Subversion continued

I still enjoy this kind of subversion with historical art:

I did a fair bit of research to try and find an artist or paintings or etchings which have meaning or subject matter that has some relevance to be utilised in order to convey my AIM. My research didn't prove to yield many viable options, however, I came across a figure from Greek mythology named TANTALUS.

Tantalus was one of the sons of Zeus and was eternally punished for stealing from the Gods. Tantalus (where the word tantalise came from) was made to stand in a pool which had low hanging fruit branches over it. Whenever Tantalus would reach for the fruit, the branches would lift up always just out of his reach. Whenever he bent down to take a drink of water from the pool, the water level would drop to just out of his reach again.

I began to think about his and subversion to start with. I thought about the pool metaphorically representing poverty, and if I were to subvert the mortarboard imagery into the low hanging branches out of reach, I think a composition like this could be quite visceral. It's like he can't reach what he needs because he can't get high enough out of poverty, and the thing he needs to get out of poverty is just out of reach and he needs a hand to get it. I just need to find the ride headline and copy, to really hammer home the metaphor so that the audience won't have problems understanding.

I can't wait to start playing around with subversion, and also what kind of CROPPING will enhance the feeling. I am also going to explore the work of Eduardo Recife and see what collaging can bring to this idea. I'm interested to see where this will take me while still having to think realistically in terms of what I have the skills/capacity/time to create.