colored paper, magazine paper, graphite, glue on paper
My intention for this project was to emulate the scenery visible through the windows of the famed elevated train in Chicago - my hometown. Seeing as I use this method of transportation quotidianly - and is the main one I use to get around the city - I developed a fondness for the many views this particular location has to offer. It gives a sense of the breadth of visual subjects constituting Chicago’s distinct topography ; it truly is a feast for the eyes.
Since the instructions for this project were to create a piece representing movement, I decided to focus on a particular moment of the train ride - when the train crosses the Chicago river between the Merchandise Mart and Washington & Wells stops, at the threshold of the Loop area. While the final product may not explicitly represent movement, it evokes it through the idea of the moving train and cars as well as the passing of the buildings. I also took into consideration the iconicity of the “L” train and skyline of Chicago that are important components of the city’s identity.
This collage was made using images depicting some of Chicago’s famous architecture - which I selected from magazines - as well as clear-cut geometric shapes which I fashioned out of colored paper to represent the elements composing the train. What results is a piece rooted in contrast : reality versus representation, old versus new, dark versus color, movement versus immobility.
