Narrative Digital Collage

In my Narrative Digital Collage, the main theme I'm emphasizing is travel. It's something I love to do. The background is a painting I found online of the Tuscan countryside in Italy. I could envision myself visiting Tuscany and enjoying the scenery. I added three monuments I would love to visit in the future- the Elizabeth Tower (known as Big Ben) in London, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. On the top right corner, I added sky lanterns, which I've learned is very popular in Asia. These lanterns specifically were used for the Festival of Lanterns in Thailand. I've seen images online of the scene taken in wide shot, and it's something on my list of ' things I want to see.' I added a cutout of a girl, representing me. I also added a table to hold a passport, camera, and journal. Traveling internationally requires a passport, and I like documenting moments on my trips by taking pictures and jotting things down. I've added suitcases which is another essential for traveling, and an iPad which I recently discovered is useful to log onto the internet, listen to music, and to watch videos at the airport. Lastly, I added a collage of pictures I found online, of traveling, to tie the narrative collage together.

For the images in the back of the collage, I made them into a diminishing size so they would appear further, while the images towards the front bigger so they would appear closer. I overlapped the layers of the items on the table. I adjusted the sizes of the lanterns so they could appear to naturally float away in the collage. I placed the images of the photographs and iPad so the collage could be visually balanced. I prefer things that are simple and of course, aesthetically pleasing.

"Good Art" and "Bad Art"

Like most people would say, art is subjective. Whether it's good or bad, it all boils down to how we feel about it. What makes art "good" is the connection the audience feel towards it. Take for example Vincent Van Gogh's "Starlight Over the Rhone." His piece strikes an emotional connection with me by the use of brush strokes and the blends of color. The eye is immediately drawn to the river which reflects the brightness from the stars. I then notice the use of yellow used to blend with other sections of the painting like the river bank, and the grassy knoll where the man and woman are standing on the bottom right corner. Overall, the painting gives a serene yet melancholy mood.

What makes art "bad" is the lack of connection the audience feels towards the piece. Take for example Piet Mondrian's "Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red." I feel little emotion towards the painting. All I can interpret from it is the plain use of horizontal and vertical lines, and a sporadic use of primary colors. The painting feels rigid and cold to me. There isn't anything on an emotional level to connect to.

I prefer art that gives a 'visual delight' and 'explores personal experiences' rather than pieces of 'abstract' art. Although not all abstract art are bad and not all pieces that are conventional are good. It depends on how I (the interpreter) feel about that particular piece.