Typography & Text-Based Art

In Digital Media, we learned about text-based art. Text-based art  is art whose central communicative idea is viable via the use of text as the primary component of the art. We used several software’s (GlassGiant ASCII Art generator, Text-Image, WordArt, Textorizer 1, Textorizer 2, and Exocoffizert.)

"Why not make art out of art?"

Yes, Marilyn Monroe was a iconic celebrity. She was and still is an important part of pop culture because of her skills, her never-ending beauty and her way of representing herself in front of everyone. The appealing beauty of Monroe was because of the genetic talent she had already presented in her. She also was the women that broke the strict view of American Puritanism. Notoriously known as a gazed  sex symbol, she had very strong views on civil rights. Despite the many scandal and controversies she got mixed into, today she is still idolized and praised by many. The software I used was GlassGiant’s ASCII Art generator. I definitely love how it even copied her iconic mole.

The second software I used was Text-Image.For this software, we had to choose three images in the formats of HTML, ASCII, and Matrix. I used HTML format to give it some darkness and inhuman vibes but clearly still  showed the eye. You never know what a person is truly feeling until you look them in the eyes. You might see betrayal, lust, anger, sadness or happiness. It is the window to their soul others might say or find such words in pieces of famous  literature. However it's not just a silly expression as you would think. According to a  psychology study , "when people are sad or worried, they furrow their brow, which makes the eyes look smaller. Yet when people are cheerful, we correctly call them “bright eyed.” That’s because people raise their eyebrows when they’re happy, making the eyes look bigger and brighter." Be careful you might be unaware what your eyes are giving away.

"Persona" is the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others. Along with the word, "persona" I included words like ego, shadow, and self. The reason being is because in each word signifies the different versions of ourselves. And it's not just me that thinks this way.  Carl Jung, a writer, too also believed in such versions of people. In his book titled, "Memories, Dreams, Reflections." He talks about what each mean and goes into depth with convincing evidence. Anyway the third software I used to convey his message was WordArt which allows you to create word cloud art. It was simple to use and fun to make. I chose this particular shape because it is an outline of a man with his arms wide open. It gave me a different interpretation once I put in those words.

The fourth software I had to use was Textorizer 1.  This software  creates an image using text   shapes to form a whole image. I used an image that I previously used on another assignment. Instead of just editing the picture normally, I just edited to be shaped into text shaped photo. I put in words pertaining to the crusader's life. I included courage, bravery, bloodshed, and faith. It even created another human-like figure riding with the soldier on the horse. Death is riding with the man as he is going into battle not knowing that the man will never see the battle won.

For this image I used  I used Textorizer 2 to create a text based art image. Like the image above I used this picture from another project I did last year.  I especially loved how the words really blend in the photo and not distracting from the image. I included words like dirty, wet, sewer, darkness and hole. Those words do not have special meaning but are words that describe this manhole.

For the last software I used Excoffizer. For this image I didn't want it to look wacky with the harsh wavy lines they provided, so I ended up making the lines skinny and changing the orientation of how the lines went. This give it a realistic and natural look to the photo then previously.