Okay, so my idea is to create a large-scale map of Berlin (the city, itself, is ENORMOUS)--how I remember it. I lived in the section of Berlin called Prenzlauer Berg and I want to represent the things I most remember from this section of the city--my favorite restaurants and cafes (there was an abundance of Asian restaurants, in particular), weekend markets, REALLY cool graffitit, strawberry stands, Spargel stands (white asparagus), honey stands, annoying people trying to sell subscriptions to various German newspapers, children EVERYWHERE (Prenzlauer Berg, I found out, has the highest birthrate in EUROPE!!!!!!), bicycles EVERYWHERE, my favorite museums and historic landmarks.
Because this map will be how I remember it, things will not be to scale or entirely accurately located. I like that this will be the case, though, as I think it will provide the piece with a sense of whimsicality and, again, my own, personal touch. Whimsicality and a sense of playfulness are important elements for my work to possess.
Here is a preliminary sketch. I worked on it for about a half an hour:
After creating this illustration, I then made a grid in Photoshop, illustrating more technically the envisioned locations of the buildings. This took about an hour:
Because this map will be how I remember it, things will not be to scale or entirely accurately located. I like that this will be the case, though, as I think it will provide the piece with a sense of whimsicality and, again, my own, personal touch. Whimsicality and a sense of playfulness are important elements for my work to possess.
Here is a preliminary sketch. I worked on it for about a half an hour:
After creating this illustration, I then made a grid in Photoshop, illustrating more technically the envisioned locations of the buildings. This took about an hour:
Once I created this grid, I then transfered it to a large sheet of paper, which is the scale at which I envision my final piece. This took about 45 minutes to do:
After I finished this sort of grunt work, I was finally able to start working on the part I find most enjoyable--collage! I am beginning with Berlin's famous, Berliner Dom. I am using the photo below as a reference. Underneath the photo is the work I have done thus far on my collage. I expect to have it completed by Tuesday's class.
*Note: To give some indication as to the final scale of the piece, my representation of the Berliner Dom measures about 11 x 14 inches.
So far I have spent about seven hours working on this. Before starting, too, I went to the Fine Arts Library (spent about a half hour there) to check out some books on Romare Bearden to look at more of his collages for inspiration and, perhaps, instruction.
As I am making this collage, I find myself being transported back to Berlin; able to relive the experiences I had, particularly in the vicinity of the Berliner Dom. Because the cutting and pasting takes such an excruciatingly long time (though I enjoy it), my brain is wandering, recalling on memories associated with the place I'm working on. It will be interesting to re-experience many of my Berlin memories as I proceed to create more buildings!
My next course of action is to finish the Dom. Time permitting, I would also like to have one strawberry stand done by next Wednesday.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you have landed on something so meaningful and exciting for you. I know that you love your process and that is a great thing. Romare Bearden captured very personal experiences in his work and I know that your experience in Berlin was very meaningful for you. I'm wondering if there is a way that you can explore some of the things that happened in these places on your map as well as the buildings themselves; and also a way of incorporating interior spaces.
janie