Intro
I recently had the opportunity to attend 10x20x20 at the WAG, and I have to say, it was incredible. The event included a wide range of speakers and topics, and it was awesome to see such creative people nerd out on the things they’ve been working on and thinking about.
This post is a direct result of attending 10x20x20, and I would like to thank all of the speakers, organizers, and volunteers for putting together such an inspiring event. ❤️
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about humans, technology, and art. More specifically, how much easier it has become to produce pieces of art.
This interest led me to discover Prisma, a photo editing app that allows you to recreate and edit your images based on the artistic styles of famous artists and patterns. I found that my appreciation for the artwork created using Prisma increased proportionally to my understanding of the technology. For those who are technically curious, I’d suggest checking out this excellent explanation of the underlying technology. 🤓
I’ve been playing around with various photo editing tools, like Prisma, and I’ve been showcasing the results on my Instagram account. However, I’ve never actually explained why any of the pieces have any meaning, or how they were created.
None of my pieces have a name. I have yet to reach the level of artistic ability where I can easily summarize a piece of art into a few words. Instead, I will present each piece with the original photo, explain the tools I used, show various versions, and explain why each artwork has a specific meaning to me.
(Note: Some pieces only have one version, and I cannot remember 100% of the editing process for all of the pieces. They were created spontaneously without much thought of being properly documented. It’s only after attending 10x20x20 did I think about sharing and explaining each piece of art in this format.)
With that being said, I’d like to welcome you to my virtual exhibition. 🖼️
Artwork
Description:
This is the first piece that got me thinking about using various photo editing tools to create unusual artwork. I was able to create this piece in under 5 minutes just by playing around with Snapchat’s face lenses and Prisma. I’m fascinated by how much easier it’s becoming to create artwork on mobile devices. For those nerds out there, I suggest checking out this related article by Benedict Evans discussing creation and consumption on mobile phones.
Description:
This piece was taken in front of the Winnipeg Art Gallery right after attending 10x20x20. It’s amazing how Prisma can differentiate a person from the background and allow you to play around with what part of the photo you edit. I especially love of symmetry of the lights above.
Description:
This photo was taken of me by Mitch while we were hiking the Mantario Trail. Mitch, Lucas, and I completed the trail in 4 days and 3 nights. It was our first real hike, and we did not plan accordingly. We got lost several times, and our bodies got bruised and blistered. However, we banded together and figured it out, and in the end that was the best part. The photo was taken during an incline and it’s a reminder to keep going and keep pushing.
Description:
I used to be a religious person. Today, I mostly view myself as a man science and reason. However, the man of faith and the man of science still have internal battles inside my head. I think this is a struggle that most people are going through. A part of us wants everything to be explainable, while the other wants something to believe in. I specifically love the aesthetics of this piece because it reminds me of the red cross in the Starboy music video.
Description:
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about augmented and virtual reality and what use cases each technology will fulfill. In this piece, Ryan is playing a VR game on the PlayStation console and is using the two controllers as “hands” in the game. It will be interesting to see how our bodies continue to get ported into virtual worlds. The standard PS4 controller lays on the couch, and I find it quite symbolic. Will VR bring about a revolution in gaming or will it just be a gimmick? Only time will tell!
Description:
For this piece, I took a picture of a book on the floor and then searched for an image of a brain on Google. I then went into Snapchat and used the cropping feature to place the brain next to the book, and finally ran it through Prisma. I wanted to see how fast I could produce an image like this and I accomplished it in around 5 minutes. The power of knowledge!
Description:
I love going to the movie theatres and War for the Planet of the Apes was one of my favourite movies of the summer. The character development and CGI throughout the whole series were phenomenal. While the original posters for the movie were cool, I decided to run them through Prisma to see if I could get something that resembled a painting. I would love to print the edited pieces and have them on my wall. If anyone knows the optimal way to do this, please reach out!
Closing Thoughts
Creating and being moved by art are defining characteristics of being a human. I love playing around with various digital tools to create pieces of art, and I strongly encourage others to find an artistic outlet as well. Technology has given us the ability to express ourselves in new and interesting ways, and it would be a shame to not take full advantage of it.
I’ll be purchasing the iPhone 8 Plus, and I cannot wait to play around with the new camera and all of its features. 📱
If you found any of my pieces interesting, you can follow my artistic journey by following me on Instagram. 👨🎨
You can read part 2 by clicking here.
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You can follow me on twitter @ _AlexIgnat
(Note: This post is merely a reflection of what goes on in my weird little head)
