SINS & VIRTUES TABLOID: THE 7 HEAVENLY VIRTUES
In this assignment for our Graphic Processes class, we were tasked with creating 20 page tabloid spread in full color and digitally printed, featuring composed and found images representing each respective Sin or Virtue. I chose to do the Seven Heavenly Virtues as a challenge to myself, as the definitions of the virtues are more esoteric and difficult to pin down than the definitions of the sins.
I took my inspiration from religious iconography, but subverted some of its original heavy-handed intention with humor. The Virtues are often accompanied by imagery of virtuous women, the Virgin Mary being held up as an object of perfection in womanhood, so I embraced the concept of the divine feminine. All of my images feature images of women, including myself, historical women, or inspirations from pursuits stereotypically felt to be feminine in their scope.
The Virtues and their respective requirements:
CHASTITY - An analog collage
TEMPERANCE - A typographic solution utilizing letter forms only, and not the exact word
CHARITY - Personal photos incorporating a model
DILIGENCE - Personal photos in duotone
PATIENCE - Photos
KINDNESS - Found photo incorporating hand lettering of the virtue
HUMILITY - Constructed/composed image in a single photo, incorporating the word itself
The Cover: A photo of a woman in a black dress and white wimple, holding aloft a metal scale.
Temperance/Balance: One of my favorite images from the project, my letter mark illustration of "Temperance". One of the alternate definitions of Temperance, and one I particularly like, is "Balance". With the first letter of the virtue forming the body of my scale, and the letters of B A L A N C E falling off one side of the scale, it makes for a lighthearted interpretation of the word.
Patience: Showing a hand wearing a watch, grasping an alarm clock, with an old railroad watch in the background. I had a lot of fun with this one, using props and playing with color saturation in Photoshop.
Humility: Humble Pie. For this photo, which was required to be a composed single image featuring objects and the word of the sin/virtue visible within the photo, I made a cherry pie and carved the word "Humility" into the crust.
