And the Clock Keeps Ticking: Art Explosion #63
The symbolic clock was constructed in response to @juliakponsford's prompt, 'Death', in her Art Explosion Contest.
This clock is definitely a concept piece :) When I read about the death prompt on @muelli's blog, the idea of time came to me immediately. I couldn't resist working it out, and sharing what I had done.
Just about everyone I know has watched the epic battle between the living and the dead on Game of Thrones this week. And many people across the world have recently celebrated some form of Easter--a holiday, which is essentially about conquering death. So my clock, relentlessly ticking, seemed a fitting response to a 'death' prompt.
What does the clock say about death? With different religious traditions offering varying perspectives, and physics suggesting the possibility of alternative and parallel universes, it's hard to make a definitive statement about death. Or even to make one about time.
I guess what my clock says is that we are not in control of time, or its ultimate fruit, death. Whether time folds back on itself, or marches inexorably forward, it is impervious to our will. The death prompt could have signaled an image of grim doom. But not for me, because I'm acutely aware that from death, comes life. Decay nourishes the innumerable organisms that support all forms of life on earth.
And thus must my clock pause, ever so briefly, for death to do its work. As for the tree? A kind of Resurrection, though not exactly the sort venerated during the Easter holiday.
My process:
I made a clock face. This became my palette:
I digitally drew the crib, tree and gravestone. I had trouble getting the proportions of the walker just right. And my drawing of the graduate wasn't satisfactory. So I edited the original post with a couple of new pictures. The walker in the elderly person's hands is copied from Pixabay. The graduate is also adapted from a Pixabay picture. Both Pixabay images are by mohamed_hassan.
The hardest part was getting the GIF in sync. Every time I changed one of the images (because I was dissatisfied), I had to do the whole clock over again, 6 times for each frame that comprises the GIF. Here are two GIFS I've discarded.
I wouldn't have had the courage to enter this contest if I hadn't been participating in @shaka's #letsmakeacollage contests for a couple of months.
The wonder of Steemit, so many opportunities for expression, and growth.
and life is a circle, just like the clock that marks the end of one day and the beginning of a new one. Clever idea and very accurate symbolisms!
I wish you good luck at the contest! <3
I'm so happy you have the sense of what I intended. I haven't got a chance in the contest because real artists participated😁, but it means a lot that you liked my clock, and the sort of time it is keeping. Thanks, @ruth-girl.
Try not to work too hard. You have to make it to the next vacation 😇--I'm looking forward to the photos.
You certainly managed to convey your idea in that image. Nicepost.
Thank you!