During class this morning, while working on an abstract/line sculpture, I kept thinking how ridiculous the whole idea of it was. That was when I got the idea: a woman frightened of a mouse, crouching in a corner, against a wall, trapped by a tiny helpless creature. The concept of a human being afraid of such a small animal has always struck me as incredibly absurd, which is why I would like to explore it more in depth through this project.
As an artist reference I’m using the British graffiti artist Bansky, who creates “trompe l’oeil” graffiti on old abandoned houses, city walls, in subway stations, and other similar places. The piece I’m using as a reference was painted this year (I believe…) on an old brick wall in New Orleans. What I find most interesting about it, apart from the subject matter, is how Bansky uses an imperfection in the wall as a shape for the mouse, basing it’s body off of the crack in the wall, and adding only ears and a tail to give it a realistic look.
Bansky’s piece has captivating subject matter, and the strong contrast between black and white I think would translate well in a woodcut. I’m not sure how I want to keep the lines yet: whether I’d like them to be as simple and clean as Bansky’s or if instead I’d like to work more on the texture of the clothing and hair, the mouse’s fur, etc.
The composition will be fairly simple, with the woman and the mouse staring at each other at the two opposite sides of the paper, and the brick wall serving as a background. I want the image to be busiest by the subjects, the wall the woman leans against will be very plain, and the brick wall will be a way in between the two.
What I would like to focus on for the rest of the woodcuts is fear in relation to the body and composition of an image. I want to experiment with different types of composition according to the subject matter of each woodcut. Starting with a woman afraid of a mouse, I intend to escalate to a greater sense of fear as we move on with the woodcuts. I'm interested in how a print/drawing/etc can create different reactions in the viewer according to how well they relate to the image, how much dark vs. light is present, how the subject matter is approached, etc. I am planning on using women only as my subject, because I also want to explore the social norms regarding how women are expected to act in certain frightening situations.
6 comments:
Great variety of markmaking.
Love the variation of marks. I also love how the marks in the background really gives a sense of depth, and to me makes it seem like the bride has a 4 minute mile and is getting the heck out of that church. What a speed demon.
You really explored a nice range of mark making. The subject matter is comedic! You also created a nice sense of depth in your image.
hahahha first of all i really like ali's comment. but anyway.
great shadows/highlights on the face and neck on this one! also on the folds of the dress... i like both your prints, and the second one seems almost like an evolution of the first one - you used more different kinds of marks, but still stayed very much with your own distinct style. and the teeny priest in the pulpit cracks me up... nice job!
-rachelllll (duh.)
Shows depth by different/various markings on wall, I like that they aren’t all the same. Experiments a lot with different textures and mark making. Successful in creating sense of anxiety and expressing emotion – extreme view of hallway and body gesture/expression on face creates sense of emergency.
The image as a whole was very fun to look at, especially up close. I learned a lot from the print and how to use different marks to describe the illusion of a wall being more distant or very close up. The amount of texture and patterns really helps illustrate your print!
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