Project No.01, Handout no.03, Rapid Improvisational Compositions

Rapid Improvisational Compositions

This week, your only major concern is exploring possibilities for communicating the various themes, ideas, or narratives you have defined, in visual compositions of materials from our Elements Library. As you did during class, arrange different combinations of elements, in a variety of ways, each time cropping a given arrangement into a square format of any size (from directly above, straight down, as large in the frame as possible, with adequate lighting, so that the composition’s format is basically square). — At every step of the way, always remember to think about the elements you include in a given composition (and how you arrange them) from two perspectives:

• semantically (what you are suggesting a viewer should understand);
• and syntactically (the visual relationships that support those ideas and tie the elements together as a totality).
  
  Be as thorough and open-ended as you can: Swap different elements in and out; rearrange the same ones in different ways; crop more tightly or more openly.
  
  Throughout this process, you are very definitely going to recognize new ideas (some related to those you’ve already established, but also ones that may be very different)—allow that to happen, and record with your camera.
  
  If a new idea surfaces, or if you see that an existing idea might become clearer or more interesting, or deeper (visually or conceptually), do what you think is necessary to evolve it and bring it out. This might mean finding, adding, and/or making new elements for your Library.
  
  A set of 20 to 30 compositions would be considered adequate; 30 to 50 or so would be considered quite thorough; approaching 100 compositions would be exceptionally comprehensive.

Uploading Composition Images

Before the start of class, please upload the images of all of your composition explorations in two different locations. If you need to, review the “cheat sheets” on Brightspace for doing so, and/or consult with your colleagues during your Small Group Meet-Up:

>*Personal OneDrive*
Follow the file naming and organization conventions we’ve already discussed and place all of the individual image files of your compositions in the appropriate Project/Week folder so that you can share them with your colleagues during class.

>*Class Google Drive Folder*
Duplicate the Project/Week folder from your personal OneDrive (named appropriately) to the class Google Drive folder so that I can review your work independently.

Readings and Resources

Familiarize yourself with the concepts in this week’s materials; apply your understanding to the assignments you’re working on in the homework. Additionally, make note of any concepts that you find confusing, or have questions about—as well as insights you discover that pertain to the work you’re doing—to share and discuss as a class.

Tools and Materials

• Elements Library / Original elements, plus any new ones you have gathered or made
• Mobile phone and laptop with Adobe Creative Suite
• Sketchbook or notebook and pen or pencil