nothing ever happened. The most I can do now I just keep going and trying to fill that void that silence left.
It was my great-grandma and I remember being so frustrated that I couldn’t go to the funeral with my mom, and instead I went on a field trip. Before the day of the field trip my mom told me to look out for robins, since that was my great-grandma's favorite bird, and if I saw one it meant that she came down from heaven to say hello. It was a comforting thing to think about and even now I still have that thought in the back of my mind whenever I see a robin. However after another death happened, this time my great-grandpa, I slowly became more and more desensitized with religion. Hearing people say certain things about god never lasted. It might be because this time I actually saw my great-grandpa before he died. He looked so at peace, but to me seeing his last moments in that hospital bed was too painful to process. He was just happy to be able to see his family one last time. They're at peace now, but I no longer cared about god or his existence, even others thinly veiled comfort surrounding death didn't mean much anymore. Those two deaths almost entirely shattered my whole family (while shattering the previous image I had of religion). The most recent death I experienced was my papa. It was so sudden that I was only able to see him once, I had the choice of seeing him but I couldn’t. He didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to anyone (he was in a coma), he wasn't allowed the same closure. I couldn’t stand seeing glimpses of him being so pale, this time he didn't look peaceful.
Since growing up I would try to talk to someone or something out there to help. There were times, even now where I would catch myself in the middle of the night just talking to something out there. I don’t think it was really praying but I would always ask and wait for a response. Nothing ever responded and I never thought something would. I was always used to begging something out there for help whenever I would “pray” but I was always greeted with silence. This silence just further solidified my feelings towards religion.Now that I’m more aware of my own feelings, death has become another thing to worry about while religion is just a funnel of silence. I wanted so desperately to see a sign, but nothing ever happened. The most I can do now I just keep going and trying to fill that void that silence left.
- Inspiration -
Coronation of the Virgin by Velazquez, ~1940
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Main Artist Inspiration: Diego Velazquez, Giovanni Starzza
Coronation of the Virgin was Velazquez's last religious painting out of his works, produced around 1940 (the date is somewhat debated). Unlike his other works this portrait is seen as smaller than his other canvases/works, He specialized in realism, and focused on the baroque period. Because this work was specifically a commission it has a more literal message/presence. Since my own piece is meant to convey religion having Velazquez's work be one of my main inspirations seemed fitting. Mary (the Virgin) is in the main center of the piece, something I wanted to replicate since I am discussing my core perspective/emotions towards religion (in this case Christianity). I wanted to replicate the cloud background to represent a sense of heaven. When I look at this piece I see a sense of innocence, and when I think of a coronation I think of a sense of growth. This heavily inspired my own piece since I wanted to convey my relationship with religion and how it began to change as I grew up and experienced different things.
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Coronation of the Virgin by Velazquez, ~1940
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The Veiled Virgin depicts a veiled bust of Virgin Mary with a somber expression on her face. It is a marble statue created by Giovanni Strazza and was supposedly a product of the Risorgimento* period in Italy. Due to this speculation many have thought that Mary is meant to represent this unification in Italy. Mary in the media is often seen as this innocent figurehead in religion, something I wanted to replicate in my own piece. In overall style I debated on creating a piece that was similar to the bust (like with the visual of the veil), but realized that her expression is part of what makes the piece. When I look at this piece i get a sense of calm and purity, this tends to go hand and hand with religion so I thought it would be a perfect inspiration in addition to Coronation of the Virgin. I took the veil aspect of this work and transformed it for my piece. Initially I thought of having a blindfold over my eyes but then I realized I could achieve the same covered result by fogging up my eyes instead.
*A period of political and social movement that caused the unification of Italy in 1861 |
The Veiled Virgin by Strazza, ~1850
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- Planning -
Planning physically for this piece was somewhat difficult. This piece is more personal to me so I knew that it would be a good idea for me to be an actual part within it, but I had difficulty drawing out how I wanted my piece to look. For me it was easier to just go straight into working rather than having a thought out plan, however I knew it would help. I made sure to outline each photo I planned on taking, leaving a check mark for when I actually took the photo. This was able to keep me motivated as well as having a thought out structure. I sketched out the background I thought would be best for the work, as well as explaining the symbolism I wanted to convey within it. I made sure to create a rough draft of myself (the pose I wanted to do) to see the structure that would be created.
I also tested the makeup and emotion I wanted to do for the piece. I knew I wanted it to look similar to depictions of the Virgin Mary, similar to that in the Coronation of the Virgin so I made sure to plan on adding tears. I had at least three choices when it came to the party hat I would use in replacement for the crown (since I wanted to show me growing up in a more fun way), but chose to use the biggest one I had. Overall my planning was less conventional than it normally would due to the fact that I just needed to find what photos I was going to take instead of making them. |
- Process & Experimentation-
Once my planning was over I began to think of how to take my photos. Due to the difference in medium it was somewhat difficult to replicate the technique of my inspiration, however I thought about how to deconstruct the process of a painting and applied it to my own process. I first thought about how to take photos of my background, conveniently the day after figuring out and planning out my piece it began to rain/storm. This was the best background for me so i made sure to find a spot within the clouds that seemed to almost have a gradient. Then I saw two different clouds that I thought would be good accents to have. Afterwards I began posing my hands to take a photo with the party hat. Since I wanted it to look like a crown being placed on my head I made sure to have my head out of the frame.
