Week 1: Looking Up

I often forget to look up. Amidst the craziness that is each of our daily lives as artists and individuals, I find that I am most often focused on what is right in front or below me. While I was focusing on walking to class today, I paid special attention to the shadows cast on the cement due to trees (in above picture) absorbing and interrupting the path of light. The patterns of leaves as well as the silhouette of the foliage created an amazing effect on the sidewalk, in which the textures of leaf shadows complimented pockets of light where sunlight was streaming through the branches of the trees. I noticed that these streams of light reminded me of an equivalent to ‘specials’ found in design. This revelation inspired me to look up at the foliage (the motivation and reason for the shadows), which is when I took the above picture. I suppose I had never paid much attention to the shadows casted on trees due to overlapping branches and a multitude of leaves and flowers,but found that these shadows provided a multi-dimensional texture that was much richer than the shadows that were casted onto the pavement. While this might be obvious, especially due to other factors which include color and the foliage being an actual physical object, I was reminded that in design, gobos/textures/patterns as well as colors and shapes must be motivated by human experiences that are relatable for the viewer. I feel that this is when any sort of creative process is most rewarding, when an audience can summon up a memory or an experience due to the qualities of an abstract or symbolic design. In the same way, the foliage in this picture is a perfect example, where, in our lives, we see trees in multiple layers/dimensions, colors, textures and shapes, and not just in flat dimensions (the patterns on the ground). I think this idea of “looking up” in the design process allows for an artist to think about the attributes/characteristics of their idea/concept from a well-rounded and multi-dimensional perspective. This allows for specificity of design onstage, where texture has the ability to look multi-dimensional because colors, shapes, and shadows are regarded. Ultimately, I feel that this picture has allowed for me to think about possibilities that arise when one embodies the layers, textures, and dimensions found in our every day experiences that will allow for a more relatable experience for the audience within the theatre setting.