BLOCK PRINT
Casual AttireMEDIUM: Block Print
SIZE: 20cm x 15 cm COMPLETION: September 2019 Exhibition Text"Causal Attire" was inspired by “ Self Portrait with Cropped Hair” by Frida Kahlo and “ Pushing Lipstick” by Laurie Simmons. Both Kahlo and Simmons were artists who challenged conventional traditions with their art forms. My piece represents gender Identity and expression by blurring the lines between masculine and feminine imagery. Therefore challenging the idea of genders fitting into a binary.
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Planning
InspirationFor this project, I wanted to do a piece that included of my theme identity and expression. However for this piece I wanted to dig deeper than just identity, I wanted to cover the topic of gender identity. This would allow me to express my own experiences as well as make a social critique on gender norms within society. Therefore, I picked two artist who challenged conventional traditions with their art forms.
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Frida Kahlo
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Laurie Simmons
I picked Laurie Simmons's "Pushing Lipstick ( full profile) and " Pushing Lipstick ( Red Lipstick Vertical) for it's symbolism and contrasting between the background and foreground. The images of the woman holding a huge lipstick appealed to me because makeup is something that is associated with women or feminine traits. The lipstick is nicely paired with the woman's outfit.
The lipstick was the first thing that my eyes went to. The contrast of the background against the red lipstick made me want to use it as a symbol in my piece. This is why I decided to use the lipstick as a symbol for femininity. |
Planning Sketches
In the beginning of the project, I knew what I wanted to do and I didn't stray from my original idea. I wanted to use symbolism to express objects that are conventionally associated with male and female characteristics. For my first symbol it would be the lipstick that was inspired by "Pushing Lipstick ( Red Lipstick Vertical)" and " Pushing Lipstick ( Full Profile)" by Laurie Simmons. To be able to draw lipstick, had to draw someone holding the lipstick. Hands are something I struggle with while drawing. Therefore I made the choice to focus on the form and anatomy of a hand by drawing out two planning sketches. At first, I sketched out the hands in pencil. When I was satisfied with the shape of the hands, I added pen and highlighter to not only make things pop but to give myself a concept of how negative space could be used to shade in the hands to create form.
While drawing out the hands, I got inspired to draw out someone wearing a suit along with them holding lipstick. This is inspired from the red lipstick that was in "Pushing Lipstick ( Red Lipstick Vertical) and " Pushing Lipstick ( Full Profile)". I wanted this visual because the lipstick would help me use a feminine visual and combine it with a masculine visual. Another image I was drawn too was the suit from " Self Portrait with Cropped hair" I admired how the suit was used to symbolize independence and I could use it in my piece to symbolize masculinity. For my planning sketches I wanted to emphasize on the contrast that would be presented in my final product. Therefore I took it a step further with my sketches. Instead of leaving the pages in solely graphite. I used my fine liner markers and alcohol based markers to colored in the piece. By coloring in the sketches, I was able to see how the negative and positive spaces created a cohesive piece. I was really satisfied with the final sketches because of the nice contrast between the positive and negative space. Another thing I really enjoyed about my planning sketches was I didn't want one color to out weigh the other. So when making my piece I wanted there to be an even amount of negative and positive space in my final product. |
Process
ExperimentationI learned while doing this step of the project, I was going to have the most trouble. I had never used block printing before so I had to test with the different amounts of water based ink on the metal tray. The first time I printed on the paper, I used way too much ink and the image looked very smudged and blurry. Those results were the exact opposite of what I wanted so I did another print. My second print wasn't as unclean as my second one but I still put too much ink on my sheet. The second print had a rich black color I was looking for but it didn't have the clean edges that I wanted. My third attempt was cleaner than the other two tries but it did not have the deep black I was looking for. Instead my third print looked like I printed it off a printer. This was because I did not roll enough ink on my brayer before coating my linoleum with ink.
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Process
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Reflection
I view every project as a learning experience no matter what the outcome of the final piece. That being said, the piece turned out different from what I first expected. In the beginning of the process, I was hoping I could make a very detailed product with both the suit and lipstick being visible. However between the sketching process and the carving of the linoleum block, I lost the details I originally planned. One of the most important parts of the piece were the lipstick and the suit. Unfortunately, the shape of the lipstick did not show up in the final piece. If I could change anything, I would make it so that I would have made the focal points of the piece larger so I didn't have to worry about them not coming out right in the end. There were many things I set out to do with this project in the beginning and I think I didn't do the amount of research I wanted to do with my research so I feel like the symbolism outweighed my technique. This caused my piece to look more like something I wanted versus something that was actually inspired by other artist. Next project I will take the inspiration pieces in mind more when I'm creating.
Comparing and Contrasting
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Comparing
Contrasting
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your work
The clean and smooth textures of the inspiration pieces inspired me to make a smooth and rich block print.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Both Simmons and Kahlo used everyday items in their piece to speak up against tradition.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People look at their daily lives and they think about what they can do to change things for the better.
What was the central theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme of my inspirational research was looking for artist who spoke out against conventional traditions while freely expressing themselves with their art.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The societal norms in a culture can inspire someone to use their art to stand out from the crowd and go against traditional expectations of art.
Bibliography
“EARLY COLOR INTERIORS.” EARLY COLOR INTERIORS - Photographs - Laurie Simmons, http://www.lauriesimmons.net/photographs/early-color-interiors?view=slider#21.
“Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931 by Frida Kahlo.” Henri Matisse. Accessed September 29, 2019. https://www.fridakahlo.org/frida-and-diego-rivera.jsp.
Kahlo, Frida. “Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78333.
“Photography, Perfection, and Reality.” Art21, https://art21.org/read/laurie-simmons-photography-perfection-and-reality/.
“Self Portrait with Cropped Hair - by Frida Kahlo.” Henri Matisse, https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-cropped-hair.jsp.