Wondering

For a while now, I've had it in mind to do an image, using Max, composed entirely of ephemera, old letters, ads, photos, cards, stuff like that. Either on like a bulletin board or in like a shadowbox. But I'm not sure where that comes down in art. Is it a good use of 3D? Would it be just as good done in Photoshop? I'm just not sure where it stands in terms of art. I'm primarily an illustrator. I do like to think what I do is art, and many years of traditional art instruction lead me to believe I at least halfway know what I'm doing. I'm just not sure that a scene composed of entirely paper works into the whole genre.

I think it's a good idea, and to make it worthwhile to do it in 3D, you must treat the image like it really exists in a spatial reality. Light the "scene" so that there's a sense of depth. Take a look at Dave McKean's early work (before he even started using Photoshop, like the early Sandman covers). He would use objects, photographs, drawing/painting, cutouts...etc and construct an image that has a sense of real presence.

Well, in this case, I want to use Vray and get as close to photo realism as I can. Not something I usually do. I tend to not like to take images that far. But in this case, I want it real. I just wasn't sure that portraying a scene of just papers and photos and ephemera, although from different time periods, was a worthy thing to do artwise.

Your post reminded me of this sub-genre


https://www.allposters.com/-sp/Poor...rs_i403462_.htm
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/i...eau-Posters.jpg
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/t/imag...oogstrtn.lg.jpg
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/t/imag...gijbrcht.lg.jpg

http://www.gbtate.com/auctionsalesx...aidinfull4x.jpg there's the one I was looking for

I've seen similar paintings before, and while I like them, they're mostly a sub genre of still lifes. They don't tell a story, at least not to me. My concept is that I want, by carefully selecting the ephemera and photos in the image, to tell a kind of story, a history if you will. I'm not sure it's possible to do that in a way people will grasp. But I really want to try, and it's been something I've been thinking about for nearly a year. In one respect it's simple. Not a big deal image in 3D. But in another respect it's terrifically complex. In terms of composition it's horrendous. I mean, you have photos, letters, tickets, assorted bits of paper all tacked up on like a bulletin board. How to arrange a good composition for that is a question I haven't answered yet. Because the ephemera is layered, like history, with only bits and pieces showing as well as whole bits. I have a traditional art education, and I like to think I'm pretty good at composition, but this kind of composition is outside my experience. That's one reason I've been pondering it for so long. But if I can get it right, I think I will have genuinely created 'art'.

how can you question if something is worthy artwise? Its your art if you want it that way, then by all means make it.

my 2cents

Well, that's what my ex wife says too. Yes, we're friends, It can happen lol. But if you have a traditional art education, you often stop to wonder about whether something is "art" or not. You get doubts.

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