When it came to the human center of my piece (me) I experimented with different posing and lighting, even my makeup. Since I took inspiration from the Virgin Mary for the first few trials of my photos I decided to pay homage by adding tears to my makeup. After a few photos I decided to see how it would look with no tears and different posing. The lighting was something I also considered, in some lighting I would look more washed out while in others I would look warmer. |
After taking all of my photos I finally began to manipulate them. I am somewhat experienced with using more simple programs similar to Photoshop, however when it came to Photopea there was a grace period due to the different format. I often found myself going back to Pixlr (my previous program) to do simpler tasks like cutting out the background of my pieces. Removing pieces of the background or extra things in frame was an easy and smooth process, and I made sure to soften the edges to make sure the photos blended together easier. The most difficult cut out of my piece was the hands holding up the party hat. I think this is in part due to the way I had positioned my hands for the photo, as well as the extra fringe from the hat, in order to make this easier for myself I would color certain parts of the fringe to make it look less pointed. After I cut out the photo I made sure to go back and color correct as well as soften the image to make it look less awkward (I also added some shadow to the arms).
Once all of my images were cut out I used my cloud background as the first layer. I then added my pose to the background. I slightly lowered the opacity to make the different lighting less obvious, while also drawing a shadow behind my pose to make it seem like it was a part of the background. After adding my pose I added the party hat and hands above it. For my whole piece I had to have eight layers in total. I added clouds in the bottom corners to make the background more pronounced, while also adding three smaller clouds in the background. After adding and arranging all of my photos I decided on filling in/fogging up my eyes as well to give my piece a more dark look while symbolizing the trust I initially had in religion (the concept almost blinding me in a way). |
- Critique -
Similarities:
-Both Velazquez and Strazzo's works focus on a human center of their works, this is similar to my piece since I am the focus (it is where I want the viewers attention to mainly be focused).
-Coronation of the Virgin by Velazquez has a somewhat darker color pallet with a "heavenly" cloud background. The way the crown is being placed onto Mary's head is also the same in my piece. From my inspiration Velazquez is the artist I looked to the most.
-Both works deal with religious iconography, my own work also has this religious imagery within my posing and underlining message.
-Coronation of the Virgin by Velazquez has a somewhat darker color pallet with a "heavenly" cloud background. The way the crown is being placed onto Mary's head is also the same in my piece. From my inspiration Velazquez is the artist I looked to the most.
-Both works deal with religious iconography, my own work also has this religious imagery within my posing and underlining message.
Differences:
-My work and its message is personal and somewhat critical of religion, whereas both works utilize religion as a positive talking point in their own ways (for example the possibility of Strazza's conveying the unity of Italy using the Virgin to convey trust).
-Both pieces use contrast (in shading and sculpting) to define the subjects within their pieces, however with mine the contrast is somewhat lowered. This makes my work look muted in comparison to the two.
-As well as in contrast both pieces see their main subjects with a content expression on her face, having her eyes closed looking almost relaxed. In mine the eyes are open but colored to look blind. This contrasts the trust in religion message from both inspirations.
-Both pieces use contrast (in shading and sculpting) to define the subjects within their pieces, however with mine the contrast is somewhat lowered. This makes my work look muted in comparison to the two.
-As well as in contrast both pieces see their main subjects with a content expression on her face, having her eyes closed looking almost relaxed. In mine the eyes are open but colored to look blind. This contrasts the trust in religion message from both inspirations.
- Reflection -
In total this piece was a very exciting and challenging work. Having some experience in digital media/manipulation made this even more enjoyable for me. In the beginning I struggled mainly with taking photos of myself, due to the fact that I normally avoid photos. But as my progress grew I knew that having me in the piece was the best thing to do. My overall skills in digital manipulation didn't necessarily grow from this work, however learning a newer program that is more similar to actual Photoshop was a pleasant experience. If I were to do this piece again I would most likely try to achieve better lighting. This would most likely be cool toned lighting, but being able to have one cohesive source of light would allow the pieces in my work to better blend together.
- Connections to the ACT -
1) Clearly explain how you were able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your art?
I did not fully know what I had wanted to do for this piece, but once researching (mainly) Velazquez specifically the ideas for my piece started to come together. I knew I wanted to have a somewhat baroque look but after finding Coronation of the Virgin I began taking much inspiration from it. The Veiled Virgin also helped me figure out the emotion I wanted to convey as well. This inspiration allowed me to create a piece I enjoy thoroughly.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I am unsure how my main artist inspirations would react to this piece, however due to its message regarding religion it would be seen as less than (since it is critical on religion). With Velazquez, he would most likely take note the aspects of the baroque period within the color pallet and structure.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I was able to learn more in depth about the baroque period, and how its relationship with religion is deeply ingrained.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
When looking for inspiration I tried finding pieces that dealt with religion, but also had dark concepts and colors. Since I was dealing with the baroque period I was looking for mainly paintings since I thought those ideas would be easy to transform into digital.
5) What kinds of inferences did you make while reading your research?
During my research I began coming to the conclusion/it solidified my perspective that religion does help many people. However for some it can be painful as well as seen in my own experience/perspective.
- Citations -
Alessandro. “Giovanni Strazza - the Veiled Virgin.” Exploring Art with Alessandro, Exploring Art, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.exploringart.co/the-veiled-virgin/.
“Coronation of the Virgin by Diego Velazquez.” DiegoVelasquez.net, 2022, www.diegovelazquez.net/coronation-of-the-virgin.
“Coronation of the Virgin by Diego Velazquez.” DiegoVelasquez.net, 2022, www.diegovelazquez.net/coronation-of-the-virgin.