Alexander Gizersky
The Steps of My Life
My collage is a representation of my life. Rather then focusing on a particular event or aspect of my life, I chose to illustrate the entire thing. Out of thin pieces of wood, I created a stairs consisting of 18 steps. Each step symbolizes a year of my life. With every step up the stairs, I get one year older.
I filled in the space beneath each step with various fabrics and materials. The different textures and combination of colors of fabrics that I used possess a certain significance; each depicts an important event in my life that had occurred during that particular year.
I made a bright yellow sun (out of yellow fabric) shine through a blue sky (made out of a cotton material) upon the stairs. The sun’s rays symbolize rays of success shining down on me. As I progress up the stairs of my life I get closer and closer to the ultimate triumph, what ever it may be.
I will explain what each fabric underneath each step represents, year-by-year.
1988- I was born on June 9th 1988. A felt it was appropriate to represent my birth with a button of a bright red heart.
1989- In 1989, at the age of one, I learned how to walk and talk. The two distinct, yet, similar colors (bright yellow and dim orange) represent my newly learned functions.
1990- In 1990, I learned how to ride a tricycle. I used a piece of my old jeans and two metal circles to represent this event.
1991- In 1991, I learned how to swim. I used a blue silk fabric to represent water.
1992- In 1992, I visited my grandparents in Ukraine for the very first time. I used a bright orange colored fabric to signify this event. I chose this color because it is a distinctively different color from most of the surrounding in Moscow, where I’ve lived my entire life prior to this visit.
1993- In 1993, I learned how to read. I pasted different letters onto a blue fabric to demonstrate my learning of the alphabet.
1994- In 1994, I went to kindergarten. I used a soft pink and white material to symbolize this event to emphasize the purity of a child’s mind as he begins his academic journey. I also pasted simple mathematic equations in the fabric to represent the fact that it was kindergarten.
1995- In 1995, my family and I moved to the United States. I used a zipper to represent this epic transition in my life because it symbolizes the opening to a new world.
1996- In 1996, I joined the St Marks basketball team. I used a rough orange (basketball colored) fabric to suggest the game of basketball.
1997- I first started wrestling in 1997. I wrestled Judo (a style of wrestling). Since the uniform in Judo consists of a solely white jacket and white pants, I used a white fabric to represent this year.
1998- In 1998, my mother and I flew back to Ukraine to visit my grandparents. For this year, I used blue and yellow fabrics to show the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
1999- In 1999, my grandparents, along with my other grandmother, and my aunt, uncle and cousin immigrated to America. I used blue, white, and red fabrics to depict the color of the American flag. Also, one can clearly see a black strip next to the other three fabrics. This strip of black leather represents the death of my grandfather, who passed away on January 21, 1999.
2000- I went to Junior High School in 2000. I used a stripe of black jeans to represent year 2000 because it was the year of Y2K. There was a lot of chaos that year since no one knew what was going to happen.
2001- In 2001, I had my Bar Mitzvah. I used a light blue and white fabric to represent the Israeli flag and glued a Jewish star at the top of the step to emphasize this monumental Jewish celebration.
2002- In 2002, I was accepted into Midwood High School. I used a piece of a multi-colored dress shirt to show that I was starting High School and was growing up. The different colors symbolize the different changes I went through in H.S.
2003- In 2003, I got my first real job. To represent this, I used green and white paper and several pennies, nickels, and dimes.
2004- In 2004, two significant events occurred. First, my sister, with whom I was extremely close, moved out to Florida. And second, I became the captain of the Midwood Wrestling Team. The pink fabric represents my sister moving out, and the beige material represents me becoming a captain.
2005- In 2005, I won the gold medal at the New York Empire State Games in Greco Roman Wrestling. I used a golden ribbon to symbolize my gold medal.
2006- In 2006, I graduated from Midwood High School and began my journey in Baruch College. I used the white and blue strings from the tassel from my graduation to represent these events.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Oh man, this is one of my favorite ones just because it’s different. I like how you put your entire life into this collage, not just one moment. The growth in the height of the pieces of the wood after each year was also interesting because I think it can be interpreted not only in terms of physical growth, but mental growth as well.
The fabric for the background and the sun definitely worked out well. I don’t know if the ripples on the background were intentional but it does look great regardless. At first glance I thought that the fabric for each year was just random but after reading your explanation it is interesting to see that each color and material carries with it a main event of that time.
December 12th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
This is definitely my favorite collage. One reason that it is unique is that it required a great deal more effort and thought than the other collages. You didn’t simply stick together pieces of paper like some us; you actually got creative and made it out of wood. The concept is also unique, rather than tell the story of your life in a very general way (i.e. Russia-America), you told it part by part in chronological order while focusing on events that were important to you. The use of colors, different materials, and a great idea set this collage apart from the others.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:01 am
I agree with Samim. You’ve obviously spent a lot of time working on this collage and it’s clear (to me at least) that it has special significance to you. The thing that makes your project so unlike anyone else’s is that you’ve managed to take your entire life thus far and place it all onto a piece of board. Each year has a special meaning, each year is a new door, a new opportunity.
Something else that I really enjoy is your placement of the sun in a free-flowing sky. Just by looking at it, I can tell that you’re an optimistic person who likes sitting back and enjoying life.
Great job!
December 13th, 2006 at 12:07 am
Definitely one of my favorite collages. I can tell that you’ve spent a lot of time working on it and that it holds special meaning for you. What makes your work unlike anyone else’s is that you’ve managed to take your entire life thus far and place it all on a sheet of board. Each year is a new experience, a new opportunity, a new door.
Something that really cataches my eye is the sun in the freely flowing sky. This tells me that you’re an optimistic person who just wants to sit back and enjoy all that life has to offer. Yay!
Great job!
December 13th, 2006 at 1:03 am
Alex, I had to comment on yours because of the obviously enormous amount of time and effort it must’ve taken to make it. It’s very different from the other collages in that it has a definite structure and progression. The different fabrics and materials give the collage a variety of textures and colors that mirror the variety of events of your life, both happy and sad. My favorite part is the sun in the corner. Great job
December 15th, 2006 at 1:41 am
Alex,
I honestly didn’t know that you collage was looking this awesome, when you described it to me on the phone. The amount of effort that you put into the collage can be seen from the material used and from your overall creation. The aspect that I like the most is that it directly represents your whole life. The timeline was an amazing idea and a wonderful way to display your family history. In addition to the years that you constructed, I really like the background. What stands out most about it is the texture of the fabric used. The wavy concept complements the collage nicely. I think you did a great job.
December 16th, 2006 at 12:46 am
Hey…
This collage is just so pretty. What I like most about it is your usage of a wide range of materials, colors, and textures. The movement in the blue fabric (the sky) is beautiful and makes me want to feel the collage in person. Your idea of making a timeline is unique and staright forward at the same time. It’s pretty cool that you made your entire collage on a sheet of wood. I could only imagine how long it took you to cut out the wood and fabrics, but it was worth it because this is by far my favorite collage.
December 17th, 2006 at 1:42 am
Alex, as I mentioned earlier, great collage, don’t let it get to your head, just kidding
December 17th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
I agree with Samim– Great collage Alex… (I swear, Samim, I’m not letting it get to my head!)
December 20th, 2006 at 12:16 am
I like how your collage is both broad and focused. You placed your whole life on the page and zoomed in on specific events of each year. As for the sun, I see your life as a plant; the sun is giving it light to grow rather than just stopping at the end of the page.