Ego in Different Settings // Final

 

Title: Societal Expectations
Style: Pop Art
Theme: Stereotypes of various demographics that I belong to.

1)      Female in her 20s

2)      Art Student

3)      Broken Family

4)      Muslim Female

 

Concept

 

I believe there are certain stereotypes that people expect of me as a certain demographics. These stereotypes may be true for some, but are not applicable to me. Hence, I chose to display these society stereotypes and also how I don’t conform to these ideas.

Me

In the “Me” panels, I would like to highlight the stereotypical outer imagery of what the society expects me to look like as that specific demographic.

I used Ben-day dots as the skin of the characters, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s artworks.

Consistent throughout all 4 “Me” panels, I used complimentary colour scheme.

Setting

For the “Setting” panels, objects or symbols, that are stereotypically associated with that demographics, are displayed in a repetitive patterned like a background. I was inspired by Andy Warhol’s use of repetitive imagery of popular objects and media stars respectively in ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ and ‘Marilyn Diptych’. Similar to Andy Warhol’s intention, I wanted to repeat this motif to illustrate the omnipresence of these objects in each demographics.

I’ve also added a twist to each panel, signifying that I am not someone who fits into these moulds that the society has created for me.

Instead of using a single colour background, I decided to create a Ben-day dot patterned background which I felt helped the objects stand out.

In the ‘Settings’ panel, I primarily used monochromatic for the repeated patterns, as for the twist, I used a complementary colour. The objects that are commonly associated with the demographics are all in a monochromatic colour scheme to illustrate the single stereotype that society expects. The complementary colour in the twist creates a contrast and thus attracts the attention of viewers.

Me in Setting

In these panels, my intention was to illustrate my “anti-stereotype” in the setting of the stereotypical image. Hence, I represented myself in a way that I’m breaking this mould. I used triadic colours in all 4 four of these panels.

Female in her 20s

Me

An outward imagery stereotype that is common for females in their 20s is that they care a lot about their image and obsession with beauty. There is this expectation that you should look good and dress well, I see this often in my own life with my mother and grandmother who would tell me that I should wear some makeup or wear nicer clothes or even wear some jewellery. Hence, I created this image of someone who uses a lot of makeup and has some highlights in her hair. I also included this beauty mark just below her eyes because this spot symbolises beauty.

Using complementary colours; red and green.

Progress

1st Draft: Colours did not reflect any colour scheme, change skin colour to follow colour scheme, add highlights to hair.

2nd Draft: Need to add more makeup to the character.

Setting

A common stereotype is that the society believes females in her 20s are vain, and obsessive about their looks. Thus, I displayed lipsticks, mirror and heels as objects that people would associate with this stereotype.

For the twist, I placed a crack on one of the mirrors to symbolise how I don’t conform to this stereotype.

Using monochromatic colour; red; and complementary colour; green.

Progress

1st Draft: The blue mirror was a little too distracting, could be changed to a lighter shade of red.

2nd Draft: Crack on mirror not obvious enough. Strokes should be consistent throughout entire panel. Add some background texture.

Me in Setting

To show the rebel against this stereotype, I created the illustration of a broken mirror, a broken heel, and a melted lipstick. This represents how as a person, I don’t follow this expectation of the society and that I am not someone who cares about my outer image.

Using triadic primary colours; red, yellow and blue.

Progress

1st Draft: Change to a darker shade of blue

2nd Draft: Strokes should be consistent throughout entire panel.

Art Student

Me

Before I came to ADM, as I spoke to my friends who aren’t Art students, I found that a lot of them had the impression that Art students are those that dress well and in a millennial term “hipsters”. I created this illustration which non-Art students would picture Art students to look like. Thus, I had the character have a paintbrush behind her ear (a typical image often found on media), paint on her face, big bushy hair and wearing “hipster” glasses.

Using complementary colours; red-orange and blue-green.

 

 

Setting

When I tell someone that I am an art student, they make an assumption that I can draw, colour and paint well. To illustrate this assumption of art students being able to do traditional art, I use objects such as easels, paintbrushes, pencils and palettes.

