Discussing ABSTRACTISM with 8th grade students we understood how there can be an abstract PAINTING but also an abstract SCULPTURE, or a PHOTOGRAPH that does not represent anything recognizable. Searching for abstraction in our visual reality we saw how every image made of lines, shapes and colors without recognizable objects can be defined as abstract, and therefore we searched the web for real but abstract images. For this reason we have entered the INFINITELY SMALL world of scientific images of materials seen with the SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE or SEM, which can magnify a sample from 500 to 300,000 times.
examples of scanning electron microscope images
We searched online for various SEM enlargement images and after printing them in black and white we colored them freely with oil pastels. The idea was to create an abstract image by ignoring the origin of the objects that make up the image, but focusing only on the composition of the visual elements such as lines, shapes, colors. The abstract images thus created were then cut out and pasted on a colored sheet of paper to create a frame.
