I'm going to base this project on a piece from my sketchbook. The plan is to stick with acrylic paint but also work on a canvas instead of art board so that I can add a sense of professionalism. I have also brought the size down in order to produce a more finished product. Earlier projects just felt too spacious where as I am going for a much more defined framework. I will be going for softer edges and cloud-like forms, hopefully to convey a sense of movement and interconnection between the subjects.
I have finished my orange under-painting, and ready to roll. I plan to include images of cold and isolation by setting the piece in an icy sea.
Project #2 is still on the drawing board, but I will continue painting on art board using acrylics. I don't think I will include a self-portrait this time, but I might still include people.
I have sketched out all the pieces of the painting, and have painted in the face. The face will need a few modifications but is essentially complete.
Canvas still blank, but I have the main picture figured out. Just need to start sketching in.
Both readings touched on the topic of why artist make protest art. In both cases it seemed that the art-form gathered people’s attentions. When an important issue had been left neglected and the oppressed group was unable to speak up, that was when protest became a necessary development. Their motives were not rooted in anarchy and chaos, but rather acted as alarms to their respective communities that something was wrong. From group to group the artists became the mediator, speaking not through law and economics, but through universal human emotions. In the case of the Guerilla Girls, the staggering gender inequality in art had gone completely unnoticed. Most everyone was shocked to hear the numbers, the overbearing inequality of against female artists. The affected population is undeniably huge, and in this day and age we as a society have found it to be self-evident that man and women should share equal opportunities in any occupation. The ingredients for a revolution existed, but it needed a catalyst, a nucleation site where a mass of water can turn into a raging storm. Women artists needed a figure, a leader, a name to rally behind, thus Guerilla Girls burst into the scene. A group of determined artists with a common theme would stir up beaker left so unjustly calm. There’s real power in a name, if some freelance underground rebel artist posts a bunch of outrageous numbers on some internet forum, no one would believe them. If a large group of influential people, who also happen to be well versed in their craft, display pieces in professional galleries, people would be more likely to support them. The “Disobedient Object” exhibit takes this concept further by rallying people around an object which derives its meaning from its timing and location. Simple sculptures that would look pretty average in normal places can be transformed into beacons of hope by the disobedient artists. They use juxtaposition and irony to convey a sharp sense of resistance. I especially like the inflatable balloon pieces, which look kind of goofy but are placed in very serious situations like a riot. In my opinion it’s the photo of the some of the “tools of action” that are more powerful than the objects themselves. Although it’s hard to judge since I can’t see it in person, the captured instant turns the object into a symbol. What do you think? Is the photograph the more interesting part of the piece? |
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April 2016
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