Design Projects > Baghdad

Objective: The black pieces of this composition were created by first dividing a black field and arranging those pieces on a white field of twice the size of the original (creating equal areas of positive and negative space). The white areas of that composition (see my composition entitled "Line Shape Field") were then made black and the resulting pieces were used to create this composition. The goal was to create not only a balance between positive and negative space, but to also use design principles to give the piece a sense of dynamicism. Analysis: This project was an assignment for a foundation digital design course at DePaul University. This was my first draft of the project, and definitely had room for improvement. While I had intended the "storm" to be an actual meteorological event over Aladdin's Baghdad, my classmates couldn't get past the fact that the second Gulf War had recently broken out (Baghdad was being bombed night and day) and refused to see this as anything other than a political statement, which could not have been further from my intent. Professor Jackson made a good point in saying that cultural context is a very powerful factor in any composition and that my classmates were making a valid point. Ultimately, I had to agree and drastically revised the composition (see Jagged Motion).