exploration # 8 cracks

crack
1. to break without complete separation of parts

Somewhat recently I destroyed the knees of my favorite pair of shorts that used to be my favorite pair of pants. Naturally I wanted to repair them so that I could continue to wear them. I stitched up the tears and when looking through the explorations I decided that I should show the cracks in these shorts rather than the concrete. By definition a tear should be considered a crack. I was trying to determine whether or not I should illustrate or diagram the situation. My girlfriend explained to me how they recently advertised pants at her work as "you can tear these". We both found this interesting and it reminded me of the pants image that you might see on the tag of a pair of jeans in a department store. A basic image to show the fit and cut of the denim. I wanted to record the cracks in my jeans in a similar way. Simply showing the evolution in their deterioration. I wanted for the diagrams to be specific to my pair of shorts, yet at the same time broad enough to be able to relate to anyone with a similar pair of not forgotten favorite jeans. I left the cut and pockets very general so that the viewer could easily relate to the icon. To then appease my desire to depict my specific pair I added the unique stitching in the back pockets. As I created the initial icon of my shorts I realized that the image could easily be altered to show the varying other stages of my jeans. The three diagrams began to tell a story of the 4 years that I have had this same piece of denim in one form or another. As the diagrams progress so do the icons, they become slightly more expressive and poetic as the hints of the textures in the shredded cloth are referenced in a toned line with a more organic stroke. The final result of the exploration was a mash up of influences from multiple parts of my life used simply to record the "cracks" in my jeans.