For the twist, I added a cursor to represent my rebel against traditional art.

Using monochromatic colour; red-orange and complementary colour; blue-green.

Me in Setting

The idea is to display the irony in using both traditional and digital objects. The easel and canvas are used in traditional art for painting and drawing, thus I created this “painting” of a cursor filled with cursors inside it. On the easel which you would normally find traditional art tools like pencils, brushes, palettes, have been replaced with digital tools such as the pen tool, knife tool, clone stamp tool, zoom tool and eyedropper tool.

Using triadic colours; red-orange, blue-purple and yellow-green.

 

Broken Family

Me

A very common remark I get from my relatives were how they were glad that I turn out well despite my family background. From this remark, it is obvious that they have an expectation that people who come from broken families are wayward and troublemakers. Hence, I created an image of a “troublemaker” with tattoos, piercings and a huge ear hole.

Use of complementary colours; yellow and violet

Progress

1st Draft: Use complementary colours instead. Change skin colour to a yellow tinge. Add shadows to her hair.

2nd Draft: Tattoo not obvious. Change polka dot background so that it does disrupt the attention.

Setting

I illustrated this idea of wayward by displaying cigarettes, beer, and a disco ball representing smoking, drinking and clubbing which are not viewed positively. The twist I included in this composition is a watermelon in replacement of a disco ball.

Use of monochromatic colour; yellow and complementary colour; violet.

Progress

1st Draft: Disco balls are not obvious enough, change colour of watermelon to a complementary colour

2nd Draft: Disco Ball is more recognisable. My concern was changing the colour of the watermelon would result in the inability to identify it as a watermelon.

Me in Setting

To illustrate how society forces these wayward expectations on me but ultimately, I do not conform to their expectations and as illustrated, I remain an innocent watermelon.

Use of triadic tertiary colours; yellow-orange, blue-green and red-violet.

Progress

1st Draft: There is no distinct colour scheme.

2nd Draft: Wrong use of triadic colours, should be changed to red-violet, yellow-orange and blue-green instead.

Muslim Female

Me

One of the most common question I get from people I just met is “Why don’t you wear a tudung?” This question alone showcases how people expect to see all Muslim female to wear a hijab. Hence, the character is seen with a hijab on.

Use of complementary colours; blue and orange.

Progress

1st Draft: The Ben-day dots on the skin can be slightly bigger. I found that the dots in the background is a little distracting.

Setting

Islam in itself means peace. Hence, especially in the Muslim community, there is an expectation that as a Muslim, you should be a peace loving person. The twist I have included is an inverted peace sign to signify that I am “anti-peace”.

Use of monochromatic colour; blue; and complementary colour; orange.

Progress

1st Draft: I felt that the composition appeared too flat. A suggestion was to use more symbols of peace similar to my other compositions.

Me in Setting

To show my “anti-peace” notion by having a face covered by inverted peace signs which represent how I am the opposite of peaceful. Also, I have a hostile resting face, which is reflected by the idea of “face full of anti-peace”.

Use of triadic colours; red, blue and yellow.

 

 

 

 

Progress

1st Draft: Wrong use of triadic colour scheme; should change to red, blue and yellow. The ben-day dots in the inverted peace sign not obvious.

Overall colour schemes

Complementary colours used in all 4 compositions
Monochromatic colours used in all 4 compositions
Triadic colours used in all 4 compositions

 

Reflection

I enjoyed the freedom that we were allowed in the use of mediums in this project. A lot of the classmates reflected their own style into their compositions and that reminded me that it is time for me to find my own style of illustration.

Link to previous post

Colour Theory & Research: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/nora0020/ego-colour-theory-and-artist-reference/

Ego: Colour Theory and Artist Reference

In this post, I’ll be sharing my research on 2 parts; Colour Theory & Artist Reference

Part I: Colour Theory

We now begin our journey working with colours.

All this while, our works were in black and white. The idea of using colours excites me but at the same time terrifies me. Hopefully, the following research will put me in ease.

