1) My picture is based around hip-hop/rap, as you can see more clearly by looking at my artwork. The landscape is set in the downtown corridor of Los Angles, near the neighborhood of Compton. In the foreground there is an old school Cadillac, a classic “pimp” car, getting shot at. In the background there are the opaque figures of some of the best rappers, in my opinion (Tupac, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Dr.Dre). All of these MC’s have had to live the hard and rough life, but have now made it to stardom. All these pictures relate to the commonality of the hard ridden life of the ghetto.
2) Two elements and principles of design I used where: shape and value, focal point and movement.
- Shape: Shape can be seen through out my whole picture in two types, geometric or organic. Geometric shapes are structured, and often symmetrical (Ex. Circle, Triangle, Square). While organic shapes are usually abstract and don’t have defined boundaries. All the shapes in my work are combined to create a composition with no negative space.
- Value: I use value in my design to clearly distinguish between the fore, middle and background. Each uses different color values to make between them to make a greater contrast. The darker and harsher colors are in the front, which recedes to lighter and brighter images.
- Focal Point: The emphasis of my photo is the buildings in the middle of my work, which divide the rappers in the background and the car in the foreground. The black and white building attract attention and catch the eye, because they are “obviously” a different color then the rest of the images and the picture plane. Also, since the black and white buildings are not actually a picture, but rather a brush pattern, they are easier to spot and notice.
- Movement: On my picture plane, I have used movement in 2 forms: literal and compositional. The car in the foreground exemplifies literal movement while compositional movement starts initially with the car, but then your eye is lead around the artwork to the background of the city, to the skies with the opaque rappers.
