Elated Trash: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Joshua Stukenborg (2017)

I’m exploring the feeling of elation through the experience of loss.

My picture has gerbera daisies and a trash bag located on a grass field. The flowers are coming out from and are placed on and around the trash bag. I did this to show a dynamic between the two to show that even in something like a trash bag there is beauty. I put it on the grass field to add to create more of a dynamic between the trash bag as well as with the flowers to show more natural beauty. I wanted the background to be white similar to the trash bag not only to make the vignette frame it better, but also to frame the trash bag with a flower. This creates another interaction between the trash bag and the flower to add to the trash bags and such are still beautiful.

The gerbera daisies signify elation through their bright red that contrast with the other colors in the image. The trash bag signifies the loss part of the concept statement because many things that are lost end up in the trash and causes sadness. However the way the flowers frame it and seem to be coming from the trash bag show that happiness can still come from loss, the beauty of the flowers is still shown against the trash bag, good things will still happen no matter what. As well it shows that loss can be a good thing even if it doesn’t seem like it. The white of the trash bag and sky show that idea through their similar colors. The white shows is to give a light at the end of the tunnel feeling that people see when they are about to die. Even though that the beauty and happiness can still be seen in the flowers

To start off editing I opened it in Photoshop Raw and added a vignette and added a color correcting filter. I then opened it in Photoshop for additional editing, and the first thing I wanted was to bring out the reds of the flowers. So I selected the flowers and increased the saturation to really make those reds pop. I then upped the vibrance of the yellow center of the flower at the front to match up more with the bright red of the petals. All of these changes helped convey my meaning through making those reds really pop.

In my piece, Elated Trash, I wanted to promote the feeling of elation through the experience of loss. The trash bag represents loss as many things that are lost end up in the trash. The bright gerbera daisies represent elation through the contrasting colors. The flowers seem to be coming out of the trash bag to show that even when you lose something you can still be happy.