Let’s begin.

Colour Wheel

Primary Colours:

Red, Blue and Yellow

Secondary Colours:

Orange, Green and purple.

This colours are created by mixing the primary colours together.

Orange – Red + Yellow

Green – Blue + Yellow

Purple – Red + Blue

Tertiary Colours:

This colours are form by combining a primary and secondary colour next to each other.

Colour Harmony

Monochromatic

One colour in varying intensity is used in this scheme.

Artist: Chuck Groenink, Image from: http://chuckgroenink.tumblr.com/post/53645683109/its-summer-who-else-wants-a-cabin-on-a-snowy
Artist: Jessica Hoffman,
Image from: https://jessicahoffmanportfolio.weebly.com/monochromatic-painting.html

 

Image from: https://www.behance.net/gallery/44278055/Illustration-2016-(part-2)

Analogous

Uses colours that are next to each other.

 

Image from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/32/0e/fb320e3bf36e31e163eb54cf864be884.jpg
Image from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/d0/05/61d005424eec19a368a44dd275b95a79.jpg

 

Complementary

Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel.

Image from: http://zevendesign.com/color-harmony-hulk-wears-purple-pants/
Image from: https://www.houzz.com/complimentary-color-scheme-ideas

Split Complementary

Use of 1 base colour and 2 colours adjacent.

Image from: http://www.aridglamor.com/2014/03/spinning-the-color-wheel-mixing-colors-part-2/
Image from: https://creativecolor.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/two-eggplants-ink-watercolor-color-scheme-game-chris-carter-artist-analogous-split-complements-082712-web.jpeg

Triad

Use 3 colours that are evenly spaced between each other.

Image from: https://kayfriday.deviantart.com/art/X-Men-Cyclops-Triadic-Color-Scheme-348941414
Image from: https://www.homedit.com/triadic-color-scheme/

Part II: Artist Reference

Pop Art Research

For this project, I decided to use the pop art style in my illustrations.

The use of popular, mass culture objects and media stars are a common theme in Pop Art. This movement follows the return to a more objective, universally accepted form of art after Abstract Expressionism. It rejects the idea of ‘high art’ and pretensions of other contemporary Avant grade art.

Andy Warhol

An artist that perfectly exemplifies Pop Art is Andy Warhol. His artworks were heavily influenced by imagery of mass-culture: advertising, comics, newspapers, TV and the movies. His works mainly consisted of literal paintings and silk-screen prints of popular objects and media stars.

‘Marilyn Diptych’ (1962)

Image from: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/warhol-marilyn-diptych-t03093

This artwork features 20 silkscreen painting of Marilyn Monroe who died in 1962 from overdosed. The photograph used in this painting was from a publicity photograph from the 1953 film Niagara. He fused 2 themes: death and the popularity of a celebrity. The repetition of the image was to show her omnipresence in the media. The contrast between the vivid colours on the left and the black and white painting on the right, also the fading effect on the right was to highlight Monroe’s mortality.

‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ (1962)

Image from: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962

This work features 32 different varieties of Campbell’s soup. It appears to resemble the mass produced, printed advertisements, however, it was entirely hand-painted, with the exception of the fleur de lys pattern ringing each can’s bottom edge is hand-stamped. He ensured that each can was replicated accurately without any discrepancies and the only difference is the labels of the cans to distinguish them by variety.

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein, another prominent figure in the Pop Art movement was influenced by the imagery on comic strips. Hence, in many of his works, Ben-Day dots, black outlines and bold colours were prevalent. He wanted to stress the artificiality of his images by painting them as though it were commercially printed; using single-colour Ben-Day dots that newspaper used.

‘Whaam!’ (1963)

Image from: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lichtenstein-whaam-t00897

This acrylic and oil painting is based on an image from All American Men of War published by DC comics in 1962. He displayed this powerfully charged scene from the comic in an impersonal manner, leaving viewers to decipher the meanings for themselves. The use of bold colours; red and white; and black outlines are obvious in this artwork.

