BLOG POST 6 : Close Encounters of the Third Kind

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) Dir. Steven Spielberg

NOTES ON THE FILM

nebulous quality of light- how it strikes the lens, what it does to the lens- circle points

brooding, atmospheric skies, clouds, child like expressions of discovery, amazement and wonder, believe.

looking up, searching the skies, constellations, salt sprinkled monoprints large A2 hand pressed with baren or with palm of hand.

beautiful sources of light- long shadows, colour palette: yellows, purples, violets, reds, oranges, deep blues

Close Encounters has an unequivocal power to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder – it resonates with my child-like instinct to explore and to ponder our place in the Universe. My goal for the pieces in this series was to evoke a sense of otherworldly curiosity in the viewer.

SCREENGRABS FROM THE FILM FOR INSPIRATION/SELECTING EYE OF THE DUCK (PIVOTAL/RESONATING) MOMENTS.

PRELIMINARY WIPE-AWAY MONOPRINTS MAKE BIGGER, TILE TO GRID OF 2X2

MADE MOST OUT OF PANDEMIC, TOOK SHEET OF ACETATE, WIPED AWAY WITH COTTON BUDS, TURPS, TALK ABOUT THE EFFORT YOU WENT THROUGH BE OBVIOUS. SALT TRICK, TURPS DRIP FOR STARS, COLOURED PAPER , HOME PRESS (TAKE PHOTO OF PRESS AND ADD)

PHOTOSHOP EDIT REMOVES THE ROUGH TACTILE TEXTURES OF THE MONOPRINT - TOO HOMOGENISED AND CLINICAL

ZOOM TUTORIAL NOTES- SHOWS ENGAGEMENT, WHAT DID I LEARN FROM THIS. THIS SESSION MADE ME CONSIDER COMPOSITION, DUETS AND SIMPLIFICATION OF IMAGE AND CHARACTER, AND CONTENT OF IMAGE...

MULTI-LAYERED, MULTI/COLOURED MONOPRINT DEVELOPMENT PLAN SKETCHES IN COLOUR PENCIL DRAWING FROM THE FILM SCREEN, TO SEPARATE COLOURS AND MAP COMPOSITION.

THIS ARTIST MENTIONED IN THE ZOOM TUTORIAL INSPIRED ME TO CREATE MONPRINTS FOCUSSING ON A KEY FIGURE/RELATIONSHIP... NEBULOUS SKIES, 1 PROTAGANIST AGAINST A HUGE MIGHTY NATURE. THE SELF STARING INTO AMAZEMENT/NEBULOUS PHENOMENA

OWN WORK

I usually work with silkscreen processes but due to lockdown, I had to adapt, using multi-layered monoprint drawing to act as a faux-CMYK screenprint. Using screengrabs from the films for visual reference, I inked up four separate plates in the CMYK palette and picked out the key elements of colour from each film still, hand-drawing each element as separate layers.

For this print (Above), I created the final key layer by varying the print method, using the wipe-away monoprint technique. This proved to be very successful and lead to the creation of my favourite print from the Close Encounters poster set.

I found great success in the more experimental monoprint processes that I used for the landscape covering gravity-defying scenes in the film, such as adding spritzes of turpentine and grains of salt to create the perfect starred night sky. I greatly enjoyed the unpredictability and apothecary of these processes and the prints produced were both strong and very original, while also maverick and sensitive.

CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH

ZOOM TUTORIAL NOTES ... WHAT I GOT FROM IT, NEXT STEP OF WORK...

FINAL SET OF POSTER WORK - DEVELOPMENT IN DESIGN AND ADDITION OF BORDER AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS - PLAYING AROUND (TILE IMAGES) MAKE IMAGES BIGGER 2X2 GRID - RETRO ROUNDED CORNERS ARE RARE, KORNING, BORDER EITHER BLACK OR WHITE GET RELEVANT NOTES FROM THESE AND TYPE UP ABOUT TYPOGRAPHY TIPS...