(Click on the image below or the link above to open up the animation.)
My idea for this project was centered on how a person physically and mentally responds to humiliation. For the background, I chose a theater stage to represent how embarrassment makes us feel on display. For the main character, I choose a cartoon whose appearance looks haughty and superior. I thought that the juxtaposition of a 3D photo and a 2D drawing would highlight how uncomfortable and disconnected a person feels in a humiliating situation. From there, I erased his nose and made it grow larger next to him. In consequence, I also made his cheeks grow redder and redder as evidence of his physical embarrassment. Mentally, my character also begins to feel less confident. I represented this internal change by altering his size in my collage. His gradual shrinking in parallel with his reddening cheeks visually explores how humiliation can affect a person. Later on, I framed the collage with people pointing at my disproportionately small character. I chose to make the red cheeks and the red audience the only two sources of color for most of my project because they both externally presented what makes us embarrassed. My subtraction of the collage eliminated the spectators and gave the man his nose and pride back. At the very end, the colors of the theater reemerge and the man appears normal again. Of course, this is only until the animation loops again and he continues the process once more.
I think my animation speaks to a sequence of events that we all have experienced. The importance though is to learn to be more humble and open-minded each time after embarrassment. My character does not learn this. Thus, he experiences the same downfall after each humiliation as he did the time before that. My collage is the snapshot of one moment in that process –the moment a person feels the most overwhelmed with embarrassment. During this assignment I felt a connection toward William Kentridge and how he directed his production of Shostakovich’s “The Nose.” I imagine that his process in deciding what elements to add and how to represent certain themes, though on a greater scale, paralleled my own thought process.
My collage:
(Click on the image below to make it bigger.)
Your animation and collage is interesting and follows the general plot accurately. The man you used to represent Kovaloff seems to be of high status or thinks he is better than everyone else. He has his head slightly angled up and away from those below him. Even when the man loses his nose he continues to keep his head held high. Kovaloff was proud of his status and cared about his ranking in society quite a lot.
Your collage of the red people pointing and laughing is the situation that Kovaloff avoids throughout the entire story. He hides the fact that he doesn’t have a nose anymore to prevent any laughter that might occur. In the case his loss is revealed, he would free embarrassed and lose face. I thought the red people were significant because of our recent discussion of communism and the color red. It can refer to the people of Russia during the time the libretto was written. Overall your animation was nice and simple.
I very much enjoyed your animation. I do believe that is exactly how we feel when we are humiliated: put on the spot. The stage was a perfect way to illustrate that point. In addition, I liked that you made each crowd border the entire center. And then, you turned them red, likely for massive amounts of laughter (red usually signals action or alert, which has a stronger impact than the color of black). Humiliation was well displayed in your collage. However, I did not see the destruction of the collage itself. Anyhow, the destruction could mean the end of humiliation for Kovalev when he gets his nose back.
Janice Fong
I really enjoyed your animation and think it was well crafted as well. Your images fully convey the idea of embarrassment and humiliation. It was very creative to use a theater stage as the background. Being on stage in front of an audience truly emphasizes the display of humiliation. I also liked your use of color. Making the background black and white highlighted the red cheeks and the laughter of the audience. In addition, your animation also connects well to The Nose. With his nose in the air, the man fully represents Kovaloff. The man’s position illustrates Kovaloff’s focus on status and ranking in society. He tries to avoid the embarrassment and laughter you depicted in your animation by hiding his loss of nose. Overall, I thought your animation clearly showed your message of humiliation and tied nicely to The Nose.
This is a great animation! I enjoyed it especially since it’s relevant and relatable not only to Gogol’s “The Nose,” but also to ourselves. I can definitely see how humiliation played a role in the story. Kovaloff was clearly humiliated upon discovering that his nose was missing. He even covered his face with a handkerchief because he was embarrassed and self-conscious. I liked the background you chose because being at the center of the stage emphasizes the feeling that all eyes are on you. I also think the colors you used were fitting because the subject is highlighted and the color red accents his humiliation.
I think your animation depicts the story vividly and accurately. I like how you chose an arena as a background to show how humiliation feels on display. It also brings in the idea of how we are always surrounded and at times, suffocated by society’s rules about ranks and statuses. (In fact, I think you evoked sympathy in me for Major Kovaloff despite his materialistic and selfish pursuits.) The color red was an apt choice to showcase embarrassment because it conveys the intensity and depth of an emotion. I like how the frame zoomed in to the man, further propelling the idea of humiliation. You could have always shown him fall of the stage, or even being pushed off the stage due to humiliation. Overall, I thought the animation was well crafted and well thought out!
This is a nice theme to choose and realize, since many of us just seem to be swallowed by the theme of weirdness and unusual events happening in this story. Meanwhile, your gif does a good job of transcending the story beyond simply Kovalev’s happenings, and relating to everybody. At one point or another, we have all felt like this on a stage or elsewhere when we are the center of attention and feel uncomfortable. Similarly, it’s interesting to place the little guy in the gif on a stage and have everyone staring at him without his nose. It’s also cute and meaningful that you made his cheeks bright red to depict your theme more. Nice job.