‘Drowning Girl’ (1963)

Image from: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/lichtenstein-drowning-girl-1963

This artwork is based on “Run for Love!,” the melodramatic lead story in DC Comics’ Secret Love #83, from 1962. In the initial comic strip, the drowning girl’s boyfriend appears in the background, clinging on to a capsized boat. Lichtenstein decided to remove him from his painting and solely display the drowning girl instead. Similar to his other works, he wanted to make it look like it was commercially printed by drawing black outlines and painting them in primary colours and Ben-day dots.

Forrest Gump

“But better to not know which moment may be your last.  Every morsel of your entire being alive to the infinite mystery of it all.” – Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Concept

My interpretation of the quote is how humans will go through their life and eventually, everyone will meet with death.

Methodology

The different clocks represent the different times in your life. I scaled the clock from small to big with the smallest one behind to give depth to the print. A silhouette of a person can be seen leaping from one clock to the other, this represents us moving to different phases of our lives. The final clock in the series, the wristwatch is the biggest in scale as it is the emphasis of the print. The placement of the clocks and the hands of the clocks are position as to bring our gaze to the wristwatch. The face of the watch is replaced with a deep hole which represents the end of life. Another silhouette can be seen falling into this hole. The contrast in colours between the two human figures shows the distinction between life and death. Also, the background depicts a warping clock which adds depth to the composition.

Initial Idea:

My interpretation of the quote in Ver 1 & 2 was about knowing when you are going to die.

Version 1: I wanted to display this in Ver 1 by having a clock and magnifying glass, the wormhole represents death. During the first consultation, the comment I received was that the composition was too literal.

Version 2: I changed the subject to a wristwatch with a deep hole and a person falling into it. The background was changed to question marks in order to relate it back to the idea of mystery. In the second consultation, general comments from the group were that the background was not necessary/relevant and that the arm was not obvious.

Version 3: I added more clocks to the mix, and this concept was used as a basis for my final print. In the final consultation, the group mentioned about not having enough depth and contrast. Another advice they gave me was to adjust the sizes of the clocks to build greater emphasis.

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.” – Cobb, Inception (2010)

Concept

Being pulled away from reality to a strange dream.

Methodology

For this composition, I was inspired by Salvador Dali’s works such as Persistence of Memory (1931), which exudes this unearthly, other dimension themes.

The boy can be seen being pulled away from earth in order to show the idea of being dragged from reality. For it to be a strange reality, I thought of using floating islands, big butterflies (that are bigger than dolphins) and people riding on flying dolphins. The placement of butterflies and dolphins helps to guide the eyes to the centre of the composition. Also, the couple floating in mid-air is placed in the centre to further give emphasis to them.

Initial Idea:

I initially wanted the emphasis on the idea of floating islands as an alternate universe. Hence, I placed 3 different sized islands. The person was portrayed to be on the moon.

Ver 1: I used this design for my first experimentation silkscreen printing. The threshold outcome of the islands appeared to look completely black and details within the island were lost. During the consultation, Joy advised on adjusting the contrast to help with this.

Ver 2: I further edited the images of the islands so that there was more contrast between the black and white. I changed the big island and moon to something that was much clearer. However, I realised that the composition did not create a strong enough impact and storyline.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”— Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Concept

A marriage between irony (protagonist vs antagonist/ hero vs villain). I broke down this quote to two parts: solemnly swear; no good. You normally associate “no good” with villains rather than heroes. However, this quote was spoken by the hero of the show – Harry Potter. This is ironic because he is supposed to be doing good as a hero, not doing “no good”. “Solemnly swear” means to make a promise and I thought promises are most common in weddings.

Methodology

I selected the main male antagonist of the show – Lord Voldemort, and the main female protagonist – Hermione Granger. Fortunately for Hermione, I was able to find an image of her in a dress, dancing. However, this was not the case for Voldemort. In order to give the impression of him being at his wedding, I added a bowtie to his outfit. Also, I had to edit his arms slightly to make him appear as if he is dancing. For an extra touch, I gave Hermione a veil. Both of the characters can be seen staring at each other dancing under the wedding arch. I wanted the emphasis to be on both of them, thus I scaled them to be the main subjects of the composition. Their gaze at each other also helps to guide our eyes to the pair.

