first impressions

My first studio project was due Thursday morning and we had a mini review of everyone's work. I think I went about 6th or 7th out of 26 people? Either way... it was a good critique of everyone's projects as each person simply explained their ideas to the rest of the class.
Our instruction for the project was to create/ draw/ write/ photograph/ anything our first impressions of Prague.
Thinking back to my first few days here, I remembered that I had been particularly taken back by the underground metro system. This will be the first city where I will have spent a significant time that has a metro system that I can and will use regularly -- I already use it at least twice a day.

But, what was really remarkable to me, and I've noticed this in other cities as well, is the contrast in a centuries-old city and a fairly modern means of transportation. I think it's a great feat the Czech were able to accomplish by digging underground through ancient buildings and artifacts and install a streamlined means of travel around the city.



Above is the image of my final product.
There are three panels laminated together to form a long sheet about a meter long. The progression from dark to light (left to right) signifies my arrival in Prague where I'm unsure of my location and I am unfamiliar with my surroundings and then my departure where I have learned the city, I have explored the unfamiliarities and can make sense out of the urban landscape.
In order to portray this progression I copied various parts of a map and distorted the images with the blacked out parts, then to add to the aged quality of Prague, I dyed the paper with a dark tea, giving the paper an older appearance which was the sense of Prague I was trying to emulate. Interwoven with the strips of torn paper is the simple metro diagram that can be found on every metro car in the city. As simple as it is, it can guide someone around the entire city, and I found that to be very powerful. From cut strips of colored paper I recreated the diagram and I wrote on the strips my first impressions of Prague that I had originally noted in my journal.
I really enjoyed this open ended project. It was difficult to figure out at first what I really had gotten as a first impression. But with some reflection and journaling, I was able to articulate my ideas in a fashion that I hadn't ever tried before. All in all, I think it was a pretty successful end result.