#week02

[michellange10]

Week02 HW - 2 Original Emojis

01. chickpea

this is a chickpea emoji. apple already has a falafel emoji, so why not try and create a chickpea emoji? fun fact: falafel is made with chickpeas. this idea was suggested by my vegan friend, shoutout to nico.

I was inspired by the realism of Apple emojis, specifically their food emojis. Using the pen tool, I traced the shape of a chickpea I found online. Then with the brush tool, I layered on colors to add value to the chickpea, in addition to shadows and highlights.

02. unhinged bite

this is an unhinged bite emoji. this idea was also suggested by nico. he wanted an emoji that evoked the message of: "i'm about to bite you."

I traced over a sketch I made in my journal and used layers to separate the different components of the design.

[michellange10]

Week 2 - Visual Journal Entry #1

02.05.2025

Image 1. INSPIRATION

Image 2. THE CREATION

As a graphic designer for the Computer Science Club at Hunter, I am responsible for creating promotional materials like posters and Instagram graphics for our club events and initiatives.

Image 1 is the inspiration for Image 2, the Project Development Program graphic I created for Instagram.

What I like about Image 1 is the mixture of simple shapes (rectangles, circles) and organic forms. The restricted color palette and the smooth lines also adds to the simplicity of the design, meanwhile being almost maximalist with the different design components in the image.

[laerrusexperiences]

The Weather Project by Olafur Eliasson (2003)

This installation artwork brings an illusion of the sun into the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in the UK. Implementing a semi-circular screen, mirrors, and artificial mist to create an indoor sunset that allows the audience to experience an integrally outdoor experience such as a sunset/rise within the confines of a human-made structure. The impossibility of this concept could provoke a surreal state and bend the viewer’s perception of reality.

[laerrusexperiences]

Winter Storm by Anthony Howe

Howe’s collection of metal sculptures with organic shapes create a life-like movement from their kinetic mechanism. Often designed to direct the viewer’s attention to the centre of the sculpture, the artist states their aim is “to stop the viewer’s thought process and experience a different kind of reality”. The stark difference between the alien-fauna-like sculpture in comparison to the background of earth’s nature blurs the distinction between conscious and unconscious, an amalgamation of reality and the other, therefore creating a sense of surreality.

[laerrusexperiences]

The Infinity Wall by d’strict (2019)

This compilation of CG artworks is another great example of using forced perspective to create visual illusions and by utilising technology and its ability to provoke optical illusion that aid the audience on the journey of the surreal state. Using the drawing technique of vanishing point to create a sense of depth on a flat surface; when viewing from a certain angle, it appears to the viewer that the screen has an indefinite depth. The LED screen displays a range of different CG motion designs such as infinite waves, dancing particles, and more, contrasting with the real-life environment that creates a juxtaposition between actuality and dream.

[laerrusexperiences]

Marvels of illusion: illusion and perception in the art of Salvador Dali - Reflection

Marvels of illusion: illusion and perception in the art of Salvador Dali by Martinez-Conde Susana, Conley Dave, Hine Hank, Kropf Joan, Tush Peter, Ayala Andrea, Macknik Stephen L. (2015)

In this article, the authors express the definition of Surrealism as to “blur the distinction between the real and the imagined.” Using examples from the “Marvels of Illusion” exhibition at The Dali Museum, the authors recognised the use of optical illusion techniques from several different Dali’s paintings to identify the significance of visual illusion in surrealism.

The authors stated the term illusions in neuroscience as a “disconnect between reality and perception”. Therefore, when we experience an effect of illusion, it appears surreal due to a lack of perception and questioning of reality.

Types of illusions:

Filling-in illusions:  As the article stated the human visual system has neurons responsible for the “face sense” function that not only can detect and recognise an actual face but also including those of illusory or imaginary faces. “Face pareidolia” refers to when we accidentally find faces from visual information, such as in the painting ‘The Madonna of the Birds’ by Dali (1943).

Ambiguous Illusions:  This term particularly refers to Dali’s art and is recognised when the brain interprets the same image, yet creates two or more opposite perceptions. For example ‘The Three Ages’ by Dali (1940).

Depth Perception and Stereoscopic Vision:  Depth perception creates depth information on a flat surface using precise calculations and rules such as vanishing points, shading, occlusion, transparency etc. Example of Le Crane by Dali (1972). Stereoscopic vision is a neural mechanism that combines the horizontal images from the left to the right eye to create a 3D perception, such as Crucifixion (Christ of Gala) by Dali (1981).

After reading this article, I was able to grasp a further understanding of the connection between illusion and the state of the surreal. The illusion challenges our perception and blends the definition between real and imaginary, thus the state of surreal - between reality and dream.

[laerrusexperiences]

新宿東口の猫 by Cross Space

新宿東口の貓 is a one floor tall, curved, LED screen promotional artwork that features a giant calico cat overseeing the pedestrians of a Shinjuku street. This 3D artwork uses the “anamorphic illusion” technique, paired with a hyper-realistic CG effect on a curved screen that allows the audience to view this screen-based animation appears as an actual 3-dimensional larger-than-life living creature, therefore creating a surreal viewing experience.

This artwork has inspired me to look into the relationship between illusion and the state of the surreal, and the techniques of optical illusion, particularly anamorphic/ forced perspective as a visual element to further enhance this sensory experience.

[laerrusexperiences]

Manifesto of Surrealism - Reflection

Manifesto of Surrealism by Andre Breton (1924)

In this manifesto, Breton expresses his discontent and frustrations with real life and the over-rationalised ways of thinking of society after world war 1. Through his poetic texts, we can understand that he described himself as a dreamer fleeting from reality and yearning to return to a childhood free from restrictions. He indicates that “the madness that one locks up” allows the mad - or socially deemed insane- content and solace within their own imagination because they were not restricted by the societal rules and modernistic human expectation. Breton questions the intellectual and moral advancement of the “real” material world and an overwhelming need to monetarily own everything, and questions the logic of rationalism. 

Breton praised Sigmund Freud and his discoveries of the unconscious mind and suggests the experiences that happen in dreams are just as important as those experienced whilst awake and raised his own reflections on the unconscious/ dreams.

Dreams are organized into genres and can contain serial-like continuity from one night to the next. However, the depth of the dream should also be considered in order to indicate its importance. He also raised questions about whether dreams can be used to solve problems in life.

The waking state is a “phenomenon of interference” because it not only displays one’s thoughts but also become lost/ make mistakes.

Events within dreams happen naturally, where the dreamer just follows along, which is something the waking state lacks.

By combining the contradictory states of reality and dream, it births the state of “surreality” (surreal).

Breton later identified the term Surrealism was created with Soupault as a homage to their friend Guillaume Apollinaire who lived the life of a true Surrealist without having the chance to contextualize this idea.

He then defined the name of Surrealism as “automatism” - functions with no constraints from the conscious. A philosophy conceives of “nonconformism” that believes in the power of dreams and their ability to solve all problems in life.

This manifesto helps me get a deeper understanding of the abstract term of “surreal”. It is a combination of two different states of consciousness and unconsciousness; a state between reality and dreams; a juxtaposition of distant realities. A practice of automatism that benefits from the freedom of irrational thought and unorthodox views.

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