IMAGES:
Artist's Statement:
When I originally heard this song by Jamie XX, It blew my mind. It was so strange and fresh and different and I loved that about it. One day I was listening to it and as I closed my eyes a vision came to mind. A totalitarian world, with individuality all but squandered. Then an individual, breaking free, starting a revolution, bursting forth from the constraints that held him back. A specific image my mind conjured was Similar to Image 6, with our protagonist running towards a window, officers in pursuit, and jumping, shattering the window...then continuing to rise, away from the filth and darkness and structure and into the heavens.
When pondering the assignment, I wanted to try and create a version of this vision, and eventually settled on the medium of painting. This was scary, having very little experience painting or drawing. Yet, as I began to paint (on an I Pad :)) I found myself beginning to analyze the frames in such a way that I would if I were creating a film.
I focused mostly on composition, movement, rhythm, and color. Compositionally, I wanted the interior to feel cramped, so I placed the floor and ceiling uncomfortably close. I used screen direction carefully as well, making sure to place the mindless subservient walking right to left, the most "easy" direction. As we see our anomaly begin to make his escape, he goes up and right to left, subconsciously conveying to the audience that it is a struggle for him. He is going against the flow. The color was the most exciting for me. Using the color pallet of Playdead Games Inside as a reference, I created the blues as the dark interior, the reds and off-whites as resistance, and the pure white, yellow, and pale blue as escape and freedom.
-Tanner
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