Obstruction

Our project is centered on interruptions.  We hope to convey how we often do not recognize all the beauty around us because of the constant distractions of life. We will convey how our tendencies to focus on technology and the hurried nature of life often subtract from the beauty of nature. Part of what we are trying to convey is how all the interruptions we face have changed the way we view beauty. Technology, media and industry are constantly infringing upon nature and framing the way we see nature in its original state. Nature seems more distant and unknown because we constantly view it through screens or man made constructions of nature. Our project puts the foreign objects of technology and man's handiwork in contrast with raw nature.

The fairy tale that we incorporated is that of Hansel and Gretyl. They are sent away to die in the woods, but leave behind a trail of bread crumbs so that they may follow it back through the wild to find their home again.  In this tale, the bread crumbs stand out in the nature in serve as a signals to guide the children back to safety. Our images attempt to portray the technology and media (computer, light bulbs, posters) like the bread crumbs. They stand out and  are a sign of the way we ultimately find ourselves distant from nature. Luckily, we snapped a picture of a bread truck seemingly driving through the forest. This quite literally represents a trail of bread crumbs.

                                           Our approach is similar to that of Thomas Cole. Thomas Cole mastered the use of lines and texture in the creation of his work. For example, in his oil paintings, Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower and The Return, Cole effectively used the elements of line, color, and shadow to bring attention to the beauty of the natural landscape that exists in different settings. We hope to be able to use similar elements to be able to draw attention to God’s great artwork and his great wonders. We also hope to make a distinction between the ever-changing nature of man-made structure and the constant nature of God’s creation. In Cole’s work, he often displayed man-made structures breaking down and falling apart, as nature maintained its grandeur.