Touch Assignment

 

Foiled

Digital Collage

15"x 8"

"Language is steeped in metaphors of touch...In fencing, saying touché means that you have been touched by the foil and are conceding to your opponent, although, of course, we also say it when we think we have been foiled because someone's argumentative point is well made."

 Natural History of the Senses, Ackerman, page 70-71 

I was motivated to create this piece after reading this quote because it left a strong visual in my head.  Linguistics and the origin of words is an interesting concept to me and I wanted to pair the meaning of the word touché with its origin of the word "touch".  I chose an image of crinkled foil not only because of the contrast it would have with the black background and drop shadow, but also because of the interesting visual texture it produces inspired by the sense of touch.  I tried several different methods while creating this piece.  I crumpled a piece of foil and cut out letters then arranged them on a black painted paper, though it didn't look as refined as I wanted and lacked the dramatic effect I was looking for.  When I finally resorted to digital art as a medium for creating this piece, I originally just had the word touché in foil against a black background, but it looked too simple and clean.  I arrived at the solution to leave the foil background with the foil text slightly above with the drop shadow because it was a visual representation of my original idea and process, with the more finished look I wanted.