Initial Idea:

Ver 1: A combination of half of Harry Potter’s face (protagonist) and half of Joker’s face (antagonist) with a background of a map and footsteps to relate to the story behind the quote (Marauders Map). Also adding two hands in a pinky promise gesture to represent “solemnly swear”. After the first consultation with Joy, I realised that it was too literal to actually include Harry Potter’s face.

Ver 2: Through the feedback, I decided to dismiss the idea of using his face, and instead represent him in some of his popular characteristics – lighting scar and glasses. This was where I decided to include the idea of marriage. However, I thought that this composition did not express the idea of marriage well enough.

Ver 3: This was my final concept. During group consultation, many mentioned about some technical adjustments I should make such as making Voldemort’s head more apparent, using a different veil and making them stand out more. I asked the group whether I should use Harry Potter characters or more relatable characters that everyone knows, and in reply, they said that it was more interesting to use Harry Potter characters.

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” — The Emperor, Mulan (1998)

Concept

A ballerina who represent rarity and beauty facing adversities in order to bloom. For this composition, I wanted to stretch the idea of adversity in different methods. Firstly, the mountains she is on has sharp spikes. Secondly, the flower was replaced with a Venus flytrap which can close on her and devour her at any time. Lastly, “blooming” in the night when it is commonly associated with the day. The blood splatters represent her struggles she faced while climbing to the top.

Methodology

For this composition, I mainly had to get a good balance because I was using many different images. The moon at the top helps to balance the mountain and Venus flytrap at the bottom. Also, the ballerina is looking/pointing at the direction of the moon, this helps to balance it out even further. The emphasis for this composition was placed on the ballerina by scaling her bigger.

Initial Idea:

A blooming ballerina in a flower on a mountain.

Ver 1: For this composition, I thought that there was too much emphasis on the moon, whereas the ballerina had the least emphasis.

Ver 2: During group consultation, some mentioned that I could flip the ballerina so that she is facing the moon to have a better balance. Also, the blood stains appeared to be in a mess and had no clear direction.

Experimentation

This was my first time silk screening so I really did not know what to expect. During the process of silk screening, everything was going well until I started jet spraying my screen. I brought the nozzle too close to the screen, which caused it to lose its details and also resulted in peeling. Lesson Learn: Don’t bring the nozzle too close.

When printed (setting aside the jet spray mistake), it lost all the small details and the shape of the island was not clear. After printing, I realised that I need to work on the contrast of my images in order to include the small details.

Final

Learning from my mistakes during the first experimentation, I created more contrast in my final design. To make it stand out on the tote bag, I used threshold for all my images and altered it so that it is completely black and white with no grey.

During the jet spraying, I was extra careful about the distance. PS. I freaked out when I saw other people going too close with the jet.

I first tested the print on paper which came out well.

I was ready to try on a tote bag. But I wanted to be extra careful so I experimented using another tote bag. Oh boy did I made the right decision.

The mistake I made was pausing halfway through the paint coating process causing an uneven coating. Also, I didn’t put enough paint. Lesson Learnt: Don’t pause halfway, finish it with one clean swipe.

Finally, taking all this into consideration, I did my final print and it turned out well.

 

Research

Surrealism

Surrealism started in the early 1920s. Similar to Automatism, Surrealists artists allows the unconscious mind to express itself as a way to unlock the imagination. Their artworks show no sign of rationalism and realism, they believe in how the rational mind suppresses the power of our imagination. Artists of the surrealism movement created paintings out of their imagination which may appear to not make sense but with photographic precision. Their work features the element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions.

Salvador Dali

Dali opted for his own style of automatism by making use of the unconscious mind, termed “paranoiac critical”, where he simulates delusion while maintaining one’s rationality. Dali himself referred to this form as an “irrational knowledge”.

