TEXT AS IMAGE PROJECT

Title: Concepts and Practices II

Materials: Cardboard, Stencils, Montana Paint

Dimensions: Large Size

Concept:

This project explores language as a visual form—where text transcends its communicative function and becomes image. By using stencils and spray paint on cardboard, the work emphasizes the physicality of letters, their spatial relationships, and their potential to convey meaning beyond words. The process involves layering, repetition, and scale to transform text into a dynamic composition that operates as both language and visual art.

Key Ideas:

• Text as Form: Letters and words treated as shapes, patterns, and textures.
• Materiality: Cardboard as a humble, impermanent surface contrasts with the boldness of Montana paint.
• Process: Stenciling introduces precision and chance—overspray, imperfections, and layering become part of the aesthetic.

TEXT AS IMAGE PROJECT

TEXT AS IMAGE PROJECT

THE BODY/SPACE EXERCISE NO. 2: Fragmentation

Concept:

The human body is central to how we understand identity—gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. People alter their bodies, hair, and clothing to align with or rebel against social conventions, expressing messages to others. Many artists explore these ideas through representations of the body and by using their own bodies in their creative process.

Objectives

• Investigate fragmentation as a visual and conceptual strategy.
• Explore how breaking apart an image can reveal new meanings about identity and transformation.
• Consider how space and absence contribute to narrative.

Definitions

• Fragment:
• To break something into small parts or to be broken up in this way.
• Something as something else.
• Transformation:
• A thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.

Project Description

• Create six drawings that are fragmented depictions of an entire image.
• Your choice of object or subject matter.
• Decide how you will fragment the image:
• Cropping sections.
• Rearranging parts.
• Overlaying or displacing elements.
• Use materials of your choice (graphite, ink, collage, digital, mixed media).

Guidelines

• Each drawing should feel like a piece of a larger whole but also stand alone as a composition.
• Consider negative space and how fragmentation changes perception.
• Think about identity and body—how fragmentation can symbolize transformation, memory, or loss.

PROJECT No. 1: FORMS DERIVED FROM A CUBE

Concept:

Conceptual art can be – and can look like – almost anything. Unlike traditional painters or sculptors who focus on material expression, conceptual artists use whatever form best conveys their idea—this could be a performance, a written description, or a visual experiment.

This project explores open concept design through geometric transformation: starting with a cube and deriving new forms.

VIDEO LINK

• Sections of a Cube – YouTube

Objectives

• Investigate how a simple geometric form (cube) can generate complex variations.
• Explore conceptual thinking through visual transformation.
• Develop design vocabulary using primary colors and spatial relationships.

Project Requirements

• Total Images: 26
• Format: Drawings on paper or digital canvas.
• Use graphite pencils, colored pencils, or digital tools.
• If using color, only primary colors: RED, BLUE, YELLOW.
• Tools: Ruler for precision.
• Written Component:Minimum 250 words explaining your ideas and thought process.
• There is no right or wrong—focus on your individual interpretation.

Process

1. Begin with a cube as your base form.
2. Derive variations by:

• Cutting sections.
• Rotating or fragmenting.
• Exploring positive and negative space.

1. Draw each variation in the sanctity of your desired space and time.
2. Consider conceptual meaning behind each transformation.

Student Statement:

For my forms derived from a cube, I had a hard time in the beginning deciding what I wanted to do I jotted down tons of ideas before throwing everything out and starting again from scratch. Clearing my space helped me come up with something more simple. I started to think of the cube itself. I didn't want to manipulate the cube, but I wanted to manipulate the space within it. Before creating my forms, I first created the cubes. When looking at each cube, the space inside almost looked like a room. From here, I decided that I wanted to use the inside of the cube as a unique space to place my forms. In each cube, it looks like there's a small, confined room. The confined space gives off a claustrophobic feeling. For my form, I wanted to create an entity that would inhabit my cubes. I decided that my form would be a human hand, because of how expressive it can be. I chose to create my forms digitally on Adobe Illustrator. For hands, I chose to use my own. First, I took some pictures of my hand in various gestures and angles, drew each hand digitally, and then applied them to each cube. I decided to keep everything in black, white, and grey. Also, I chose to lower the opacity of each cube to intensify the weird, dreamlike quality of this piece. Overall, I enjoyed this project. It was enjoyable, even if creating 26 different forms was a little hard, but being able to manipulate my hand aided in my brainstorming and creative process.

