A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that typically refers to one thing is applied to another, creating an implicit comparison between the two. Simply put a metaphor is a figurative expression that compares two seemingly unrelated subjects.

Metaphors are not restricted only to words, they can be used in art as well. When artists draw/paint metaphorically they use images to suggest an idea or emotion. Just like with words it involves a transfer of two different concepts.

For my art metaphor project in my conceptual design class we were tasked with exploring literary and visual metaphors, and using them to create a piece that communicates symbolic ideas simultaneously through art direction.

Coming up with a metaphor to base my piece off of was surprisingly difficult. But I ended up wanting to convey the idea to create a visual representation of growing up. I wanted to represent the concept with a stack of books, picking different books to represent different ages.

• Infancy = Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see
• Toddlerhood = Goodnight Moon
• Childhood = Percy Jackson
• Adolescence = Harry Potter
• Early Adulthood = The Giver
• Middle Adulthood = Pride & Prejudice
• Late Adulthood = Tuesday’s with Morrie

I really liked the idea of being able to show how our tastes and interests mature overtime. I also added a few objects to set on the books stack to support the metaphor.

• Toy bear = infancy
• Graduation Tassel = Early adulthood
• Glasses = Late adulthood

Additionally I set up the lighting so that it gradually hits the books less and less and the stack gets higher. Alluding to how as we grow up we gradually loose bits of our innocence. The books also gradually get more and more worn as the stack gets higher, just as how we do as we get older.

Reflecting, I really enjoyed approaching art in this way. It opened a different perspective for me, and I appreciated how thoughtful the final piece came out.

Thank you for reading!
Emma <3