Quintin Gonzalez: Dusk of Shattered Icons
Artist(s):
Title:
- Dusk of Shattered Icons
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2004
Medium:
- Digital Print
Size:
- 32 inches x 42 Inches
Category:
Artist Statement:
“It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here. And the people under the sky were also very much the same – everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another’s existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same – people who had never learned to think but were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muse/es the power that would one day overturn the world. ” -George Orwell, 1984 Metamorphosis of identity is the topic I have chosen to speak of through these works. This series of portraits delves into the everchanging and ever-evolving face of the human condition. What one deems as individual identity is not so much a fixed thing, but rather it is that which animates the day to day experiences of life. The triumphs, failures, hopes, and struggles of existence find their fervid expressions in those countless facades of profound inner change. These many guises loom as foreboding dramatic vignettes that have been blurred into a single transfixed moment that simultaneously signifies the passing of time. Yet it is in the pondering of days past that the tethers of an uncertain fate become lifted, allowing a true face to be revealed as an unveiled meaning. This revealed intent captures that ephemeral design growing as an emerging catalyst for the many guises of transformation. These works touch upon those facades that are donned in an age of oppressive struggle and are somber witnesses to an era when individual reformation ultimately functions as an act of assimilation and self-preservation. Uniformity becomes a forlorn and final means to shield that internal essence of the sacred at the center of one’s core being. It is the inner self and spirit that remains most dear as an untouched unique voice. In time, this faint utterance becomes a resounding roar for those moments when men and women look defiantly into a black tempest of persecution, prejudice, and brutality and walk that blighted path toward a destiny of compassion, dignity and hope.
Technical Information:
These works incorporate an extensive use of Curious Labs Poser 4, Corel Painter 8, and Adobe Photoshop 7. In my work, manipulation of formal issues and use of digital imaging software are completely intertwined. This studio practice allows for imagery that utilizes digital media to execute the most complex visual structure I can create. This technical description outlines both the design and methodology
of my work. I begin by developing my portraits in Curious Labs Poser 4 based on a vague visual idea of what I might wish to convey. At this point the figure, is in its most basic state, and the primary choices about color, shape, line, and composition are made. I then advance to create a
more complex manipulation of the form and design of my concept. At this point, the image is converted to a tiff file and opened in Corel Painter 8. This process is best described as pushing from the general toward the specific. The aspects of this working method are inexact and come from a series of trials and errors. However, this method of working and reworking carries my work to a realization of clarity and
precision. The awkward beginning of accidents in my image development is crucial because this forms the structure and foundation of a finalized piece. Also, as the appearance of what I wish to convey evolves, the true form and intent of the image emerges. After a series of daunting in-studio defeats, a decisive stage of image development may take
place. I then open the work in Adobe Photoshop 7, where now I am ready to form the conclusion of a particular work. This comes about as a process of making all the elements of the image unclouded. There is a point in my work when I strive for a kind of visual eloquence. Here, I endeavor to create the most visually lucid composition I can possibly make. This is a moment in my work when the last emphatic concept is chosen and depicted. It comes about through rigor and
experimentation and it is the point in my work when I have nothing more to add.
