2/14/21
This week was my favorite in terms on photograpy. For as long as I can remember I have been OBSESSED with taking photos. My favorite two subjects to take photos of are cats and clouds. Although recently, I've learned how to freeze motion in time which is super cool. What's really interesting is that it's causing me to think about my major. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE animation and I'm super excited to bring my digital skills to the animation world. Or even to create digital advertisements and explore the graphic design world. However, I have ALWAYS loved photography. One photo can say a million words. A series of photos can tell an entire story. So below this is the series of photos I took this week based on playing with light and shadow. I had soooooooo much fun taking these photos and I hope you guys love them too. Also, in terms of my other classes, I'm trying my best to keep my pace with digital imaging and internet art. They are also both classes I'm excited to learn in, but I keep stumbling and its been hard to re-gain my footing. But I'm strong-willed and I know I'll put through. Emotionally I haven't been doing well and I've been mentally unwell, but I've been talking to family and they've been helping a little bit. Once I get into the right headspace I have faith I'll create an amazing website and animation this semseter. ALSO! I finally have an artist statement and bio that encapsulates me as an artist and I would like to share that. Evenetually as I update my website people will be able to access it through my homepage.
Artist Statement
Hi I'm Zach. Pronouns are he/him/his. Im a 4th year student and I'm mainly focused in animation but I've started to love working with materials. My FAVORITE material to work with is string because you can make almost anything out of it if you put your mind to it. It is an easy material to access and you can buy it in bulk for cheap. I have worked with other materials such as wood and glass, but they're harder to manage whereas I can create structures with string with ease. My theme typically circles around teaching others about themselves or helping them see the world around them more clearly. In broader terms, I help people see the truth through art. I honestly feel like as I've progressed though the years its become more about expressing myself, but while doing this I also encourage others to express themselves and live without fear of judgment. I just want to convey the message that love is always the answer and if you learn to love yourself anything is possible. My inspiration behind this theme is very personal to me. My cat Jinx was always by my side and whoever came into the house, whether he knew them or not, would receive love rubs from him. He was never fearful or shy or hateful towards others: he always knew how to show love. So when he passed away, I carry his soul through my art by teaching others and myself to love. Whenever I was sick or angry or upset, he would love me and all of those negative emotions would drift away. He taught me that love conquers all. Through this, after he passed, I have learned to love myself more than ever and to love others because Jinx showed me how. So now I want to spread his love to the world through my art and help people see themselves in a better light because he showed me how to conquer hatred and judgment. Combined with this message of love is simply me expressing myself and my sexuality through my art. However, this can still fall in the same category of me learning to love and accept who I am. Therefore, my message and all of my concepts stem from me becoming who I am, the people in my life who influenced me, and teaching others to love themselves.
Artist Bio
Zachary Upperman lives and works in Columbus, Ohio and loves to work with the physical and the digital. When he isn't creating things digitally, he is either creating structures out of string or painting canvases to spread his message. His most previous piece, LOVE, which spelled out the word "love" in big letters utilizing only string, was displayed in both the physical and digital Art & Tech show in the winter semester of 2020. He continues to work on digital and physical pieces with the mindset of allowing people to see themselves and others in a different light with the circulating theme of love.