As we know, every artist uses his work to tell a story. And since that artist is a part of our human world, his work automatically becomes a reflection of his society, culture and beliefs at the time of the creation.

However, art can also transcend time and boundaries and can be interpreted differently through time space and dimension…..

But to start… every art work, is a choice made by the artist. And our job as art students is to observe and recognize the choices, and then interpret what the artist was consciously (or subconsciously) trying to say… and what we as educated art students can further interpret and read into the artwork.

When we create art, we can choose to be totally realistic and create a perfect photo-realist piece…

Alyssa Monks, 2012 www.alyssamonks.com

Marcello Barenghi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l-gRG0fJx4

or we can delve into our subconscious

creativity and use…………………

distortion techniques

to create deeper and more profound art pieces……

……………or can we?

JUXTAPOSITION is the placement of two or more unrelated things near to (or on top of) each other. It provokes comparison and contrast and makes the viewer think more carefully about the objects that are put together and why the artist made that choice.

John Stezaker, photo, 1987

Henri Matisse, The Dessert Harmony in Red, Oil on Canvas, 1908

REVERSAL involves flipping images or objects around to change the way that they are viewed or perceived. Reflections and mirror images are commonly used to create reversal.

Andy Warhol, Pink Marilyn, Silk Screen, 1963

DISTORTION involves stretching, lengthening, shortening, squeezing, melting and twisting an object from its original appearance to a new, strange, surreal appearance.

Paul Loebach, Distortion candlesticks, 2013

DISPLACEMENT involves relocating or transposing an object from its usual environment to one that it does not usually belong.

Darren Rigo, Domestic Wilderness, Photo, 2013

FRAGMENTATION involves cutting or smashing pieces of an image and/or creating an effect that appears to segment the artwork into smaller pieces. Cubism is an effect of fragmenting as is the appearance of broken glass.

Justin Bower, 2013

EXAGGERATION involves enlarging parts of an image to an unreal size creating unbalance, emphasis and/or interest in parts of the artwork.

METAMORPHOSIS like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly, metamorphosis is the processing of changing one object into another object.

Metamorphosis: Perfume Bottle into a Snail. Watercolor, 2010

REPETITION is when you repeat an art element over and over to create a pattern. This can also be referred to as a tessellation.

Yayoi Kusama, Dots, Installation, 2012