Photoshop Assignment

The inspiration for my collage originally came from the photo of myself, because I've always thought that it looks like it could be a photograph from another time period (more specifically, the 1930's.) This brought many questions: If I were born in another era, what kind of person would I be? Would my interests and passions be the same, or would I be completely different than I am now? This collage is an effort to capture who I am today, but set in another time; there are multiple eras represented in this collage because many things that I love derive from different time periods, but the focus of this project is in the past, not the present nor future.

The photo I colorized (which doubles as the heart of the collage) is the photo of myself to make it appear more old-fashioned and vintage. The archival photos I chose all represent something important in my life and "make up" my being: dance, theatre, music, art, French culture, fashion, etc. I wanted color to be an important component in my project - I knew the majority should be in black and white to create the appropriate feel, but the use of color is also a wonderful way to portray my personality, so the contrast of those two ideas created something completely different. Knowing that people "read" a collage from left to right, I still wanted the effect that I am surrounded and filled by these images and ideas rather than make them part of a "journey." What I really want the reader to see first is all the components of myself, all in different time periods, and finally understanding at the end who everything applies to. I knew immediately that I wanted many motion vectors and line directions, pulling the images in every which way to represent a "time warp" feel.

I want the viewer of my collage to think about how their own lives (personality, interests, relationships, etc.) could be different in another time period through my own example. Although it's impossible to find out, it's interesting to think about the possibilities and almost surreal to consider yourself living as completely different person.