The Sandman Can

The wind is blowing strong again tonight. I can hear the branches scrape across the window like nails across a chalkboard. I know I didn’t make my parents angry so this can only mean on thing, the Sandman is keeping me awake past my bed-time so I will get in trouble. You see, he needs me to feel guilt or be in trouble so he can get into my dreams and awaken.

The sand is blowing and the dunes are endless. It is not dark, but a strange bronze color that affects everything. If I can only get to the wall without being alerted by the Stickman, I may get to the wall unnoticed.

The only thing that is not constant is the trolls that walk by over and over, looking straight ahead, never helping. They change their looks in my opinion from almost playful to very frightening. I know that I didn’t do anything wrong and that would explain the less frightening troll tonight.

The Stickman is the watcher of those who do wrong and the Sandman is the enforcer you might say. Of course the Stickman sees me, he always does. He is harmless though, I always get by him, it is the wall that’s hard. I wriggle and toss and turn until I finally get over the wall and past the Sandman.

The Sandman Can

Artists Statement:

The focal point of this montage is the Sandman himself. He is a figment of my childhood imagination explaining why "sand" would be in my eyes when I woke up in the mornings. My brother always told me it was because I did something wrong. My conscience would enter my dreams and I would have the recurring dream of having to struggle (toss and turn in bed) to get to the wall of redemption (my head-board). If I felt I did no wrong that particular day, I would guess that the Sandman was using the wind, lights, noise, anything to keep me awake so he could reveal himself. Once over the wall, I could sleep and he would be behind me.

I used monochromatic coloring because that is what I saw. I chose the Stickman as the image I seen as my brother telling on me and there was always a troll that wouldn't help.

Time

Biography:

Description: This gives me the feeling that Dali himself painted this! It has the same type of format with the dark fore-ground and the distorted time element. The blurred background high-lights the glass and makes the emphasis on whats going on inside of the glass.

Analysis: This is an asymetrical digital picture with a merger of the wine bottle neck coming in from the left. The lighter background allows the viewer to focus on the main focal point of the glass and the clock. The rolling, dark "ground" looks as if the roots of the tree are part of the landscape and yet it could be clothe.

Interpretation: I believe that Colman blurred his background like Dali to make an emphasis on the focal point of the glass. His use of contrast between the ground level and the sky gives a great amount of atmosphere and perspective, much like Dali. One sences movement with the flow out of the bottle and in Dali's there is also a flow of the melting of the clocks.

Judgement: I equally like both of these images, for what it is worth, Dali painted his and the sterotypical sence in our world is that photo manipulation is not art. I am glad to see people like Ivan Colman showing us that is not true and stories can be told in all art forms.

The Persistence of Memory

Biography: Salvador Dali was born in 1904 and was not limited to Surrealism. He got his start as a Cubist and toiled with oils, sculptures, watercolor, graphics and even movies. He was a known self-promoter and worked with Alfred Hitchcock in a dream sequence in the film Spellbound. He was also the first guest on the talk show Phil Donahue, yes that was before Oprah! Dali described his paintings as "hand-painted dream photographs". Although he died in 1989, he left his mark as an inspriational surrealist in the art world.

Description: The painting to me reflects the countless hours we spend each day contimplating our desisions. Dali reflects this with melting time or wasted time in our effort.

Analysis: Dali was a master at creating illusion on a canvas. He used shape and line to draw the viewer to various parts of the composition. There is an overall theme to this painting, with the melting clocks but one's eye is moved upward to the dream like background as well. The dark tones of the fore-ground and contrast highlights the images well. Dali is very aware of perspective and uses the box to add depth and a three dimensional view.

Judgement: I think of this painting as one of his best. It combines so many elements and captures the whole idea of the Surrealism movement. The layering and depth of field are awesome and I like the fact that all of his paintings, this one in particular, makes one think as they view it.

I'd rather be....

I have always been intrigued by the stunning architecture of Christianity churches. The so-called "cookie cutter" churches around America, pale in comparison. Also the extreme belief of religions is fascinating. I put an image of myself as other "Darin's" look on. Are they seeing what they believe to be, or what is reality?

partner portraits

I liked the idea of using Amanda's painting as a background for this project. It screams Surrealism. I wanted to show depth of field with Amanda and I larger, in the foreground and Kari in the background using hierarchy. I think I will feather the edges of the images to make them more integrated in the picture.