This digital art piece is to express the dismay of mankind over worldwide events that seemingly will break the world apart.I chose a generic looking male figure to represent mankind and broken pieces of a globe-like representation of our earth lying at the man's feet.
With the events that we read and hear about daily such as stories of the greenhouse effect, how seemingly irresponsible countries are getting their hands on possible nuclear power, the mass killings of peoples,bombings of innocents and other atrocities... there is always an element of fear that we might destroy our own world. Even though this nagging fear has been with other generations besides our own, the news mediums has made us so much more aware of our tenuous hold on keeping the earth a safe place.
To accentuate our feelings of being inadequate to do much about these world problems,I have my "mankind" representative sitting alone as he anguishes over the destruction. The misty and dark background adds a pictoral plane depth to the composition while also accentuating the lone figure. It also works as a diagonal to divide the picture plane and adds a darkness that reinforces the idea of an unhappy "mankind."
This piece was developed using lights and darks to create interest along with a diagonal spatial division. The tree acts as a counter diagonal to the dark of the background. The finely detailed bark of the tree brings it closer to the viewer while the misty, hazy background recedes. The man, in order not to become an individual, is fuzzily defined and could, if wanted, be defined as either male or female. His lowered head directs us to his feet where we can begin to put together the pieces when "puzzling" out the content of this digital painting.
© Lana Nelson 1998
Art
58 | Digital Painting
Electronic Media | Department
of Art and Art History | CSU Chico