Remix 2 J.Roberts

Glamour Magazine September 2016 p.122

"With all eyes on Rio I have been made aware of all the devastating environmental issues. Deforestation of the Atlantic Forest to make way for golf courses. The waterways are so polluted that athletes have opted out of the Olympics. When I looked at this beautiful image of Rio I was amazed by the beauty of the nature, and then saddened by the abuse of it, so I took out many of the buildings." (written by me where the buildings were removed) Through my final project I began to think about think more in depth about environmental issues, and since the spotlight is currently on Rio I found this image to be relevant. I smudged the Olympic rings to show the further damage that they may do. As a hopeful sentiment I wrote a poem about forest by one of my favorite authors, Oscar Wilde as well as adding forest back into the picture where the buildings once were.

Life After Death

Original 

Remix

The original image of the tree is very striking. It is all about death and destruction and to me references an image of the original tree in the Garden of Eden, and looks similar to a tree that I have seen in a lot of different imagery. You can see the smoke and imagine that the tree is suffering and can't breathe and the fire is so vibrant. 

In the remix I wanted to bring back life to this tree. I put in a smoke free beautiful sunset, fresh healthy trees, green grass, mountains, and even some water. The water is literal and metaphoric. You need water to put out a fire but you also need water to help things grow. Water cleans and gives life. I loved the image of the birds as well. They show that life is happening everywhere. 

Jason Houston, Keepers of the Flame, Nature Conservancy, August/September 2016 pg. 39

Nicole Donegan

Purely Material Interests

  

                                                        

                                                                                 Original

                                                        

                                                                                 Remixed

     This advertisement page had me stopped flipping through the pages in a magazine because it had that colorful sense that looked like a personal sketch. I then glanced the elephant in the background, and felt it was stuck inside a frame with its trunk up high (usually refers to discomfort), and wanted to free it. On the bottom of the image, there’s a quote saying ‘our interests are purely material’ that reflected the fabric and furniture, as well as the animals.

Abeer Moqeem

Source: Architectural Digest, Advertisement between pages 92-96.

A Handbag?- Berger Remix 2

Original Image: Advertisement for handbag designed by Yasu Michino

Photograph by Getty Images

Magazine: The Wall Street Journal Magazine

March 2016

Women’s Style

pg. 90

The original image depicts a leather handbag nestled between large tropical looking tree leaves. The accompanying text describes the inspiration for the bag design: the designer’s bags are “made with water snake, calfskin, and goatskin [which] often links with an aspirational location.” The blurb ends with the quote, “My bags have to make people dream.” The image, and the description were disturbing to me because they disregard the truth that the animals used to produce the bags were once alive and belittle these animals to having the sole function of providing a pleasing aesthetic.  

In my remix, I decided to recreate the handbag, but fill it with the animals whose skin was used to create the original. Next, I added in hands grabbing at the bag in the place of the tree trunk. In the original image, both the animals, as well as the human consumers were omitted from the ad; by inserting the hands, my hopes are that consumers who may have considered purchasing the handbag could now see themselves reflected in the hands, and see exactly what they are reaching for.

Plants Seeking...

Plants Seeking...

I found the original image in a home decor magazine, and the outlined pots that implied plants were seeking a new home made me think about global warming and how we can help reduce it’s effects in our communities. I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and Brazil created a beautiful piece on global warming that encouraged the olympians and those watching to combat global warming through the planting of trees and other plant life. It brought me back to this image that I had found. Though global warming feels like one of those large, inconceivable environmental issues, this ad and the olympics reminded me that there are manageable ways to reverse the effects of global warming within our own communities and lives. 

Breanne Smoley

HGTV Magazine. September 2016. pg. 77. Photograph by Emily Kate Roemer

Remix Ad - Morton

Photos by John Solem (flower) &  Sam Droege (bees)

UMASS Amherst: For Alumni and Friends of the Flagship Campus  // Fall 2015

I chose my original image from an article titled, Our Fight for Bees: Creating a new global generation of beekeeping. Massachusetts Agricultural College (now part of UMASS) was once the hub of beekeeping education and was the first college to offer a formal beekeeping program with a full-time beekeeping professor until 1969. Focus shifted away from beekeeping and the program slowly went dormant. Now, years later, with disappearing honeybees, there are more and more people interested in beekeeping. The article goes on to highlight the researchers, staff and students at UMASS who are focused on helping all bees: domestic and wild. Part of the article shares what we can do to help save the bees in our environment.  

