Mash-ups
Mashups involve blending elements from different visual sources or styles to create new and distinctive artworks. In this project I am combining photographs with original oil paintings (in the public domain) to create alternate realities. Visual art mashups often aim to challenge conventions, explore new possibilities, and provide viewers with a fresh perspective. They can be playful and humorous, provide a cultural commentary, be political or be a means of creative expression. The process of mashup creation allows artists to engage with a wide range of influences and experiment with the boundaries of traditional artistic forms.
Many of my creations are anachronisms involving persons or things that are chronologically out of place.
Anachronisms can inject humour into artwork mashups by placing objects, characters, or concepts from one time period into another where they clearly don’t belong. This can create a sense of whimsy or playfulness, inviting viewers to engage with the piece on a more lighthearted level. “The hot dog vendor” is definitely out of place in the peaceful 19th century square! I couldn’t resist creating “Vancouver Barge Saga” after following the beached barge saga at English Bay for over a year.
Anachronisms can make unexpected connections between activities that happen in different time periods. “A condo above the church…” looks at how modern day business tactics would look if tried in 1662! Social, political and cultural commentary can result from an anachronism. I created “Unexploded bomb” after watching the Ukraine war on TV. “They build condos…” is a reaction to the enormous speed at which they build condos and where they build them in Vancouver. The concept of environmental risk creeps into “An oil tanker…”. In “The admirers” the selfie generation and women’s more general assertiveness has made the ironworkers the watched ones instead of the ones who watch.
There is also creative freedom to anachronistic images. Adding Google Streetview letters and images to a painting of the actual Queen street in Auckland was fun.
Some of the photos don’t represent objects that are chronologically out of place but have some (quirky) humor to them. An example is “Ben’s experiment goes wrong”.
A major intent with my mash-ups is to make the added visual material be as seamless as possible. First I match the colors of the added photographic elements to the original tones in the painting by choice of element or by modifying the color of the element. Then I make sure the composition is still excellent or recreate it to be a visually pleasing arrangement. I use feathering, masking or layering to make the integration seamless. Paying attention to lighting, texture, perspective and other visual characteristics I want to create a believable integration between different elements.
A well-done art mashup presents familiar elements in a fresh context and invites exploration of the new perspectives.
NOTE: Click on the numbers on the right to go through the slides at your own pace.
To purchase a print, click on the image, click on the small icon on the right called "Art Print" and then click on the "Print Size" drop down menu.
Mashups involve blending elements from different visual sources or styles to create new and distinctive artworks. In this project I am combining photographs with original oil paintings (in the public domain) to create alternate realities. Visual art mashups often aim to challenge conventions, explore new possibilities, and provide viewers with a fresh perspective. They can be playful and humorous, provide a cultural commentary, be political or be a means of creative expression. The process of mashup creation allows artists to engage with a wide range of influences and experiment with the boundaries of traditional artistic forms.
Many of my creations are anachronisms involving persons or things that are chronologically out of place.
Anachronisms can inject humour into artwork mashups by placing objects, characters, or concepts from one time period into another where they clearly don’t belong. This can create a sense of whimsy or playfulness, inviting viewers to engage with the piece on a more lighthearted level. “The hot dog vendor” is definitely out of place in the peaceful 19th century square! I couldn’t resist creating “Vancouver Barge Saga” after following the beached barge saga at English Bay for over a year.
Anachronisms can make unexpected connections between activities that happen in different time periods. “A condo above the church…” looks at how modern day business tactics would look if tried in 1662! Social, political and cultural commentary can result from an anachronism. I created “Unexploded bomb” after watching the Ukraine war on TV. “They build condos…” is a reaction to the enormous speed at which they build condos and where they build them in Vancouver. The concept of environmental risk creeps into “An oil tanker…”. In “The admirers” the selfie generation and women’s more general assertiveness has made the ironworkers the watched ones instead of the ones who watch.
There is also creative freedom to anachronistic images. Adding Google Streetview letters and images to a painting of the actual Queen street in Auckland was fun.
Some of the photos don’t represent objects that are chronologically out of place but have some (quirky) humor to them. An example is “Ben’s experiment goes wrong”.
A major intent with my mash-ups is to make the added visual material be as seamless as possible. First I match the colors of the added photographic elements to the original tones in the painting by choice of element or by modifying the color of the element. Then I make sure the composition is still excellent or recreate it to be a visually pleasing arrangement. I use feathering, masking or layering to make the integration seamless. Paying attention to lighting, texture, perspective and other visual characteristics I want to create a believable integration between different elements.
A well-done art mashup presents familiar elements in a fresh context and invites exploration of the new perspectives.
NOTE: Click on the numbers on the right to go through the slides at your own pace.
To purchase a print, click on the image, click on the small icon on the right called "Art Print" and then click on the "Print Size" drop down menu.