Some of the themes that are reflected in Dali’s works are eroticism, death, and decay. His drawings were influenced by autobiographical material and childhood memories. His work contains many ready-interpreted symbolism, ranging from fetishes and animal imagery to religious symbols.

One of his famous works include the Persistence of Memory (1931)

Image from: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/1168-2

Dadaism

Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century.  This art movement was developed in reaction to World War I. Dada artists, similar to Surrealist Artist, rejected the idea of logic, rationalism, realism and aestheticism of the modern society. Hence, their work reflects nonsense and irrationality. Since this art movement was closely tied in with WW1, Dada artist reflects their discontent with violence, war and nationalism in their work.

Hannah Höch

Most of her work focuses on criticising gender issues such as androgyny, political discourse, and shifting gender role. In her works, she gathers photographic elements from popular forms of media, such as newspapers and magazines, and collages them in uncanny ways. The fact that these elements she included in her works were taken from this sources, further validates her message about gender issues. For her works, she dismembers and reconstructs these photographic elements.

One of her popular artworks is the Cut With the Kitchen Knife Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (1919-20).

Image from: http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=4209

 

Execution & Final Artwork

I believe emotions are expressed differently from person to person. For example, different people express their happiness differently, some may express it outwardly, some inwardly, some may even cry when they are happy. Hence, for this project I hope to reflect my perspective on how I personally express this emotion.

To covey this, each emotion corresponds to a specific year in my life where a particular event occurred of that significant emotional nature. This events have shaped me to be the person I am today. Hence, I reflected my growth throughout the years from those older incidences in the newer ones by including certain mark making of old events in the new ones. Also, to display the aging growth, I have used older textured papers for older events and fresh white papers for newer events.

Resentment (Anger)

Year: 2004
Story: Being bullied by people who I thought were my friends
Methodology: I cut out thin strips of paper and arranged them to form crosses

 

 

 

 

 

I placed the crosses above a layer of paint and place a sheet of paper over for the transfer

Meaning: The crosses represents my resentment towards the people that bullied me.

The crosses are not perfect straight lines, and the paint bleeds through the white areas. This represent the resentment and frustration towards myself for not being able to forgive this people.

 

Attraction (Love)

Year: 2006
Story: Experiencing my first crush
Methodology: Using different sized bottle caps to create various circle shape all over the paper and adding a gradient using water colour for that bubble effect.

Meaning: Bubbles represents the first time experience the bubbly feeling in the bottom of your stomach.

The negative space around the bubbles represents the pure innocence of puppy love and also illustrates how the bubbles are floating.

 

Depressed (Sadness)

Year: 2007
Story: The day my sisters and I found out of my parent’s intention to divorce

 (Includes some crosses from 2004 incident)

Methodology: Firstly, I spritz the paper with some water and added water based paint on the top of the paper, allowing the paint to drip vertically onto the paper.

 

 

 

Then, using a stick and hitting it lightly to create a splattering effect.

Meaning: I wanted to illustrate the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside by representing this with blood.

Some methods I chose was blood splattering and dripping.

 

Bliss (Joy)

Year: 2012
Story: A night walk on the beach, away from the stress of O levels.

(includes some bubbles from 2006 incident)

Methodology: Using black paint of different intensity to create the outline of the waves and water colour to give it some gradient.
Meaning: The gentle waves represent the peace and calmness from the stresses of O levels.

 

Anxiety (Fear)

Year: 2015
Story: Internship – difficult boss, heavy workload, stressful situations

(includes some crosses from 2004 incident, some blood splattering from 2007 incident)

Methodology: I poured some water based paint, water and soap into several cups. Using a straw, I created bubbles and placed the paper over the bubbles. This process is repeated to build up the colour intensity. The bubbles on the paper forms a cloudy effect.

Meaning: The cloudy effect represents my inability to think straight and the messy thoughts that were going on inside my head.