To remix my image I searched for pictures that help support a healthy environment for bees. While I was reflecting on this topic I was also thinking about the relationship between humans, bees and our food supply. I included pictures of flowers, vegetables and water in my image. I then put the flower from my original image over the new background and added a handful of bees to the image. It is up to everyone, not just beekeepers, to make a difference in this issue. Plant bee-friendly flowers in your gardens, avoid using pesticides and chemicals in your yard, keep a birdbath in your garden for thirsty bees and buy local honey. 

New Perspective

New Perspective by Julia Phillips

GoodPlanet Info Magazine (online)

July 25, 2014

The original image was taken right outside of San Francisco, California, showing the devastation of the recent drought the past few years. To remix this image, I wanted to focus on one of the major causes of this drought, global warming. Global warming is a real issue and continually getting worse. One of the leading causes of global warming is the emission of carbon dioxide when we burn fuel in our cars and other vehicles.  For my remix, I wanted to demonstrate and highlight what is causing the devastation that has occurred in the original image. The piece layers the problem starter on top of the problem, giving the viewer a new perspective on the drought issue.

Gallina Real

                                                        Gallina Real by Jennifer Mitchell

Original Photo by Aaron M. Conway: Preservation, Spring 2016 p. 37 

When I saw the original photo in the magazine, I was struck by the beauty and regal qualities of this hen. Her plumage is like an elegant, velvet tapestry. Using torn paper, I created an Elizabethan collar and added naturalist, framed drawings of the kind a hen might like to have hanging in her parlor. Gallina Real portrays this beautiful creature, often mistreated and undervalued, as a member of royalty with all its trappings. Children often anthropomorphize animals in an effort to make a connection with them. The result is a feeling of love and respect. Perhaps it's not so misguided?

Doorway to a Future

The original image shows tallgrass prairie land giving way to an iconic American symbol, the McDonald’s archways. Next to the fast food giant, smaller lights can be glimpsed through the prairie grass. The article discusses continuing development in midwestern America, causing tallgrass prairie lands to become smaller, contained, and more scarce.

My remixed image explains the doorway that we have opened, the path that we have chosen, as humans have opted in favor of land development. The skyline shows tiny silhouettes of the buffalos that used to occupy the land, as flames project into the sunset -- signs of beginning destruction. We also see more views of American “progress” in land development: more pavement, more cars, more buildings.

Brandenburg, J. (1980, January). Can the tallgrass prairie be saved?. National Geographic, 157(1), 44.

Kate Szumita, Doorway to a Future. 2016.

Digital Remix #2: A (Necessary) Big Leap

Remix: Laura Kathrein, "A (Necessary) Big Leap," 2016

Original Image: 

Etzel, K. (2016). Cristian Herrera makes the mandatory leap towards the descent after climbing Left Y Crack (5.9) on the Y Boulder in the Buttermilk area of the Eastern Sierra [Photograph]. American Alpine Club. (p. 11)

This image is a continuation of my first image "Safety Never Felt So Good." The man is jumping from a foundation of society that is built on environmental devastation. He is making the hard but necessary leap into a greener future. Here, society's values and its foundation center on initiatives that work with the environment as well as promote health of the people and animals on the planet.

Is Seeing Believing.... Imagine!

A Boy and His Goggles 

A Boy and his Imagination

My original image stood out to me because it shows a boy about the same age as my son.  He’s smiling and seems very content.  But, when you focus off of his smile, you see his surroundings.  His environment is one of trash, waste, and an unhealthy mess.  To the viewer it seems that he is happily walking through it all.  I began to think… “This happy little boy should be exploring something new and exciting.”  For my remix I decided to have him do just that… EXPLORE!  What the world has to offer is much more than the scene by the water.  I wanted to give this little boy, Rodello, an environment of exploration.  I put his smile in a robotic image.  I surrounded him with the amazing things children should be studying and learning about.  For me, Rodello is learning about space, the ocean, energy, DNA, and the world of fantasy and reality!  This is the world in which a smile like his should exist.

Original image:

Title – A Boy and his Goggles

Magazine – National Geographic

November 2013

Article by Kurt Muchler

Photo by George Steinmetz

Photo of: Rodello Coronel, Jr.

by Elsa Roderick