Media Art Remix

Melissa Grajeda

I found my original image of London, Uk from the EF tours magazine. (image on the left) Although, at first glance, this seems like a very pretty image. I immediately noticed a lot of buildings and not a lot if open green land. So for my remix version of the original image, I added a lot of images of gras, mountains, clean water (water falls) and even a wind turbine. A lot of these buildings found in the original image on the left, use a lot of energy, electricity and gas. By adding the wind turbine, this helps generate electricity!

Back to Basics

The original image is part of the "Washed Up" project by Alejandro Duran, and I chose it for this project because it is both peaceful and disturbing. While the lines and colors are bold and beautiful, the image depicts a natural scene that is corrupted by manmade junk and pollution on the beach. When you first look at it, it almost looks serene, but I think that is what makes it so powerful. The trash and recycling that litter our beaches are so normal now that they blend into the landscape, and we choose not to see the destruction that we, as humans, cause to beaches, oceans, and wildlife. In my digital art remix, then, I chose to cover all the trash with recycled material depicting the colors of sand. While the "sand" stands in sharp contrast to the blue of the ocean, unlike the original image, it makes a statement that we need to be more active in our efforts to clean up our beaches. Only by recognizing the problem and working to solve it will we make progress. I also added a small yellow heart to represent love of nature and cleanliness as well as two seagulls to symbolize the return of wildlife to a place that is free of trash and other materials that might cause them harm. "Back to Basics" removes the trash and replaces it with the natural beauty that belongs on the beach.


Original Image Citation: Alejandro Duran. "Washed up: Alejandro Duran's site-specific found plastic and trash installations." April 18, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/04/washed-up-alejandro-duran/ 

Remixed by Allison Russell

 

The image I chose is an ad for pesticides to use around your home and yard to get rid of mosquitoes and ticks. In the ad you can see the products used to kill off pests. I chose this image because of the harm pesticides can do not only to the environment, but our bodies and wildlife as well.

In my remixed image I decided to display a picnic scene. I covered the pesticide products with vivid pictures of flowers, plants and food. The products are masked, however there is still some evidence of the poison in the background. When pesticides are used on our food, they can have harmful effects on our bodies.

Remixed: Discovering Nature

Original Image Citation:

National Geographic 

February 2014

Artist- Peter Essick

Page 92, part of The Case of Missing Carbon article

Remixed by Eryn Burke

July 28, 2018

I choose the original image because this was an environmental art class and I thought the picture of nature was quite beautiful. I originally had two other images I was going to use, one with children in the grass and the other was polar bears. However I picked this one as I thought with the theme of nature this was a better fit. I was drawn to the movement of the water, the beautiful rocks and then underneath the polar opposite which was hues of green and black. I thought in both images I wanted to be there, touch it. I wanted to feel the slippery rocks, the cold water and the leaf that I imagined felt smooth and wet from rain. 

When I realized the assignment and what we had to do, I thought to myself, I should have gone with a different image. I was unsure on how I would remix this image. Then I saw this image of the girl and she was in the middle of a city street with no nature around her. I wanted to take her to the place I imagined when I saw the original image. So I recreated the mountain and river scene , trying to capture the movement and textures. I changed the sky to a sunset because it felt more cohesive and lively.  The bottom part, I included colors of nature of mainly green, black hues. I colored in some of the picture to pay respect to the beauty of the original leaf.  

I wanted to transport her to nature, to see the dark brown hues of wet muddy soil, the bright blues of the ocean, the various greens of trees, fish and flowers. To play within the mountains and rivers. I immersed her in nature. 

Caring for the Common

The original image comes from Boston Magazine and is followed by an article on how sad and uninviting the iconic Boston Commons has become. One of the oldest spots in Boston, The Commons should be a place full of life and history, but it has become a muddy, unkempt, feces-covered, and dirty place that tourists are feeling more and more disappointed in with every trip. The remix of this image encourages color and life growing back into the common. Some of the remix is left as the original image to represent this regrowing process taking time and care and the buildings were left in the grey are a symbol of what the city and industry has done to the natural environment around it. Immense flowers, blue skies, and greenery is being built up in the image from the bottom to represent the need to revamp the commons and to take better care and consideration in the historical land that surrounds us.

Original Image Citation:
Photograph taken by: Chloe Grinberg
Title of Article: Why is Boston Common so...Common?
Written by: Spencer Buell
Retrieved from: Boston Magazine
Issue Date: June 2018

Remix by: Chelsea Kozikis

Rebirth ( remix of Mathilde Roussel, Lives of Grass by Stephanie Mckay

I chose an image by environmental artist Mathilde Roussel called Lives of Grass. The contrast of the human forms shape in the piece intrigued me.  The figure falling, I interpreted as a fall from grace. at the figure resting I interpreted as innocence, new life sleeping or birth. In my remix I decided to use color and form to illustrate humans disconnection from the natural world. The darker shadow form represents the fight against nature. the color represents the spirit which represents man's wholeness with the earth. The shards of light are the hope, awareness and will to reconnect with nature. 

Original image citation: retrieved from www.mymodernmet.com, Lives of Grass by Mathilde Rousel, Soil, wheat seed, recycled metal and fabric. Brooklyn New York 2010

"Climate Reparations Realized"

When I first saw the image of a drought and wildfire-affected neighborhood, I thought of loved ones living in these areas of environmental danger. What is it like to lose your foundation and roots to the land in a matter of hours? My remix is a vision of hope for this ravaged area: a future eden of regrowth and clean energy, proving our ability to innovate and design for a greener tomorrow. In my image, responsible human activity is coupled with the resilience of new forests and water sources. Communities are built with renewable sources of energy and electricity, with an abundance of green space that fosters both connection and appreciation of the natural landscape. 

Original Image Citation: Drone Aerial Photography. Reuters. "A Case for Climate Reparations". Published in Sierra Club Magazine (2018). 

Remix Artist: Hilary Sugg