Filling?
Exhibition
Filling? is another piece revolving around the idea of identity. The intention of Filling? is to question whether a person's background and culture is a deciding factor of who they become. It is believed that people decide their own future, but can an origin prevent or promote that?
Filling? is another piece revolving around the idea of identity. The intention of Filling? is to question whether a person's background and culture is a deciding factor of who they become. It is believed that people decide their own future, but can an origin prevent or promote that?
Planning
Inspiration
The inspiration for this piece is a self portrait by Andy Warhol. The portrait I am referring to is on the right. Warhol's use of line and color in the piece initiated my inquiry as to what he was saying. One of the themes I extracted from his work was that the figure is given meaning by the colors behind it. The line drawn figure is inherently empty (negative space) and the colors behind it are solid. It is possible that the colors have symbolic meaning in the piece. I took this idea away and I want the colors in my piece to mean something, or be representative of my culture. This is where the idea of American culture came into my mind again. Red white and blue are is a well known combination of colors throughout the world associated with the US. Often, to the people that are from here, the colors are a symbol of pride, and "being those colors is everything. The stigma about needing to have the utmost nationalist ideals is overwhelming, and in my eyes, difficult to live up to. What I want to approach is that even though I was raised around very prideful people and citizens, I do not feel so strongly about anything. |
Self Portrait; Screenprint on Wallpaper; 1978, Edition of 300; 41.75" x 29.75"
“Andy Warhol.” AC Fine Art, 2016, www.acfineartsite.com/artists/andy-warhol.html. |
Critical Investigation
The Self Portrait by Andy Warhol (1978) was created around the same time that he was creating the Mao series of works. "A major 1972 exhibition that signaled Warhol’s renewed focus on painting featured a series of works depicting Chairman Mao. Warhol saw the pervasiveness of Mao’s image in China as akin to Western advertising strategies." (https://www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/). This idea probably translated to his self portraits having similar meaning.
I make this claim because color appears to be a significant factor in his work now. If it were not a significant feature it would not be there. Additionally, the figure itself is comprised of line and negative space which signals a focus on what is happening both in the negative and positive space.
The Self Portrait by Andy Warhol (1978) was created around the same time that he was creating the Mao series of works. "A major 1972 exhibition that signaled Warhol’s renewed focus on painting featured a series of works depicting Chairman Mao. Warhol saw the pervasiveness of Mao’s image in China as akin to Western advertising strategies." (https://www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/). This idea probably translated to his self portraits having similar meaning.
I make this claim because color appears to be a significant factor in his work now. If it were not a significant feature it would not be there. Additionally, the figure itself is comprised of line and negative space which signals a focus on what is happening both in the negative and positive space.
Planning Sketches
Thoughts written next to the sketches
Thoughts written next to the sketches
Experimentation
Process
Steps:
- Open a new document on Photoshop (10 in x 10 in)
- Place the photo intended to be used on top.
- Put a new transparent layer on top of the last
- Using a drawing tablet (Bamboo), use the brush tool to trace the essential lines of the form onto the transparent layer ( I used a 2B Pencil brush that became dull as it was used to create a more natural effect)
- Remove photo layer
- Create shapes beneath the transparent layer.
Evaluation
When compared side by side, the connections between my piece and Warhol's self portrait are not difficult to find. There are varying thicknesses of lines, no areas where there was too much detail put in using the lines, and color fields behind the figures. One things I am critical about in my work is how thin the lines are. I feel as if thicker lines would have emboldened the portrait and make it stand out even more against the background like Warhol's does.
|
Reflection
Overall, this piece was a success in regards to meaning and showing an understanding of Andy Warhol's work. I used Warhol's theme of not having an identity unless given one by creating a portrait of myself by line design. By filling these designs with the colors that represent me, I essentially gave meaning to an empty figure. I think using colors that represents my culture is obvious, however, I do have some doubts that people might think the colors are for aesthetics. Even though they are, the meaning is found within them. If understanding is overrun by aesthetics, I could try to emphasize the colors by creating defining shapes like a flag in a subtle way. Subtle meaning that I will only be using planes of color with minimal context (essentially less that 3 rectangles).
Warhol's pop art style is not necessarily obvious from my piece. I chose a different Warhol style which focused less on the vibrant, solid colors, and more on the manipulation of subject. The self portrait I chose for inspiration was repeated originally on wallpaper, however, repetition was not needed to communicate my message.The way Warhol manipulated the figure to be empty and broken, then layered it on top of color fields is what is important.
Warhol's pop art style is not necessarily obvious from my piece. I chose a different Warhol style which focused less on the vibrant, solid colors, and more on the manipulation of subject. The self portrait I chose for inspiration was repeated originally on wallpaper, however, repetition was not needed to communicate my message.The way Warhol manipulated the figure to be empty and broken, then layered it on top of color fields is what is important.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
my inspiration inspired me to think about the meaning of color and how the representation of a figure changes its meaning.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of my research approached Warhol's work with an analytical eye.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I made the generalization that the American culture can be represented by, above all, three essential colors.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme surrounding my research was to understand the connotations associated with my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Andy Warhol used prints to created multiple images of his empty figure.
my inspiration inspired me to think about the meaning of color and how the representation of a figure changes its meaning.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of my research approached Warhol's work with an analytical eye.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I made the generalization that the American culture can be represented by, above all, three essential colors.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme surrounding my research was to understand the connotations associated with my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Andy Warhol used prints to created multiple images of his empty figure.
Bibliography
“Andy Warhol.” AC Fine Art, 2016, www.acfineartsite.com/artists/andy-warhol.html.
“Andy Warhols Life.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/.
“Andy Warhols Life.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/.