I have not chosen a specific culture for this project, though I am currently looking into ancient Roman and Greek culture. Rather, I am focusing on the symbolism of the Sun and fire across many cultures (including a religious context).
I have a PDF of The Ancient City by Fustel de Coulanges, a study of the religion, laws and institutions of Ancient Rome and Greece. What struck me was the importance of the hearth, which was represented by Vesta and Hestia, the Roman and Greek virgin goddesses, respectively. Each family had a hearth only they could tend to and no one else. They offered sacrifices to the hearth, which represented their dead ancestors, the gods who lived under the Earth. I am going to show the importance of the hearth, not just for practical purposes.
I also know of the personification of the Sun, Helios (his Roman equivalent is Sol), who the element Helium is named after. Helios and Apollo are frequently conflated; more people know of Apollo than Helios. Helios is associated with truthfulness and sight. His most popular symbol is his chariot and the aureole of the Sun.
Hestia and Helios are not linked (from what I know).
So far, I have done artist research on Andy Warhol, an American visual artist, and a key figure of the Pop Art movement. I find his prints colourful and abstract, a style which can be achieved in Adobe Photoshop (my specialism is digital art). What does his art have to do with ancient Roman and Greek culture? Nothing (save for a print of Alexander the Great). That is what makes bringing the two together intriguing in my opinion.
I have generated ideas from reading The Ancient City and secondary research of the symbolism of the Sun and fire online.
I have already done a mind map with two classmates exploring the various aspects of culture (e.g. music, food, and clothing), and you can see the mind map in my PowerPoint. This (and the PDF I had kept for over a month) is what allowed me to even think of researching the connotations of the Sun and fire.
I am not sure how I will get primary research done. I could photograph my heater or cooker at home. Or I could sketch fires. I, and others, would have to be careful with using or getting close to fire because it can burn and therefore kill. I will not risk my life like this.
I already have photos of the Sun taken but the lens flares in the photos are glaring and I am not sure if I should remove them (and how to).
I intend to use Adobe Photoshop and all its available tools to create my pieces. I have an interest in patterns; in fact, I have already created a pattern from the glyph of the Sun (a circle with a dot in the centre).
I have no idea what my outcome will look like, though I imagine I would use Adobe Photoshop to edit photos I have taken (including those of analogue pieces).