Key Words:artist research, Collection obsession, definition of collection, self-understanding, comparison, specimen, animal, animal protection, painting, painter, painting works, color collection, oil painting, self-portrait, an extended discussion, slow motion, photography, post retouring, PS

Production method: Photography(4 groups of 43 photos in total)

Content summary: this page focuses on the production process of the work, as well as the reflection on the work and attempts to improve it

— Contact Sheet

— The Production Idea of The Work

• In the literal sense, the original meaning of collection is to collect and preserve. Collection is divided into national collection and folk collection. And since there is a collection, there must be collectors. They will do it for some reasons, probably because of their personal interests, or because they want to make a culture pass on. But they usually have a certain economic strength, and have a certain amount of professional experience, so that they can reach a considerable collection scale of collectors.

• But this is just a professional explanation. For me, collecting has two meanings. One is what people apply to things or phenomena, and the other is what objects and phenomena say to people. From this view, my definition of collection is mutual, is the existence of opposites. However, there are too many kinds of objects and phenomena, so I choose the fields that fall within the scope of art major. At the same time, they are also what I am interested in and good at.

• In this work, I chose photography to express my ideas. I took and produced three sets of pictures. Before this, I took a series of pictures outside to help me make the final work, and the objects I shot were classified according to the requirements.

• One group is about “human beings towards substance/phenomenon”. I named this group of shooting work “STAY”. This is an expression of the way people think about collecting things. They buy them for various reasons, and then keep them around. This can be both a comfort to oneself and a valuable inheritance for the collection to survive.

• A group of “Matter/Phenomenon for Man,” which I named “Escape.” As we all know, most collections are inanimate, so the best place for them might be to go into the hands of collectors and stay there. But not all collections are worthy of being collected, and some are alive before they become “collections.” As for the specimens, most of them certainly do not belong here, so they will never change the heart of wanting to escape.

• In the last group, I discussed in depth the “human definition of matter”, which is an explanation of “collection”. I chose a “color” that will last for centuries.They are displayed on canvases by artists in various artistic means, and then. After they become famous, purchased as collectibles for the rest of their lives. In this group of shooting, I selected some painters and photographers to conduct research, and then made my own collection of colors.

—  Extended shooting of two groups of color research

• The preliminary color mixing practice and retouching attempt

After the investigation, I chose to shoot and make some attempts about color first, because it would run through the whole production process of my work. Therefore, taking this step in the first place would help me save more time in the shooting and production of the last two groups of pictures.

I took a lot of pictures and put them into Photoshop to try out different color retouches.
In this way we can also get different kinds of pictures.

• New ideas found in color research

The shooting objects of this group of pictures are water and the table top. In the later stage, I selected all parts of the water pool and added color. As you can see, I changed the transparent water pool into blue at the beginning. After this I woke up to the background blurring and light processing.

This makes the color of the water pool and the background rich and full, and it not only reminds me of the appearance of the planets in the universe.

— Display of finished products

• “Human definition of matter” is an “interpretation of collection”. I chose a “color” that will last for centuries.

< The Universe >

After the color research and simple photography, I thought of the rich surface of the planet because of the attempt of production. Therefore, I paid special attention to this idea when creating color. Finally, I turned my eyes to the flagstone road near my community and shot them into a group of pictures.

The stone path.
Local shooting.
After a simple post-processing.

< Blue >

This series of pictures is mainly a continuation of the artist research on the previous page. For the collection of colors, I choose Klein blue, which is easier to create and find.
And with blue as the main body, I found different objects to create the following picture.
Most of the images I have done post background processing, I have made the background white.

Plastic foam paper, blue highlighters, toning ink and brushes, filling paper of different colors, gouache, gloves with large paint

—  Two Meanings of Collection

Pre-shooting.
The first attempt at post retouching.
Pills and plastic ice cubes were chosen to give it a try.

• This set of pictures is about people’s instinctive thoughts about matter/phenomena

Here, I liken humans to collectibles. I ask the model to curl up, which is like a specimen/collectibles placed in a glass case with limited movement. After that, I pulled the model out of the background and placed it on a white background board. Finally, I rendered it with a black ink effect.

The white background represents their new, completely blank life, while the black ink represents the so-called decoration their owners have given them. Retouching increased, until the final black completely covered the collection, like their owners, decorated and then forgotten. The choice of these two colors was also a result of the artist research on the previous page.

< Stay >

• The use of slow motion. The meaning of the existence of matter and phenomena for human beings

Why use this expression in slow motion? Compared with the expression of the lens with normal speed, first of all, “slow motion” is more like adding more details to the description and characterization of the subject, because the scene with normal speed in reality may end before people can see clearly. Secondly, the atmosphere can be created by slowing down time, such as the death of characters and so on.

Take one of the most famous of the matrix of an example of “bullet time”, at the moment the shot, leading by slow motion back and dodge bullets, leading the lens to focus, rotate 360 degrees, except on the narrative expression character very much, also brings the audience is not the same visual experience, such a surprise picture excite the audience call for.

In this set of pictures, I want to express the significance of material and phenomenon to human beings. In this case, the subject is the collection of freedom seized. As we all know, most collections are inanimate, so the best place for them might be to go into the hands of collectors and stay there. That’s what most collectors do, but not all collections are worth collecting. For those who are alive but are being taxidermied on the pretext that they are alive, the moment they see the gun, they want to run away.

In this group of image processing, I found a background as simple as possible, a place with good light.And then I thought about it, this image, but because I was shooting on a human model, I thought about it a little bit further, and I added a little bit of a human element to the escape. Finally, I adjusted the shooting Angle and distance to make the camera closer to the subject so that the subject could be emphasized enough.

< Escape >