Midterm Project

Brianna  Sykes  

T206  Midterm  Project  

In  my  chosen  lyrics  from  Sufjan  Stevens’  song,  “Chicago”,  I  wanted  to  focus  on  the  word  recreate  

for  my  midterm  project.  Through  my  images  I  hoped  to  accomplish  the  idea  of  recreation,  specifically  a  

feeling  of  new  life  and  energy.    To  achieve  this,  I  set  out  with  my  camera  and  drove  from  my  hometown  

of  Greenwood,  IN  up  to  Indianapolis  area,  to  stop  at  a  rougher  and  abandoned  part  of  the  city.    

My  initial  thought  for  a  visual  aesthetic  was  to  portray  grunge  and  desolation,  but  that  seemed  

too  obvious  with  the  environment  I  was  shooting.    Instead,  I  decided  to  implement  Neo-­‐Plasticism,  also  

known  as  the  De  Stijl  movement.    The  directness  and  simplicity  of  Stevens’  lyrics  seemed  to  correlate  

well  with  the  intentional  balance,  structure,  and  compositional  perfection  as  some  of  the  main  

principles  that  Neo-­‐Plasticism  movement  entails.    The  De  Stijl  movement  expresses  “a  new  utopian  ideal  

of  spiritual  harmony  and  order,”  (“De  Stijl).    Stevens  expresses  in  his  lyrics  to  let  go  and  allow  for  new  

growth  and  recreation,  so  I  thought  the  ideal  of  this  artistic  movement  matched  with  the  sense  of  

renewal  in  the  lyrics.  

In  order  to  implement  this  visual  aesthetic,  I  kept  my  eye  out  for  environments  with  vertical  and  

horizontal  straight  lines,  grid-­‐like  patterns,  basic  colors,  squares,  and  rectangles.    I  planned  to  achieve  

this  visual  aesthetic  by  observing  the  architectural  surroundings  of  the  different  environments.  

Once  I  planned  out  how  I  would  portray  my  visual  aesthetic,  I  considered  how  I  would  depict  

recreation  in  my  images.    I  chose  to  capture  four  images  of  despair,  desperation,  and  loneliness.    These  

four  pictures  represent  that  the  environment  is  a  place  of  sadness;  a  place  desperate  for  recreation  and  

renewal.    The  final  image,  a  bright  primary-­‐colored  mural  in  the  middle  of  this  desolate  city,  reads  “Now  

for  the  Future.”    This  last  picture  found  unexpectedly  in  this  environment  symbolizes  the  possibility  for  

change,  potential  for  recreation  someday,  and  gives  off  a  force  of  positivity.  

Through  my  chosen  song  lyric,  the  visual  aesthetic  of  Neo-­‐Plasticism,  and  my  five  pictures,  the  

idea  of  recreation  is  all  intertwined.    Stevens  sings  about  changing  himself,  while  the  pictures  represent  

a  positive  recreation  in  the  future,  but  both  the  song  and  the  images  lead  to  the  Neo-­‐Plastic  ideal  of  

utopia.  

“Chicago”  

Sufjan  Stevens  

You came to take us

All things go, all things go

To recreate us

All things grow, all things grow

We had our mindset

All things known, all things known

You had to find it

All things go, all things go

Visual  Aesthetic:  Neo-­‐Plasticism/  De  Stijl  Movement