Haiku Inspired Drawings

Project Description:

Create 6 total drawings, each inspired by a different Haiku poem. The goal is to translate the essence of the poem—its imagery, rhythm, and mood—into a visual composition.

Objectives

• Explore the relationship between text and image.
• Interpret poetic language through visual metaphor and abstraction.
• Develop sensitivity to composition, space, and simplicity, reflecting the spirit of Haiku.

Requirements

• 6 drawings, each based on a different Haiku.
• Include the chosen Haiku alongside each drawing (as a caption or on the back).
• Use any medium: graphite, ink, watercolor, or digital.
• Focus on minimalism and balance, echoing Haiku’s brevity and depth.

Guidelines

• Read each Haiku carefully—identify key images, seasonal references, and emotional tone.
• Avoid literal illustration; aim for interpretation and atmosphere.
• Consider negative space and Nōtan principles (light/dark balance).
• Each drawing should feel like a visual poem.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Using 26 hand drawn cubes as reference to “NEW LANGUAGE” create a system-your system-that functions as a means of COMMUNICATION with SIGN LANGUAGE in mind…

Open Concept…

TIMELINE: 

VISUAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE (250 WORD MINUMUM)

The work you produce reflects the ideas it serves and the sincerity that radiates from within:

SIGN LANGUAGE PROJECT

SIGN LANGUAGE PROJECT

SIGN LANGUAGE PROJECT

SIGN LANGUAGE PROJECT

SIGN LANGUAGE PROJECT

USFSP CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES II

2018-2025

BRAILLE LANGUAGE PROJECT

Using 26 hand drawn cubes as reference to “NEW LANGUAGE” create a

system-your system-that functions as a means of COMMUNICATION with

Braille Language in mind.

TIMELINE:

WRITTEN LANGUAGE: 250 WORD MINUMUM

VISUAL PROJECT: OPEN CONCEPT

RESEARCH:

ELIA is a breakthrough new language for the blind that can be mastered

in a matter of hours, not months.

https://www.elialife.com/Links to an external site.

The process of line drawing became extremely interesting to me. I originally did not know where to begin, but as soon as I began to follow the outlines of the faces, I really enjoyed the project and connected with the process. The lines were able to give me the ability to really focus on certain aspects and decide what you want to make more or less prominent by changing up the length and the weight of the strokes. I chose to focus mainly on the outline of each person and the way that their hair flows rather than the entire image itself because I was more interested in defining their outline within the space.

Once again, I became stumped with the digital space at the beginning since I've always separated the two in my mind. I remembered how I focused mainly on silhouettes for the first part of the clothing and the scenery surrounding them rather than the outline itself. Using the negative space to define the people's position and style was a much more intensive process, but it allowed for more information about each individual to be put on display rather than having a focus on the general body shape. Overall, I really ended up enjoying the process of this project because it pushed me to try a new style of art and allowed me to explore a realm that I could use for another project in a new way and develop it further into something even more than it was before.

Project Concept: Evidence of Passing Time – Divine Damage

This project explores the beauty of imperfection and the narrative embedded in the making of an image. “Divine Image” refers to the visible traces of struggle and endeavor—the marks of time and process that remain as part of the photograph’s history. Rather than striving for perfection, we embrace flaws as evidence of life and transformation.

Objective:

Rework an old photograph you are dissatisfied with. Through intervention, adjustment, and layering, resurrect the image and give it new meaning. The goal is to create an image that tells a story—the tale of looking, seeing, and making. Each piece should reveal the problem it began with and the journey toward its resolution.

Key Ideas:

• Impermanence: Accept that images evolve; their history is part of their beauty.
• Process as Narrative: Show evidence of struggle—scratches, marks, erasures, and additions become part of the work.
• Resurrection: Through reworking, transform what was once discarded into something vital and expressive.

Approach:

• Select an old photo you are unhappy with.
• Alter it using physical or digital methods: tear, stitch, burn, overlay, collage, or redraw.
• Let the marks of intervention remain visible—they are the “divine damage.”
• Aim for a composition that feels alive, layered, and reflective of time passing.

Concept

Move beyond a perceived narrative to create a new reality. This project asks you to confront stereotypes and reframe historical representation through annotation and intervention.

