This illustration was commissioned by VRPO gids on the occasion of the IDFA, the yearly documentary film festival that takes place in Amsterdam.
The image was created by combining the IDFA logo, a roughly drawn camera on a tripod, with this years theme Shifting Perspectives. I wanted to end up with an image where several objects were arranged in a specific composition, generating a specific shadow that would tell the story. So, I hung various objects on strings to form a shadow in the exact shape of the IDFA logo, while at the same time creating perspective lines to the horizon.
The shadow was crucial for the selection of the objects. Which in themselves have nothing to do with the content of the subject. I have chosen objects that were able to mimic the ragged lines of the original logo as exact as possible. For example, the turned legs in the foreground cause an almost identical copy of the jagged silhouette of the tripod.
I struggled long to find the right objects; interesting in terms of shape and possible structures, while keeping them as neutral as possible. I didn't want the objects to have any kind of dominant association, the focus had to be on the shadow. Adding the red carpet gave the shadow the framework it needed.
Somehow, the drawing took me five days, which makes it by far the most underpaid job I've ever had. :) Quite a few doubts were expressed by the editors. From the beginning up to the final artwork. But, I'm still very excited about it. I feel everything came together in the end; the shifting perspective, the lines pointing to the the VPRO logo (later added in the layout), the red carpet emphasising the IDFA logo. It might not be very accessible, but it does tell a story. And I think it's nice when the viewer needs a bit longer to completely understand.
The image was created by combining the IDFA logo, a roughly drawn camera on a tripod, with this years theme Shifting Perspectives. I wanted to end up with an image where several objects were arranged in a specific composition, generating a specific shadow that would tell the story. So, I hung various objects on strings to form a shadow in the exact shape of the IDFA logo, while at the same time creating perspective lines to the horizon.
The shadow was crucial for the selection of the objects. Which in themselves have nothing to do with the content of the subject. I have chosen objects that were able to mimic the ragged lines of the original logo as exact as possible. For example, the turned legs in the foreground cause an almost identical copy of the jagged silhouette of the tripod.
I struggled long to find the right objects; interesting in terms of shape and possible structures, while keeping them as neutral as possible. I didn't want the objects to have any kind of dominant association, the focus had to be on the shadow. Adding the red carpet gave the shadow the framework it needed.
Somehow, the drawing took me five days, which makes it by far the most underpaid job I've ever had. :) Quite a few doubts were expressed by the editors. From the beginning up to the final artwork. But, I'm still very excited about it. I feel everything came together in the end; the shifting perspective, the lines pointing to the the VPRO logo (later added in the layout), the red carpet emphasising the IDFA logo. It might not be very accessible, but it does tell a story. And I think it's nice when the viewer needs a bit longer to completely understand.