Case Study
Assignment: Hyperrealism /cubism/grid
Class: Digital Imaging
Date Started: Spring 2011
Date Completed: May 2011
Name: Connie Parris
Professor: Deborah Krikun
Introduction and Justification:
The purpose of the hyperrealism project was to create a photograph which is, as philosopher
Jean Baudrillard said, “the simulation of something which never really existed.” In essence the project
was to create a photograph that looks real even though it isn’t. Historically hyperrealist painters have
used photographs to gather information about a subject and their paintings look like photographs but
are “meticulously detailed to create the illusion of a new reality not seen in the original photo. That is
not to say that they are surreal, as the illusion is a convincing depiction of (simulated) reality. Textures,
surfaces, lighting effects and shadows are painted to appear clearer and more distinct than the
reference photo or even the actual subject itself.” ©2010 Artcalat.com
In contrast the second project, cubism, is based on the geometric form. It takes a photograph
and alters it away from a one point perspective to a multipoint perspective. Cubism was started by
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Paris between 1907 and 1914. Cubist painters “wanted instead to
emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas. So they reduced and fractured objects into geometric
forms, and then realigned these within a shallow, relief like space. They also used multiple or contrasting
vantage points.” http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm The purpose of the cubist
assignment was to use digital imaging techniques to create a cubist photograph using multiple
perspectives and geometric forms.
The third project was the grid project. The purpose of this project was to create a photograph
based on a grid similar to works by artists such as David Hockney,( http://www.hockneypictures.com/)
Andy Warhol(http://www.warholfoundation.org/legacy/biography.html) or MC Escher
(http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery.htm). The grid has some similarities to cubism.
Goal:
The goal of these three projects was to learn about hyperrealism, cubism, and grid composition
by looking at various artists who utilize these methods. We then took our own pictures and used a
variety of Photoshop tools to alter the photographs to the particular style.
Methodology: The above photograph is my example of hyperrealism. I took several pictures of graffiti
from around Athens Greece, and applied them to a close up of the Parthenon. Several techniques were
used to accomplish this. The images were first corrected for color and exposure using camera raw. They
were then converted into tiff files. I used both the rectangular marquee tool and the lasso tool to move
the graffiti to the Parthenon picture. For the graffiti on the flat surfaces, I used the brush with the clear
mode to take away some of the edges so that the cracks underneath in the rock showed through. To see
the cracks I adjusted the transparency of the layer so I could see what was underneath it. I also used the
adjustments such as levels and brightness to make the graffiti look older. On the columns I had a master
picture, such as of the bird above, and then I made pathways using the rectangular marquee tool to cut
sections of the bird to fit between the flutes of the column. I finished by adjusting the transparency and
brightness of the items on the column. I then added a larger canvas to the picture and cleaned up the
parts of the picture that had gone into the canvas by using the rectangular marquee tool and
highlighting the specific layers that were over and deleting them. I added a final layer on the very top
where I used the stroke tool to add a 2 pixel line of color around the edge of the print.
For the cubist piece shown above, I used one background picture and five other pictures of the
scene taken from slightly different perspectives. I initially corrected the colors in the Photoshop raw and
then used the rectangle marquee tool and the lasso tool to take rectangles of different perspectives
from one picture and move it to the main picture. I resized the moved items using the transform and
scale tool under edit in Photoshop. I adjusted the brightness using the adjustments tool, such as on the
building on the left, to look as if light was hitting it. For the water I used the lasso tool and cut out
shapes from the other pictures and then used the adjustments to make these layers brighter and adjust
the color. For the sky, I cut out rectangles using the rectangular marque tool and moved them to the
main picture. With some of the moved pictures I used the brush in the clear mode on the specific layer
to erase parts. As with the other picture, when I added a larger canvas it was necessary to delete some
of the pictures that extended onto the canvas area using the rectangular marquee tool on the correct
layer. As before, I added a final layer on the very top where I used the stroke tool to add a 2 pixel line of
color around the edge of the print.
The grid piece was done using several tools. First I took a picture of icicles and selected New
Tiled painting under 3-D which made nine identical pictures of the first. I then used the same picture of
an icicle and made a duplicate copy and used the transform warp tool. After that was done, I again used
the new tiled painting under 3-D which gave me 9 identical pictures. I used the rectangular marquee
tool to cut the tiled paintings up into separate layers and moved the layers onto the original icicle
photograph and used the transform resize to size them to the desired size. I experimented with different
placement of the icicles and rotated some using the transform rotate tool. Finally I found a grid pattern
that I liked. I then used the adjustment hue/saturation tool and instead of “master” selected” green”
and enhanced the green color in the photograph by increasing the green saturation. I also used the
adjustment tool and levels and increased the dark areas so you could see more contrast. I added the 13
by 19 inch canvas. After the picture was done, since the transform/warp tool makes the edges uneven, I
needed to crop the picture. I used the crop tool and also the rectangular marquee tool to make the edge
even. I added a 2 pixel box around the entire picture using the edit/stroke tool.
Challenges:
Each project had several challenges that I needed to overcome. In the hyperrealism picture it
was difficult to make the graffiti look old and let the cracks show through, but after experimenting with
the transparency setting it became easier to see where the cracks were. Some of the graffiti looked too
new and again I had to experiment with the adjustment settings. It was difficult to do all of the layers for
the columns and make separate paths for each. That took a lot of time and patience.
The cubist project was the hardest for me. I attempted several completely different cubist
pieces but really didn’t like any of them. Finally using the river and buildings I was able to make a cubist
piece that I really liked. The sky was a challenge. I tried many different ways to make it look good. I did
vertical rectangles, free form cloud like shapes, warping rectangle cloud shapes until I used the long
rectangles. The water was also difficult and I tried many different ways to change the water, until I used
the freeform curved sections. I then needed to make them stand out which really gave the piece
movement.
I also had difficulty with the grid piece. I tied many different pictures until I settled on the icicle
picture. I also did multiple configurations of the grid sections before I found a design that looked good.
Even then the picture lacked something until I altered the colors to give some color symmetry to the
picture as a whole.
Results:
The three different projects really improved my knowledge of Photoshop. I used many different
tools that I had never used before. It was satisfying to find a solution to various design problems. For
example, when I used the brush with the clear mode to erase part of the graffiti, I initially used a hit and
miss to find the cracks underneath. After I made the layer more transparent it became easy to erase
exactly what I wanted. I also played around with the different tools in Photoshop to find interesting
solutions to the projects. One example of this was when doing the grid project. I had never used the new
tiled painting and this gave me an instant grid. Then I wanted to adjust the picture and used the
transform/warp tool to give movement to the icicles. All of this was done by experimenting and trial and
error.
I like the way each photograph turned out and feel that they are good representation of the
different design styles…cubism, hyperrealism and grid. Doing these projects has helped me to better
understand these styles and given me motivation to go to museums and galleries to see the various
artists.
Beyond the Results:
Through these projects, I am motivated to increase my skills and knowledge of Photoshop and
also to learn other programs such as illustrator. Learning to manipulate the photos is quite enjoyable
and I can see myself creating other similar projects on my own.