For my Sustained Investigation I started with the questions of "How have the different decades/eras of the past changed and influenced life today? How does life differ today from life back then?" So far the only change to my questions has been the addition of the second question because I think that it allows for deeper ideas and meaning behind each project. In piece number one, I used an assortment of images to show popular elements of pop culture from the 1950's. I took inspiration from the "50's American dream aesthetic" because I wanted to make the piece as bright and colorful as possible, but also be realistic and accurate to enhance the upbeat feeling of the decade. I tried to incorporate as many elements of life in the 50's as I could in order to emphasize the changes in society from then to now. For my second SI piece, I used the decade of the 60's for inspiration for the piece. I was inspired by a balance of colorful, exciting images to show the changing world during this time (peace movement, anti-war, etc.) I based this piece off of one of the biggest moments from the 60's, the moon landing. I wanted to create something that fully encompassed the change and excitement of the decade. For my final SI piece, the 90's were my inspiration. I used a compilation of different teen pop culture events of the decade being poured into Cher's mind. By doing this, I allowed myself to create a stark contrast with the dark background of the image by using different newspaper articles of some of the biggest scandals and headlines of the decade. I tried to include both aspects of the decade by creating an "aesthetic" look on the top half, and a more realistic look on the bottom. 

Materials: Photoshop, texture brushes, layer masking, photograph compilation, and animation color filter

Process: I used multiple images that I blended together seamlessly in Photoshop using layer masks, texture brushes, and filters. I took inspiration from the Wizard of Oz movie's iconic yellow brick road because it gave the that the characters were walking into the emerald city with a rainbow behind it. I also included some major pop culture moments on the clouds on either side of the piece. This adds more depth to the piece since it gives the audience another taste of life in the 50's.

Materials: Photoshop, layer masks and brush tool, shadow effect, warp tool, and opacity tool

Process: I used multiple images to create an interesting and insightful background for my piece, by using layer masks to cut out images and put them into the piece. I chose to make this piece colorful because I wanted to show the excitement of the decade in a unique and interesting way. I found inspiration from anything and everything 60's themed because I tried to include the biggest moments that still affect our world today. 

Materials: Photoshop, liquify tool, layer mask, object selection tool, brush tool, tarp tool, and saturation adjustment

Process: I used different images from the decade of the 70's to create this piece. I wanted to use big moments from tv and movies that I could use to put on the tv screens (Star Wars, Brady Bunch, etc.) I also used some big ads, such as the smoking ad pictured on the top left of the piece and a magazine cover on the right. I really like how this piece turned out because it serves as a reminder of major entertainment events of the decade. 

Materials: Photoshop, opacity tool, layer mask and brush tool, magic wand, object selection tool

Process: I used layer masks and opacity to create the NASA logo on the computer screens and used the opacity tool to show the background pattern as well. I also used a planet animation that I found online above the computers to add more interest to the space theme of the piece, the space shooters were a fun addition. I wanted my 80's decade SI to be a sort of tribute to all of the space exploration events of the decade, but I also wanted to make this piece because I recently watched a documentary about the Challenger explosion and I thought that this piece would be a nice remembrance of the accident. 

Materials: Photoshop, layer masks and brush tool, object selection tool, magic wand, opacity effect

Process: I used a compilation of images to create the effect of different types of cultural events of the 90's being poured into Cher's mind. I wanted to grasp what the minds of teens were during this time in order to show the comparison between a 90's "aesthetic" and what was truly happening in the world. I used layer masks and brush tools to create the newspaper effect on the black background which was the contrast between the light hearted images at the top of the piece. 

Materials: Photoshop, layer masks and brush tool, cloud stamp, object selection tool, opacity

Process: I used a multitude of images and layers to create a piece that shows the big influences of pop culture in the early 2000s. I tried to show the viewer how different icons were viewed during the decade, and some of their biggest and most memorable moments.  I used a pink background to represent Paris Hilton's bubbly pink personality and I also included some of the decades biggest stars such as Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, and JLO. 

Materials: Photoshop, layer masks and brush tools, opacity effect, and object selection/magic wand

Process: I used a compilation of images to create a piece that shows the aesthetic of the 1920s and The Great Gatsby. I wanted to create something that truly enveloped the decade and showed the party culture of the time. I used eyes inspired by the book cover of The Great Gatsby, I was inspired by the eyes looking down on the parties and the culture of the time. 

