Inspiration
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Behind the Gare St. Lazare, 1932
John Baeder, Stardust Motel 1977.
Oil on canvas. |
In the digital age it is easy to lose sight of process. Photorealists of the mid 20th century turned industrialization into an art form. Photo realists recreated highly industrial photos of society like cars, restaurants, signs and things of the like. The artists from this movement took things of mass production and turned them into fine tuned art. I drew inspiration from this process as well as the look of original photography which took less detailed pictures . In my work I took these two points of inspiration and merged them. I wanted the message and process of photo realism along with the look of classic photographs.
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The next sketch was an idea based on classic story book illustrations, again I got halfway through the sketch and lost interest in the meaning and piece as a whole which I felt meant my viewers would too. My last sketch introduced the photo realism idea but in nature which inspired my final piece to do the same idea with an opposite subject matter of a highly industrialized park.
Process
1. Print a 8 x 6 inch version of a photo taken at 6 flags
2. Tape the photo to the plate and carving as much detail as I thought visually appealing Printing process 1.Soak a piece of watercolor paper for 8 minutes 2. Place a small bead of .... ink on the print plate 3. Spread the ink across the plate pressing the ink into every crevice 4. Wipe the plate with newsprint until the only ink left is in the cracks 5. Place the print ink side up on the print roller and place the watercolor paper on top of the plate. 6. Roll through the print roller and allow to dry on a drying rack. |
Experimentation
Experimentation came through the printing and carving process. During the carving process I had to experiment with different tools to get different widths and depths of cuts in the plate. An exact o knife was used for fine lines and a dry point carving tool was used to create bolder lines. During the printing process I experimented with different amounts of ink left on the plate to get different effects in the final print.
My first print I wiped to hard with the newsprint and took ink out of the crevices which left the final print faded.
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The next print I left too much ink on the plate which inspired me to play with the idea of shading in my piece by leaving excess ink on purpose.
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The next two prints were experimentation's with shading through excess ink.
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Meaning
In modern American society we forget to focus. Everything is rushed and taken for granted. I chose to recreate a photo of 6 flags for my piece because I feel it is undervalued. Thousands of people go every day and forget the process and time that go in to creating such mass feats of pure entertainment. The park itself is a marvel of engineering and design. To me it is as much of an art form as any other. Also it is a key example of people lost in such a fast paced age of developing technology. For me this work represents the need to slow down, analyze, and process things and focus on the art that we see every day.
Reflection
This project taught me to value patience and process. Carving the plates took far more precision than I thought it would to get the desired effects. It also helped develop crosshatching skills and the many uses of pure line in a piece to create shading and value. Overall the work went well, with more planning and better time management there could have been more detail in the print. If I were to recreate this piece I definitely would've put more detail into the background as well as the horse in the foreground. This project also taught me the depth of the photo realism movement and the message behind recreating everyday scenes, commenting on modern industrialization and mass production. The message behind my work changed throughout the creation of it due to the thoughts on process of creating a smaller work of art to thoughts on how these industrial entertainment parks and centers are developed.
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ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Photo realism inspired the process of creating the work and original photography inspired the style of my piece.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The beauty and art that can be found in modern engineering can be quickly forgotten by the majority of society.
That is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my work was showing the beauty of the modern world in a process oriented classically artistic manner.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Photo realist artists did more than copy photography they reinvented the artistic process after years of abstraction.
Photo realism inspired the process of creating the work and original photography inspired the style of my piece.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The beauty and art that can be found in modern engineering can be quickly forgotten by the majority of society.
That is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my work was showing the beauty of the modern world in a process oriented classically artistic manner.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Photo realist artists did more than copy photography they reinvented the artistic process after years of abstraction.
Bibliography
An Introduction to Photography in the Early 20th Century.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/beginners-guide-20-21/a/an-introduction-to-photography-in-the-early-20th-century.
Kantrowitz, Jonathan. “Art History News.” Dark Romanticism. From Goya to Max Ernst, 1 Jan. 1970, arthistorynewsreport.blogspot.com/2013/09/1970s-photorealism-at-yale-university.html.
“Photorealism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-photorealism.htm.
Wainwright, Lisa S. “Photo-Realism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 July 2014, www.britannica.com/art/Photo-realism.
Kantrowitz, Jonathan. “Art History News.” Dark Romanticism. From Goya to Max Ernst, 1 Jan. 1970, arthistorynewsreport.blogspot.com/2013/09/1970s-photorealism-at-yale-university.html.
“Photorealism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-photorealism.htm.
Wainwright, Lisa S. “Photo-Realism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 July 2014, www.britannica.com/art/Photo-realism.