T206  Midterm  Project    

   

 

   

 

                                                       

   

Statement  

I’m  not  sure  exactly  what  to  call  the  visual  aesthetic  I  chose,  but  it  can  be  

summed  up  as  a  kind  of  psychedelic  space  look  with  elements  of  mysticism  thrown  

in.    The  lyrics  I  chose  came  from  a  Mastodon  song  called  “Divinations.”    The  verse  

dealt  with  space  concepts,  such  as  wormholes,  that  lent  itself  very  well  to  

psychedelic  imagery.    My  inspiration  for  the  spacey  imagery  came  mostly  from  the  

“Stargate”  sequence  from  2001:  A  Space  Odyssey,  which  includes  lots  of  swirling  

colors  and  patterns.    The  lyrics  from  “Divinations”  also  contained  descriptions  of  

ancient  spirits  and  the  mysticism  of  nature,  which  is  alluded  to  in  the  nature  aspects  

of  my  photos.    I  felt  these  mystic  aspects  matched  with  the  psychedelic  nature  of  the  

space  theme.  

  I  used  a  lot  of  low  angles  in  my  photos  because  it  made  the  objects  in  them  

seem  like  insurmountable  obstacles.    It  emphasized  that  the  “protagonist”  of  the  

song  was  trapped  and  without  control.    I  used  colors  in  two  different  ways.    In  some  

cases,  I  de-­‐saturated  pictures  of  natural  things  to  make  the  environment  seem  grave  

and  unfriendly.    In  other  photos,  I  emphasized  a  wide  variety  of  colors  to  make  them  

seem  unnatural  and  otherworldly.    There  are  lots  of  reds  and  oranges  in  my  pictures  

because  it  brought  to  mind  fire,  which  in  turn  made  them  seem  more  menacing.    I  

used  a  lot  of  stone  and  metal  textures  in  my  photos  because  they  are  textures  that  

are  often  cold  and  harsh.    I  did  a  lot  of  experimenting  with  lighting  angles  and  

effects.    For  example,  in  my  second  photo,  I  combined  high-­‐angle  lighting  with  low-­‐

angle  camera  shots  to  create  long  shadows  that  seemed  helpless.    In  my  fourth  

photo,  I  played  with  the  way  the  sunlight  refracted  off  the  statue  to  make  it  look  like  

a  tunnel  or  a  vortex.  

 

Divinations  By  Mastodon    Animal spirits come calling me home Through the tunnels of brilliant light The magnet of wisdom is pulling Burrowing faster the fabric of time No escape Binding spirits No escape Trapped in time space  Visual  Aesthetic:    

 2001:  A  Space  Odyssey  (1968)    

 Colony  of  Birchmen  (2007)