Materials: Photoshop, layer mask, brush, shadow, layer mask tool, opacity tool, cloud brush

Process: For this piece, I was inspired by the decade of the 80s and the space travel and new technologies. I also was inspired by different movies and TV shows based around the decade as well such as BIG and Stranger Things. I wanted to make the piece mysterious due to the curiosity of the boys on the bikes looking up at a mysteriously pink sky and giant space ship flying overhead. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask and brush tool, opacity tool, cloud brush, warp tool, and object selection tool 

Process: I was inspired by the decade of the 60s for this piece. Although I have already done this decade as an earlier Sustained Investigation, I was again inspired by the musical personalities of the decade. This photo of Cher was perfect for what I had in mind, and the water fall effect seemed to fit into the piece quite well. On the bottom of the piece, I included the iconic picture of The Beatles crossing the street because it filled the gap between the mountains well, and most importantly it fit the theme of the piece. I feel like this is a unique piece for my sustained investigation because none of my other projects have used the waterfall effect, I really like how it turned out. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask, brush tool, shadow effect, opacity tool

Processes: I was inspired by the decade of the 1940's for this piece. I wanted to incorporate happier moments of the decade with the iconic image of the sailor returning from war kissing the nurse. I also wanted to incorporate some aspects of space and flight to show the aircraft used during this time and the different images painted on the sides. I also used an image of Uncle Sam, which was commonly used during this time as well. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask, eraser tool, brush tool, blur effect, opacity tool, hard light effect

Processes: For this piece, I took inspiration from the 70's to create something that is colorful and fun and that represents the changes of the decade. I tried to incorporate themes that might help make the decade more obvious to the viewer. I found inspiration online of various psychedelic art pieces from the decade and I decided to incorporate an eye on the model's forehead and add an effect over the entire image to give it a more blurred and animated effect. Overall, I like how this piece stands out among the other pieces in my portfolio because of the bright colors and various effects I used. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask, brush tool, opacity tool, lighten effect, overlay, drop shadow

Processes: I took inspiration from the early 2000's and specifically NYE and the Y2K movement. I wanted to use a piece of technology such as this old DS to showcase the drama of the event. I also used vibrant patterns for the background because during the decade, there was a lot of color and excitement that represented a new millennium. I wanted to incorporate various aspects of the celebration and behind the cover of Time magazine, there is an image of people celebrating the New Year in Times Square. I think this piece is different from a lot of my other projects in my SI because I haven't really done many time period specific pieces, but rather I have focused on decades and time periods as a whole. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask, opacity tool, brush tool, hard light effect, magic wand tool, object selection tool

Processes: For this piece I was inspired by the decade of the 50's and more specifically sci fi inspired art during the time period. I first chose the image of Marilyn Monroe because of the colors and unique Andy Warhol style of the image. I knew that I wanted to continue the theme of bright and vibrant colors throughout the rest of the piece which is part of the reason why I chose the space theme for the background. I added a UFO under Marilyn's face and I connected them in a way that makes it seem like her head is floating on top of the UFO which continues the theme of space and sci fi effects. For the background I chose to layer two different space backgrounds to create a vibrant and intriguing effect. I really like how this piece stand out in my portfolio because of the colors and technique of the images. 

Materials: Photoshop, layer mask, brush tool, opacity tool, brush tool, object selection tool

Processes: I took inspiration from the decade of the 40's for this piece and a popular magazine cover that I had found online. I decided to use a magazine cover from this decade because I hadn't used this type of image in my SI and it has a very different look from my other piece inspired by the 1940's. I liked how the cover of the magazine had kind of a surrealist look so I continued it on when picking the flowers to add in behind the model. In the background of the piece, I chose a floral pattern inspired by the 40's to add more interest to the piece. I also erased some of the inside of the letters in "Vogue" to bring out the look of the flowers behind the cover. I think this piece has a sort of uniqueness from the rest of my SI, but I really like using surrealist style images to create my work, so that might be a theme I continue to finish out my Sustained Investigation. 

Materials: Adobe photoshop, layer mask, brush tool, cloud brush effect, opacity tool, object selection tool, magic wand tool

Processes: For my final SI piece, I was inspired by the music culture of the 90's. I wanted to create a piece that showcased a popular and well known band from that time which is why I decided to use TLC for the piece. For the background, I wanted to use something that reflected the space theme of the album cover so I used a dark heart pattern, inspired by the 90's of course, and galaxy image behind it. I incorporated some clouds as well because they helped finish out the piece in my opinion and made the TV look like it wasn't just randomly floating through space. Overall, I'm happy with how this piece turned out because I think it was a great way to wrap up my SI.