Heaven and Hell Statement of Intent

Hell: Anxiety and Insomnia

As I touched on in my previous post, Hell to me is the feeling I get at night when I can't go to sleep because of nagging thoughts, insomnia, and anxiety. I have suffered from this terribly my entire life, and therefore really do not know what it is like to wake up feeling refreshed. I can be totally exhausted all afternoon, and falling asleep in class, and as soon as I put my head down, the brain cranks into overdrive. Every detail from the day pours into my head, some overlapping and playing at the same time, worries about things I forgot to do, things I need to do the next day, something dumb I said to someone that probably was not even noticed, how tired I am going to be tomorrow if I do not fall asleep soon, (even though I know I will be tired anyway)...sometimes this feeling of overwhelming anxiety also happens in the daytime, and causes me to freeze, and not be able to carry on with whatever it is I need to be doing. I would like to find some way to express this feeling. As far as what type of imagery I would use, I think crowded compositions, overlapping images.

Heaven: Waking up refreshed and awake

The inversion of my hell is my heaven. To be able to wake up and feel refreshed and ready to start my day would be absolute heaven for me. At least I think so, I don't think I have ever felt that way. I imagine what it would be like to just wake up the first time the alarm went off, at 6 am, ready to shower, cook breakfast and start my day. This composition would be clean, bright, and relatively simple.

Heaven and Hell Research: Heaven

These are my "Heaven" Images
In the first image, the artist uses muted colors, and iconic imagery to entice the viewer to feel refreshed. An adult going around on a merry go round, drinking what the viewer is assumed to know is an ice cold beverage is a refreshing feeling. For me, heaven would be feeling refreshed and awake, and calm.

In the second image, the stained glass pieces are arranged in a spiral, a symbol for eternal life and inward knowledge. The colors, combined with the natural element of sunlight and the composition of the photograph cause the viewers to look outside themselves for some kind of inspiration.

The final image is a digital composition, I really do not know much about how it would be done, but the colors chosen encourage a sense of peace, and the combining of nature and humans and the various elements are reassuring. It is somewhat dream like.

Heaven and Hell Research: Hell

These are my "Hell" Images.

I know that the cartoon image is a little silly and maybe not exactly what is supposed to be on here but I thought it summed up what I was thinking about my vision of hell. Anxiety, and sleeplessness...insomnia...etc. I think the artist intends to get across the point of how the mind can go into overdrive with random thoughts when it is time to wind down and go to sleep.

The second image, I think the most obvious thing the artist does is uses up all of the space. By including a person, this artist references the mind's activity and the use of color overwhelms the viewer. Before I even read the caption on the image that says "The Age of Anxiety" I was attracted to the image as representational of anxiety because of the crowded composition and color.

The final image, the artist takes a different approach to anxiety. The multiple image of the figure creates a stand in for the subject. I think of the "I'm coming out of my skin" feeling, or the way that when I am really anxious and think i will never get things done, I freeze and just kind of "check out." The use of darker colors creates a somber mood.

Client Profiles

For Profit Corporation:
I would like to work for the online company VeganEssentials.com. This is a company that provides all vegan products, (no animal products or testing) from clothes and makeup, to food and snacks. Their mission is "to offer unparalleled service and selection all in one location, making us a one-stop shopping destination for all things vegan." They specialize in all products that are cruelty free. This business is trying to reach both the conscientious shopper, who believes in the vegan lifestyle, and the consumer who wants to support fair trade and health choices.


Non-Profit Organization
The non-profit organization I would work for would be Alley Cat Allies. This organization's mission is "To end the killing of cats and lead the movement for their humane care." Their vision is "society living non-violently with cats and all animals". The way they participate in this is by the "trap, neuter, return" method of spaying and neutering feral cats. I am interested in this organization because it educates people on the need to keep the feral cat population low in a human way, which also keeps the diseases at bay.

Small Business
The small business I would work for would be one I would start myself. It would be a vegan version of Baskin Robbins, except with a bookstore inside. Similar in set up to Café Eclectic, you could get ice cream concoctions or coffee, but its all vegan, and you can read and relax while you are there. I would want to have live entertainment there from time to time, perhaps open mic night to encourage community involvement. Local artists would be able to have shows and sell their work. I would locate it in Midtown Memphis of course and my core audience would be anyone who likes any of these activities. But mostly, midtowners, or midtown "wannabe's" would be attracted to it, as well as vegans who don't have anywhere to go get a banana split and hear good music at the same time.