Dancing in the Grain

Theme Proposal---Printmaking: Relief

The theme I’d like to propose for this semester is that of the human figure and the many make up the whole. I want to use the human form as a loose model and create abstracted shapes that will make up the final image. My work will explore the idea that the individual parts could potentially be separate works if isolated from the overall form, but they are, at the same time, intrinsic to the represented human form.
The influences for this approach are Tribal tattoos, classical figure modeling and Frank Miller’s Sin City graphic novels. The tattoos allow for the use of thick solid blacks that flow organically in shape and that is appealing to me. I want to use those sensibilities of the tribal tattoo to not decorate the body, but for them to become the body. There seems to be a duality to these types of tattoos. They are at once stone-like, yet can also be light and delicate. The classical approach to the human figure, primarily the Roman, is something that attracted me due to its great strength and allowance to be real world where as other periods that used these sensibilities were idealized. I’ve always found more beauty in a person or object by the character that it has rather than symmetry/ perfection. Frank Miller’s works use large areas black and white to create characters that are truly made of meat. They are flesh and blood. They also have life beyond the body. There expressions, whether through their eyes or bodies, speak louder than their own words. Miller’s use of composition to tell story is equally powerful. There is one scene in which a man stops just outside a barn where he has been chasing a serial child molester/ murder and the man’s hulking figure gathers its strength before the fight. He’s just killed about seven bodyguards with only a knife. The man also is fighting against his own bad heart. The weight of this situation is charged without being forced. Miller presents the situation as it is and nothing more than that. I will bring to the table my tendency to create curved and contorted human forms. The closest known artist I can think of that has used this approach is Picasso when he was exploring representations that were inspired by his fascination with African masks. Unlike Picasso, my work will move slightly more towards caricature than his. The degree of abstraction used by myself will be far less than Picasso.
The goals of this semester are to explore and expand beyond by perception of the human body as it is. I wish to restrict myself in using only solid blacks and whites to create the images I’ve stated that I am interested in working with. It is my hope that by doing so will make me a stronger artist by pushing myself in directions that I wouldn’t have otherwise pursued.