 

Surprise

Year: 2017
Story: Receiving the results for University Application

(includes some bubbles from 2006 incident, some waves from 2012 incident)

Methodology: Firstly using white paint at the beginning and gradually adding black paint to darken the colour, ending with black on the other end of the paper. Thus, creating a gradient.
Meaning: The gradient effect is to illustrate the feeling of nothing to great excitement (0 to 100).

I decided to go with diagonal lines to relate it back to the Bliss emotions which showed gentle waves. The diagonal lines in this piece was more angular and rigid compared to the Bliss waves to show that surprise was a completely different emotion from that.

 

Conclusion:

One of my biggest challenges for this project was creating the bliss piece. It was difficult to recreate the emotions from that event. I wanted to recreate the waves from the beach that day, however, was worried that it would be too literal.  Instead, I thought the gentle waves would represent the calmness.

Some things I believe I could have improved on for this project was exploring more visual meanings rather than representational meanings. Adding meanings to each bubbles, crosses, waves, blood in the newer events. I could have also used a more abstract way of expressing this emotions rather than being literal and representational.

A positive thing that I can replicate in projects to come is adding a personal touch to my artwork hence creating an emotional connection that other people could relate to.

Links to previous post:

Research: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/nora0020/research-on-mark-making/

Experimentation: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/nora0020/experimentation-mark-making/

 

Experimentation – Mark Making

I started my mark making journey in class by experimenting on several methods and materials that could be used.

In class experimentation:

Materials:

  • Wires
  • Flowers
  • Cotton wool
  • Leafs

My first attempt was an epic failure but hopefully success comes with failure.

Using the flowers and leafs, I did not consider that the thickness of the object would affect the print. The flower I used was baby’s breath which was a little too thin so only the outline of the flower appeared on the print and small details inside the flower was not reflected.

 

 

 

Second attempt was slightly better. The wire I used was still slightly too thin so I made sure to go around every nook and cranny. This proved to have worked better as the outline of the wire was more clearly defined. I also used cotton wool to create clouds above the wire tree.

 

 

 

My third attempt was using aluminum foil to create texture. I crumpled a piece of aluminum and spread it out and placed it over the linoleum. After which, I placed the parchment paper over the linoleum.

 

 

 

 

Own Time Own Target Experimentation

I experimented with some of my ideas that I had in my mind to see whether it is executable or whether it looks presentable.

Resentment (Anger)

I used tape to create white crosses on the black painted paper.

Outcome:

The paint bled onto the tape thus creating a messy, jagged cross. I felt that the tape was too thick and would like to explore using a thinner replacement (strings? Paper?) instead.

Attraction (Love)

I found an interesting method on YouTube where the artist used bottle caps to create the shape of bubbles (circle) and using water to blend it in.

 

 

 

 

Outcome:

My first attempt I used too much paint, hence the “bubbles” are too dark. From there, I adjusted the amount of paint by transferring the excess paint on another piece of paper before I transfer it to actual paper.

Depressed (Sadness)

I wanted to reflect blood on the paper. Some ways I thought of reflecting blood are dripping, splattering and cuts.

Image result for blood dripping
Image from: https://www.videoblocks.com/video/blood-dripping-down-over-white-background-dkxaled/
Image result for blood spatter
Image from: https://www.forensicscolleges.com/blog/resources/7-things-about-blood-spatter-analysis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outcome:

To create that drip effect, I sprayed the paper with some water. I proceeded to place some block paint on the top of the paper. However, the paint was not dripping. I decided to try using water based paint instead which successfully created the drip effect. I also sprayed more water on the block paint and it started to drip too.

Bliss (Joy)

To create waves and starry sky.

Outcome:

At first, I wanted to create a scraping effect to reflect waves. However, it just appeared like a big black blob of mess.

 

 

I replaced this with creating a wavy pattern and using water colour for blending. To create that starry sky, I used 2 brushes, 1 with paint and hit it against each other. However, I found that this method was too literal. I shall explore other methods to convey my emotion.

 

Anxiety (Fear)

I wanted to create a cloudy effect and decided to experiment on using bubbles. After watching a YouTube video, I experimented on a method using cups, black ink, water and soap. Using a straw, I mixed the contents of the cup and blew into the cup to create bubbles.