Objectives

• Critically examine archival images and their original intent.
• Challenge anthropological “type” photography and its role in perpetuating stereotypes.
• Use text as a corrective tool to restore individuality and specificity.

Project Description

• Select an archival image (e.g., Crow Peace Delegation photographs).
• Create alternative labels in red pen that:
• Confront stereotypes or misrepresentations.
• Provide context, identity, and personal details.
• Add humor or commentary where appropriate.
• Attempt to redefine the narrative by transforming the image from a symbol into a portrait of an individual life.

Reference Artist: Wendy Red Star

• Annotates historic Crow Delegation photographs with handwritten notes in red ink.
• Adds lineage, accomplishments, and cultural context.
• Uses humor and intimacy to humanize subjects and reclaim agency.
• Turns public history into a personal project, then returns it to public view.

Resources

• Video Link 1
• Video Link 2
• Zinn Education Project: Teaching guide on “Indian Removal.”

Key Ideas

• Educational + Confessional Tone: Combine factual notes with personal insights.
• Visual Strategy: Red pen annotations, arrows, speech bubbles.
• Goal: Transform passive historical documentation into active storytelling.

For this final project, I decided to focus my work on the abstract, and creating meaning from feelings instead of the images.    For my Haiku, I decided to choose Yosa Buson as my inspiration for my images. I found myself mesmerized by his use of language that he displayed compared to all of the other Haiku writers.    I felt extremely connected to these particular poems.    The poem I chose is about a delicate chrysanthemum flower, which is viewed as being a very beautiful and extremely pure flower in Japanese culture.    The poem speaks about how this flower is being cut from its steam in the physical, but I feel that there is so much more being said in the metaphorical.    Purity is at its fullest when it has bloomed and ripened into something that shines into other people’s lives.    This poem depicts this purity being transferred and somewhat drained of its original form.    By digitally painting all six of my images, I wanted to depict how the strokes can be transferred between each of my images which acts as a symbol for the purity slowly being transferred between each frame.    Along with the strokes, I decided to add little touches of red throughout my work.    I’m extremely interested in color theory, and the color red is the most bold and ruthless color in the rainbow.    By incorporating this color, it makes a darker message about purity, which is how it can be taken away.    This whole project helped direct me towards my artistic style and how balancing the abstract and the physical within my work is key to creating the influential messages that I want to convey.

Obituary Project: Portraits from Words

Concept:

Create a portrait based solely on the written description of an individual’s life published in The New York Times obituary section. The goal is to interpret the essence of a person through text—transforming narrative into visual form.

Approach:

• Select an obituary from the archive (example: Christopher McCandless).
• Read carefully to identify key themes, personality traits, and life events.
• Translate these elements into a portrait—not necessarily literal, but symbolic or abstract.
• Consider using mixed media, collage, drawing, or digital techniques to evoke the story behind the words.

Key Ideas:

• Interpretation over likeness: Focus on mood, symbolism, and narrative rather than physical accuracy.
• Text as catalyst: Let phrases, tone, and details guide your visual decisions.
• Storytelling through image: The portrait should feel like a visual echo of the life described.

The final project format made me think about another haiku project I created for a film class. I really enjoyed the concept of this project, especially while working on the digital portion since I had more of a vision for it. I chose a love-based haiku that focuses on the cycle of nature and the way that rivers and water interconnect with the emotion behind what was written.

It was more difficult for me to begin with the drawings for this project, unlike the last one, because I had a hard time figuring out how I wanted to combine the beginning drawings with the haiku itself. When I created the first one, it sparked this notion of working in black and white only. I’ve always enjoyed working in black and white as well as working with masks to create a defined space without the use of outlines.

I found it really interesting that we created six images rather than three for this project since a haiku only has three lines. I found it more difficult to split up the images in a way where it made sense and matched the specific lines of the poetry. I decided to create two images for each line, highlighting two different styles and portions of each piece.

Overall, I am happy with my results and the consistency of the work between all six images. This class has been truly a beneficial part of my college education, even though I took it my during my final semester at UT. I will use the skills I’ve learned and apply it to my future artistic endeavors.

Community Drawing Project

Concept:

This project focuses on collaborative creativity and the power of shared visual storytelling. Each participant contributes to a collective artwork that reflects diverse perspectives, experiences, and identities within a community.