Design | Media Arts, in its broadest, personal interpretation, is most iconic when form and / or content are addressed through pure visceral expression. These two posters are attempts to explore sole visual aesthetics within the field of fine arts. I have a strong personal inclination towards abstract art pieces that call for attention through the use of color, scale, or content, but ultimately manage to keep audiences fixated for extended periods of time. I sought out to rapture viewers through detail, texture, and iconography, in the vein of artists: Damien Hirst and Gilbert & George. When Gilbert & George portray themselves in their pieces, it sometimes seems as if they take a back-seat to their large-scale symmetry and symbolism, which enables more flexibility in their compositions. I think reducing human subjects to a minimal role and rather embracing abstraction, results in a super-natural aesthetic that satisfies artists bored with the constraints of pure, un-doctored photography. Both pieces in this series, Electric Funeral and Honey’s Dead, attempt to dumb-down ordinary subjects even further by shifting attention solely to color saturation and form. However, being that both pieces incorporate several macro-photographs through the use of digital post-processing, I believe there are individual elements of interest to people who might favor a more focused, articulated perspective. While this isn’t the first time I have explored compositing through enlarged, centralized production (influenced primarily by Hirst’s butterfly paintings and the entire Gilbert & George retrospective), I was motivated by some new tools, specifically a recently acquired macro lens and more confidence in the ability to composite digitally. There is always the risk of being pigeon-holed into a particular style, but that aside, I am interested in exploring the limits of a certain genre. In the long run, the process of creation is the driving force for an artist fascinated with end results, especially if it inspires other artists to pursue the same feeling of excitement from finishing a lengthy, creative task. (2008)