 

 

 

 

 

Outcome:

I learned not to place the paper too close to the cups to prevent the shape of the cup from transferring to the paper. It was also a building up process, so I had to do it a number of times to build up the shape. What I think I can improve on is the colour intensity (use block paint instead of water based paint?)

Surprise

Create a gradient effect using brushes and black/white paint.

Outcome:

I started with black and gradually adding white to make it lighter which resulted in the colours to be too dark to reflect the 0 to 100 feeling. For the final artwork, I will be using white paint and gradually adding black paint.

 

Research on Mark Making

Never having taken Art, mark making is a new concept to me. Hence, I embarked on a research to find out more about mark making.

What is Mark Making?

To describe different lines, patterns and textures we create in a piece of art.

Automatic Mark Making Techniques

Creating art by suppressing conscious control and allowing the unconscious mind to take over the creative process.

Examples of Automatic Techniques:

Decalcomania –a piece of paper or glass is laid over a painted surface and then removed. This action creates suction, pulling at the paint to form a scaly, biomorphic texture

An example of a decalcomania artwork is Max Ernst’s Europe After the Rain, 1940-1942

Picture from: https://www.artsy.net/article/jessica-beyond-painting-the-experimental-techniques-of-max

 

 

 

 

 

Frottage – a technique of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface as a basis of art

An example of a frottage artwork is Max Ernst’s The Entire City 1934

Picture from: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ernst-the-entire-city-n05289

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fumage – impressions made by smoke of a candle or kerosene lamp on a piece of paper/canvas

An example of a fumage artwork is Wolfgang Paalen’s Fumage 1937.

Picture from: https://www.wikiart.org/en/wolfgang-paalen/fumage-1937

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grattage – technique of scraping wet/dry paint from the canvas using a blade (palette knife/spatula)

An example of a grattage artwork is Max Ernst’s Forest and Dove (1927)

Picture from: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/g/grattage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torn Paper Collage – torn up/cut up paper are randomly placed on a sheet of paper which are then glued down or using torn up paper of an image which is then placed randomly according to the fall of the paper

Sand Painting – glue is randomly smeared on canvas then sand sprinkled upon it. After it dries, it can be further manipulated using brushes/knifes

Froissage – crushing a piece of paper then smoothing it out. When soaked with paint/ink, the creases takes up the colour, creating a veined effect.

Artist/Artwork References:

Gunpowder Drawings by Cai Guo-Qiang

  • Cai places sheets of specially made paper on the floor and sets up gunpowder fuses and loose explosive powders to create silhouetted forms on the canvas.
  • Once the setup is completed, he ignites a fuse at one end of the work.
  • With loud bangs, the ignited gunpowder rips across the surface of the paper, lighting the explosives according to the form that was created.
  • What was interesting about his work was that he demonstrated his interest in the relationship between matter and energy in which matter; referring to the gunpowder; explodes into energy; ignition of gunpowder and explosive; and transforms to matter in another state; the charred drawing.
  • His work displays charts of time (time taken to setup the gunpowder), process (igniting the gunpowder) and transformation (how the gunpowder transform into a charred drawing on the canvas).

Yves Klein

  • Best known for his trademark ultramarine pigment, which he patented as International Klein Blue in 1961
  • He created anthropometry paintings, for which Klein smeared nude women with blue pigment and used them as human brushes on canvas. Sometimes this process was displayed in elaborate public performances.
  • I found that this method was very intriguing, even though it is unconventional or controversial. I thought of exploring the idea of using the body to create mark makings, for example, using my feet, elbows, hands, etc.
  • The idea of using an art piece as a form of performance was something that I think adds a new dimension to the artwork. Not only does it become a visual art, but it also serves as a performing art. The act of engaging the public to view the process of the artwork, I believe allows the audience to understand the process and actual art itself better.
Pictures from: https://www.artsy.net/artist/yves-klein
Pictures from: https://www.artsy.net/artist/yves-klein