Greene-ware 2020 Year 12 Hannah G Art as Knowledge

Art as Knowledge IA2 – Project Inquiry Phase 2 How can certain art styles trigger the feeling of nostalgia in people?

The focus of my body of work is nostalgia and looking back at past events. The idea of reminiscing on the “good old days” when I was younger and the holidays my family and sometimes friends went on. Looking back at memories like these can be seen as a coping mechanism as people progress through adolescence and enter the “real world”.

Focus

Nostalgia can be described as a feeling of homesickness or missing something. It can also be described as a sentimentality for past events. It has been found that nostalgia can calm those with anxiety, and it can counteract loneliness (Tierney, 2013). It is still a bittersweet emotion, meaning along with the joy it can bring it can still cause some sadness (Tierney, 2013), but when people talk more wistfully of the past, then they tend to be more optimistic for the future (Tierney, 2013). The feeling of nostalgia could also be described as an escape from the world; looking back at the events of the past is almost like jumping into a time machine.

A look into the Past 6x small cards Acrylic paint on card

Artist Statement

Nostalgia is a way of looking back at memories and feelings from past events. I have conveyed the idea of “looking back� through my installation including cards depicting select moments from my childhood from my perspective. A lot of the memories that I look back on are family holidays, so the majority of the cards included in this installation are of holiday destinations (Sun Peaks Resort, British Columbia, pool). I imitated the art styles from shows/movies that I remember and have a deep connection to from my childhood, such as Adventure Time, Gravity Falls and Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away and Ponyo). The box that the cards are displayed in represents almost like a safe space, with the happy/fun memories being the focus.

Resolved Work

Annotations

This card depicts the clock tower in Sun Peaks Village. This is almost a landmark in the village and next to it is a tree with fairy lights. This image in my head is one of the first that pop up when thinking of Sun peaks. I painted this in the style from Spirited Away, which is all about a small village area.

This card was painted to be in the art style of the show Adventure Time. It shows a hot chocolate sitting on a table looking out at the mountain in the background.

At the height of my �Adventure Time Phase� I travelled to Sun Peaks so I chose this art style for this card.

This card depicts a warm living area, also situated in Sun Peaks. My friends who travelled with us and I would sit in this room and watch Gravity Falls on the TV by the fire. I painted this in the style of Gravity Falls because of this memory linked to it.

Annotations

This card was painted in the style of the show Gravity Falls.

The perspective is from inside the Kamloops Airport looking out at a shuttle bus to go to Sun Peaks. I remember always being excited when seeing this bus and always took my hot chocolate with me.

In the style of Ponyo, this card shows a lone pink pool noodle in a pool. I always had to have the pink noodle and after swimming I would never clean it up. I remember looking at the pool the next day and seeing it floating there.

This card is also painted in the style of Ponyo (and other Hayao Miyazaki films). It represents the times I would sit at the bottom of my pool with cousins and friends and look up and blow bubbles all together.

Research

Process of cards More environment added and details

More background detail + ‘movement’ with smoke being added

Adding more background detail

Adding foreground and final touches

All cards followed the same process.

Process of resolved work

The box was Spray painted black on the outside, then a frame was placed at the open end.

Contact was then stuck to the inside of the box to make it black on the inside.

White card was placed at the back of the box so the projections would show and the cards were hung from the top of the box with string.

Using Corell PaintShop the images taken were edited using cropping and changing the focus of the images taken using a phone.

Supporting Evidence Set up for the edited image in Resolved work.

An image was projected into the box, lining up with the cards so that the subject of the image appeared clearly

Image used for projector – one of me on my first trip to Canada.

Image of me and my family friends in a hot tub in Canada – also used for projector.