Mid-term Proposal due: Oct. 22.

Mid-term due: Oct. 29.

GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Mid-term Proposal = 5 pts
Mid-term Photoshop Collage= 20 pts

We will discuss your mid-term in the next chat.

PROPOSAL / Photoshop Mid-term:
Use Photoshop to create a historical collage.

COLLAGE:
A form of art in which various materials (ie., photographs, pieces of paper, typographic elements, matchsticks...) are arranged and presented in a single Graphic composition.

Choose a historical event for your collage such as a milestone event in history; Civil Rights Movement, the struggle of the Suffragettes, First Man on the Moon, The Poor People's Campaign of 1968, the fashions of Coco Channel ...something you find interesting.

OR
Choose a historical figure (someone still living is ok) who has made an important contribution. This person could be a Nobel Peace Prize Winner such as Aung San Sui Kyi. Or someone who devoted their life to an important struggle such as Nelson Mandella, Gloria Steinhem, Che Guevera. Or a comic; Charlie Chaplin, or an artist such as Picasso or the Russian composer Prokofiev, or a scientist such as Einstein, who influenced a time in history...

Remember Photoshop is a tool, it's your idea and the materials you read and assets you acquire during this research stage that will guide you. As you research your idea think about a visual theme, color schemes, typographic elements and what kind of story you would like to tell.

Use various resources (internet, library...) to research and gather assets (text, images, scanned graphics, photocopied pics or newspaper clippings...) for the collage. There are fantastic resources online such as:

> the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html

> the New York Public Library:
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm

There is an abundance of other historical digital archives online, but remember if you use internet graphics look for higher quality images (more than 72 dpi).

proposal requirements (500+ words):

one paragraph about your topic.

one paragraph about why it is important.

one paragraph explaining the "message" of your collage. What do you want people to understand when they look at your finished collage? Will your collage inform, invite action, build consensus, provide an alternative view point, be entertaining or poignant...?

ONE paragraph describing assets (photographs, newspaper/magazine clipping, scanned texture or small object, hand art work, hand lettering scanned...) that you are considering using in your collage.

Site at least 3 written sources you use to research your collage topic; urls, books (including title, author), magazines, journals, newspapers...

Site THE graphic sources you used to research your collage topic; urls, books (including title, author), magazines, journals, newspapers...

Include the proposal as text in your email. In the subject field of the email put your last name and first initial with the number of the homework.

Example: McIntosh J-MID-TERM PROPOSAL
Please use this format for each assignment that you email me throughout the semester.

MID-TERM REQUIREMENTS:

1.
Use at least 5 different sources in your collage, one of which maybe typography. I want to see at least two examples of compositing. You will also be graded on the concept of your message, the thoughtfulness and appropriateness of your subject materials/resources, and the technical execution with Photoshop.

2.
Your choice of imagry is important - use high quality, clean, crisp graphics. How you integrate the graphics and 'make them you own' is very important (this is typically accomplished with compositing). You may include scanned textures, scanned hand work, lines, simple shapes... as possible additional sources.

3.
You must include the sources of all images/graphics used. If you do not give citations your work will be considered plagerized and you will receive an 'F'. Upon submission of your final collage include the sources of all images/graphics used.

4.
In creating a collage with multiple images your composition is very important. Establish a focal point, and do not feel that you have to use up every spare inch with graphics. Work to have some 'empty space' so that the viewer is not bombarded but invited into your graphic. Read Principles of Composition handout.

5.
Use the knowledge you have acquired from the previous 6 weeks to guide your collage creation.

Some concepts to think about as you work on the mid term include: clean compositing (very important), color correction, cropping, layers/layer blending, proportion, contrast, color scheme, and mood.

It may also help researching artists who have worked doing mixed media collages. Often we can borrow ideas from other artists to help us realize our own. Go to your local book store or library and browse through the art section. The below examples may help too.

Romare Beardon		Ellen Land-Weber
Dada - art or not?		Picasso