Artadalia

Artadalia

Title: Artadalia

By: Nabil Hasan & Ashli Sartorelli

The Goal for the Final Project

For this project, we selected the first option, “make something” a project showing connectedness and belonging to the Webster community through a painting and a short video. When Nabil and I chose a subject to paint and a message to communicate, the project took shape. Our friendship started in our first year of University at Webster, and we had commented on how international our community is in addition to the feeling of belonging. We then decided to combine Nabil’s artistic skills for a final result of the painting and Ashli’s media skills to document the process with the intention of having the viewer feel like they are also part of the creation. 

Incorporating something that was learned from the ARHS 1050 60 SP 2022 Art Appreciation class was another goal we had in mind. A painting technique that inspired us was dribbling paint which learned through researching Jackson Pollock’s career and techniques in further depth. Jackson Pollock worked on much bigger canvases yet in our case his approach worked perfectly using a more abstract technique rather than a realistic technique. 

Furthermore, the music selection for this video is by one of our friends, Youssef Negm known as Mido Roseau. We wanted to show our support as he is slowly building his music career and once again, our goal was to show a sense of community. This is our Webster University Geneva community!

Check out his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdL_3_ttx5rHU24AeMloEjA  

Road Trippin’ to Interlaken

Road Trippin’ to Interlaken

During this year’s March photo trip we had the opportunity to visit Interlaken and explore the mystical beauty of the city. Upon our arrival, we unloaded all of the equipment necessary to photograph our eight-by-ten negatives and slowly cruised around the city to find our first shooting location of the day.

Our first setting was in front of the Interlaken Casinò where Camilla and David took their photographs, featuring a bronze statue of an Indian film director and Interlaken’s honorary ambassador, Yash Chopra, who shot many movies in Switzerland.

Further, along with our exploration of the city, we stumbled upon a charming main street, where we took advantage of recently opened stores post-Covid lockdown. It didn’t take long to lose track of the students, roaming the shops was a much-appreciated distraction. Alessandra and I then found our shooting location along the river; the water looked clean and powerful, contrasting with the stable mountains and lazy sky to produce a symphony of the three elements; water, earth, and air. It took approximately 30 minutes to take the shots, whilst we were photographing, others were admiring Interlaken’s unique taste in architecture. By the time we were done, everyone was eager to return to our chalet and dig into the wonderful barbeque awaiting our arrival.

Meditation

Meditation

This is a short student interview video exploring the theme of meditation. Firstly the students are asked if they have ever meditated and if they have to expand on their experience. There are several different types of meditation yet many aren’t aware of it due to social media’s portrayal. This leads to the final question, how do you think social media portrays meditation?

Enjoy!

Portfolio – Ashli

Portfolio – Ashli

Shooting with a digital camera and doing studio photography is my cup of tea. There is something about having control of the whole entire frame that sparks creativity and joy in me. I have always been a fan of Chiaroscuro and the use of only one light source to illuminate the figures. Throughout these years of study, I have had the wonderful opportunity to explore several themes and styles through different artists from different cultures yet, the most influential artist I aspire to is Caravaggio. Caravaggio is known to be one of the most influential people to master light and discovering Chiaroscuro. When first learning how to use the lights in the studio, I automatically saw myself replicating his paintings and create more of a dramatic effect by illuminating only part of the figure. I then began to experiment with different backgrounds and different lighting which was a completely different world but one of which I could still control. The belief is that everyone has their preferred side to be photographed and details that they prefer not to see in photographs. I ask them to trust in the photographer and allow me, with their consent, to unveil their beauty in a way that they have never seen before This is what I live for, because everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way, however, it’s the photographer’s job to transmit that to the viewer.

Black and white photography works very well with Chiaroscuro and studio lighting in general, yet the intensity and feelings it can bring to a viewer are incomparable to color photographs. It creates curiosity and mystery while leaving an abundant amount of space for imagination and the interpretation of each individual.

The series of images represented show the human body, there is a various mix of people in these images where the youngest individual is a 9-year-old and goes up to a 60-year-old while moving behind the lens to photograph the artist herself. In the series, there is a range of portraits, unidentifiable bodies, and small details photographed in an unusual way. A few years ago when I was just introduced to photography I moved into a different type of mentality where I wanted to make the usual look unusual; for example, in this series, there is an image of an arm and a wrist. I did not want to make this image immediately recognizable but make the viewer take a second look at the image to understand what they are looking at. For this reason, there is no detail of the fingers or of the elbow.

Studio photography is my passion and where I feel most at ease. There are so many different ways to view the world yet everything changes even more when seen through a lens. I look forward to continuing to look for new ideas and inspiration as I pursue a photography career.

 

How To Get Away With Murder Recreation

How To Get Away With Murder Recreation

For an Introduction to Film class students had to choose a scene 

from any movie to show to recreate, in order to show their 

technique and editing skills. Ashli Sartorelli chose a powerful 

scene from How To Get Away With Murder, and these are the results! 

 

Enjoy! 🙂