Illustration 3 -- Spot Metaphors

Visual Metaphor Research:

Tony Huynh - "To-Do List" (Fusion)

• Target - Everyone has some form of a To-Do List.
• Source - Literal Staircase.
• Ground - Both are considered stepping stones toward a common goal.
• Tension - There is no literal staircase you have to climb to finish things you want to do... unless you're a staircase builder.

Tony Huynh - "Insomnia" (Replacement)

• Target - Counting Sheep to get to Sleep.
• Source - Insomnia.
• Ground - This is supposed to work to help you sleep.
• Tension - Imagine having a real room full of sheep. That would be insanely noisy.

Sachin Teng (Fusion)

• Target - Cluttered Life.
• Source - Cluttered Refrigerator.
• Ground - Just like in food organizing, your life can be equally cluttered.
• Tension - Life isn't always as simple as a game. And as you can see from the illustration, the pieces don't always fit together right.

Victor Calahan - "Smoking Gun" (Fusion)

• Target - Smoking is Literally Suicide.
• Source - Smoking Barrel of a Gun.
• Ground - Think about it: In the grand scheme of things, how much different is this really?
• Tension - Placing a cigarette in the chamber of a revolver might not exactly work right...

David de las Heras - "#3" (Fusion)

• Target - Going Green
• Source - (While not a waste of Paper) Many People are Considering Green Alternatives.
• Ground - Ultimately, paper is made from plants, right?
• Tension - To actually type like this would be a serious mess!

Christoph Niemann - "Shining" (Juxtaposition)

• Target - Profits are in the Crapper
• Source - Profit Margins
• Ground - I think that to horrify someone with a knife with a simple piece of paper is really interesting.
• Tension - Even in rock, paper, scissors, scissors beats paper every time.

Thomas Fuchs - "On a new generation of women being ambivalent about motherhood" (Fusion)

• Target - Are Woman Facing Trepidation about Motherhood?
• Source - Pregnancy.
• Ground - As with all labors of love, there will always be questions about whether you are doing the right thing...
• Tension - There is no literal question mark in your stomach...

Wesley Bedrosian - "Hospital charges can be all over the map." (Juxtaposition)

• Target - Hospital Visits are Confusing.
• Source - Varying Hospital Costs.
• Ground - I'm just as confused about why the prices of hospital visits vary so readily...
• Tension - You cannot charge someone this way.

Stephen Savage - "Design and Innovation" (Juxtaposition)

• Target - Breaking the Mold.
• Source - Innovation.
• Ground - It takes a different mindset to have a breakthrough, sometimes boredom will breed ingenuity.
• Tension - Designers are a different breed than the standard workers.

Theo van den Boogaard (Replacement)

• Target - Sense of Beauty is Changing.
• Source - Male / Female Relationships aren't what they used to be.
• Ground - Change in sexual orientation has been an ongoing debate for some time now.
• Tension - There is no way to simplify the human mind when it comes to sexual orientation.

Five Written Metaphors:

Bauhaus - "Slice of Life"

"Your standing on charisma again // God knows it cannot last // 'What's the difference'"

I believe this is a metaphor for age. Age is constantly fleeting and so is the physical appearance that goes along with it.

Depeche Mode - "Wrong"

"I was born with the wrong sign // In the wrong house // With the wrong ascendancy"

I believe that this is a metaphor for birthright. There is never an "ideal" moment to be born, no matter what parents may think. To play into the lyrics themselves, there is no right time to be born, nor a right time to not be.

Motorhead - "Ace of Spades"

"If you like to gamble // I tell you I'm your man // You win some, lose some // All the same to me"

This is literally a metaphor for living life on the edge. If you listen to the lyrics of the whole song you get the feeling of this all throughout, even the pacing and speed of the song feel that way.

I AM X - "Spit it Out"

"The past is weakness // Don't beg the question // When the answer is war // There are moments when I'm overcome"

I believe this is a metaphor for not saying things when you need to. Sometimes conflict is part of a relationship Sometimes getting into an argument can breed a closer relationship.

Kenna - "War in Me"

"Here its bittersweet for me to know // Fever, taking over // The status of my fear soars // I'm waging a war // War in me"

I think this is a metaphor for not only the physical torment you can get during sickness, but also a metaphor for fighting inner turmoil. Just trying to get things out on paper (especially for an artist) can be a literal war in your own head. The images want to battle logic and sense...