Postcard Project

Place: Grand Rapids, MI

Setting: The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Issue/Problem: There needs to be a greater appreciation and love for nature as well as an increase in the time we spend in it and what we are doing to protect it.

Relevance: The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a beautiful place to witness nature. In the world today, so much of our natural world is polluted and destroyed by human beings.

Goal: To get lost in the beauty of nature and find not only a love for it, but see this importance it plays in our lives, as well as the importance of protecting it.

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Introduction:

            Ever since I was a little girl, I have been so in love with nature. Whether it was riding my bike through the trails in my hometown and being in awe of the canopy of trees, the sparkle of the rippling stream and the abundance of beautiful wildlife, or just having too many house plants that they can’t all fit in my room, I have always seen nature as art itself. I love being alone in nature and in silence looking at and listening to everything around me. Nature does not need us to be here to see, hear or smell all the different spectacles it brings, and yet we get to witness all of its wonder. That being said, we as human beings should be ashamed of destroying the gift and beauty of nature, and while endangering the animal and plant species that dwell among us. My mom used to describe me going into a greenhouse as, “…a kid in a candy store.” Quite possibly, if we all saw the beauty in nature, or looked at it and valued it the same way we would if it were a candy store, our earth and our natural environments would be restored to an even greater magnificence.

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Back of Postcard:

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Postcard 1: Repetition

Using the work of Tom Bamberger as inspiration for the first postcard, I presented concepts of repetition and brought forth the beauty in perfection. Already being someone in awe of nature, I find beauty in it always. However, in this case, I used repetition to create a perfectly round lake and a sky filled with big, beautiful clouds. This photo is made up of four photos of the same lake that are placed together to create this single, large photo. I decided to create a circular lake to display perfection and also simplicity. I chose to make the environment pink and purple to help generate ideas of beauty and happiness as well as give off feelings of a very tranquil and serene environment.

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Postcard 2: Transformation

Referencing the works of Sandy Skoglund, I transformed my place into a completely new environment. This photo introduces my environment as something that would be desirable to a lot of people. In this way, I make the point that if in fact human beings saw nature as “a candy store” or in this case, a candy land, maybe it would bring an importance and greater protection to the natural world all around us. The bright colors, and candy architecture transforms an otherwise very typical log cabin into a wonderland for anyone with a sweet tooth. Imagine if we thought that way about the realistic natural world. The cute and bright colored gummy bears represent the wildlife we kill and endanger while disregarding nature for our own personal gain. My goal for this photo was to have the viewer look at this “candy land” in awe and wonderment – if we had that same appreciation and love for our real world as we do for candy and sweet things, our world would be much different.

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Postcard 3: Text

Using artists such as Barbra Kruger for inspiration on postcard three, I used words to enhance my image and desired message. The message I wished to provoke in this photo is that to see with beauty in the world around us, we need to seek out nature, whether in the woods, or a trail or on a lake, we need to set aside our minds buzzing with the stessors of our everyday lives and we need to find our soul and the love we have for nature and our relationship to it. I used the phrase, “Losing my mind, finding my soul,” as my text in the photo. The words, “losing my mind” are placed in the trees because they can be dense and maze-like and often times there is no clear path to take. On the other hand the words, “finding my soul” are placed in the lake because you can see the reflection of yourself and also everything around you atop the surface of the water. The color scheme I chose to create a calm feeling of being in thought.

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Concept Map: