Block Print
Celebracion de Los Muertos
Block Print
30cmx26cm
September 2019
Exhibition Text
I knew I wanted to incorporate my Mexican culture and Day of the Dead in my piece. Originally, my work was going to be a sugar skull, similar to “Rhapsody in Blue” by Thaneeya McArdle. I was going to take inspiration by Kathe Kollwitz’ woodcut technique and conveniently, a lot of her work is also inspired by the concept of death in a non-negative light. My intention was to have a sad concept turned opposite. The contrast between my work inspired by Kollwitz & Van Gogh’s background made sense.
Block Print
30cmx26cm
September 2019
Exhibition Text
I knew I wanted to incorporate my Mexican culture and Day of the Dead in my piece. Originally, my work was going to be a sugar skull, similar to “Rhapsody in Blue” by Thaneeya McArdle. I was going to take inspiration by Kathe Kollwitz’ woodcut technique and conveniently, a lot of her work is also inspired by the concept of death in a non-negative light. My intention was to have a sad concept turned opposite. The contrast between my work inspired by Kollwitz & Van Gogh’s background made sense.
Critical Investigation
The Day of The Dead for Mexicans, is celebrating death instead of being in the state of grief. Mostly those of Catholic religion celebrate this holiday on November 2nd. I was inspired by the internationally famous sugar skulls and their designs, which are incorporated into my work. They represent a positive energy towards the dead, decorated around the skull. Sugar skulls are a positive symbol and are often placed on gravestones of loved ones. The design for the background in my work was inspired by Van Gogh's "Van Gogh Self- Portrait" and I incorporate it into my work by interpreting it as an uplifting design as it swirls in all directions, rather than staying in one place which would be more plain, representing the feeling towards the thought of the deceased. I interpret this design as we celebrate the Day of The Dead, not grieving but happy, moving, and celebrating. I was inspired by Kathe Kollwitz' technique in her wooducts and her feeling in the artwork. Quite a bit of her pieces are having to do with death or symbolism of death. She sheds a positive light towards the concept of death in her work since she has dealt with her closest loved ones passing. I decided to incorporate her design and technique in my work to copy the vibe her art gives, since my work is also about dead people. Thaneeya McArdle's work was inspiring for me in the way she creates skull figures giving off an almost happy mood. The skull is shaped in a way that creates a more positive energy as the skull smiles and is not cracked or looks old. The designs in her work are traditional Mexican sugar skull art designs.. My goal was to create an internationally sad idea convert to a happy celebration that is within my culture. Process / Experimentation
I started my block print by drawing my final sketch on with pencil. I sketched on the parts that are going to be black and the white spaces I was going to carve out. I´ve never done this before so I experimented a little with how I should hold the tool and how much pressure I should apply in order to carve out my design. It was a lot harder than I expected. I held the carving tool gripped like making a fist but with my thumb and pointer finger supporting how I control the tool. I started off by carving the middle part of the skull since it was all going to be white anyways, in case I made a mistake and carved too much out. I found that I had to use a lot of upper body strength to carve, the material was harder to carve than I expected. At first it was difficult for me to control the tool since when I carved, the tool would slide forward on its own, carving more than I intended to. I solved that problem by carving hard and controlled downwards rather than straight forward right on the surface. I found that carving in general was easier when I wiggled my tool rather than going in a straight line. It loosened up a bit once I wiggled the tool around, making it easier for me to carve out long lines. When carving the background, I stuck my tool in downwards and moved it through a squiggly line, avoiding the pencil shades areas. I realized it was not looking as good as I wanted it to and it was going to take a lot of time carving out every small piece of the white background. I changed my mind and decided to start carving along the pencil drawn lines so now instead of the pencil lines being black, they were going to be white. This would make it an easier and less time consuming process for me while still creating the same pattern I imagined. Near the eyes, to carve out the dots, I stuck in my tool straight down with a fair amount of force and scooped it back up, which gave me the perfect indent. To create the more Kathe Kollwitz inspired design near the teeth and throughout the skull, I would apply different amounts of pressure and move my tool back and forth to give me the ¨torn¨ or ¨scratched¨ look. I used a v-shaped tool for most of the process which helped me make thinner cuts and control the small details in my piece.
After carving my whole design out, I grabbed a metal pan and placed about half a spoonful of ink in a line on the tray. I grabbed a roller tool and rolled out my ink so I can get an even amount of ink all over the roller. I placed my linoleum block on top of a big sheet of paper in order to not get ink on the table. I began to roll the ink onto my block evenly, adding more to places the ink didn´t get to. Quickly, before it dried, I replaced the paper from underneath with a new sheet so that the following paper I would print my design on wouldn´t get dirty. I grabbed a separate sheet of paper, mentioned before, and I placed it on top of the block. I then used a bamboo baren to smooth over the top of the paper to transfer my design, applying a even amount of pressure all around. I carefully removed my paper and let it dry, resulting in my finished piece. |
Planning
Inspiration / Ideas & Intentions / Process I was inspired by the Mexican, Catholic holiday, Dia de Los Muertos, as well as the art movements of German Expressionism and Impressionism. I planned to show the cultural aspect of the holiday as it is all about celebrating the dead and bringing life to those who have passed. My first sketch was an idea that came to my head, planning out the main goal of what I wanted to create: a sugar skull inspired piece, since sugar skulls are one of the main components of Dia de Los Muertos. The first artist that came to my mind when I was thinking about death inspired pieces, was Kathe Kollwitz, since a good amount of her work is inspired, usually in a positive light of death, similar to what I wanted to create. I came across her woodcut, ¨Kindersterben¨ and it reminded me of a skull and the concept of death so I decided to have that as one of my inspiration pieces. I decided to incorporate the technique used in her piece since it gives an old, torn look with thick and thin white and black lines, varying. I decided to interpret it as how once people have passed, they have gone through their whole life and been through it all so they are ¨torn¨ and not in perfect condition mentally/physically. I knew I wanted to have a variation of positive and negative space so I drew ideas of triangle designs or line designs to further inspire me. In my first brainstorming sketch, I drew traditional sugar skull designs that came to my mind such as geometric shapes and roses and mustaches. For the eyes I wanted to follow the idea of movement but also have a mixture of negative and positive space so I drew a almost spiral design inside the eye with triangles surrounding the outer part of the eye since from my childhood memories, I remember sugar skulls always having some sort of design around the eyes whether that be lines, shapes, or dots. In my second planning sketch, I was further inspired by the works of Van Gogh, Kathe Kollwitz, and Thaneeya McArdle. I planned to use the movement in Van Gogh´s ¨Van Gogh Self-Portrait¨ background design as the background for my piece as it is a moving, swirly pattern, to interpret the happiness and celebration of Dia de Los Muertos rather than staying still and bored. I began to design more in depth what I want to create, sketching out the teeth, eyes, and background in greater detail and more thought put into it. For the eyes, I made them drooping down to give them a "sad" look, contradicting the concept of my piece but also adds to the idea of sadness while the other elements in my piece like the background represent the more happy side. I made flowers on the inside and a small design of lines and dots on the outside of the eyes since they most reminded me of traditional sugar skulls and were also inspired by Thaneeya McArdle's designs. The teeth outline/shape for the skull was inspired by Thaneeya McArdle's skull art piece, as it is just a regular human teeth shape. For my final sketch, I outlined a rectangle the same size as my block print and put together the components I had thought of into one drawing/sketch. I added a couple of extra details and changed some things up to give it a more appealing, or clean look. I drew darkly what was going to be printed in black. I left white the parts I was going to carve out. Reflection / Critique I think I did a great job overall in creating this project. It was my first time ever making a block print. I adapted to the new tools and techniques quite quickly. I think I could have carved with more carefulness or control since a lot of times when I carved out - mostly in the background design, my tool would unintentionally slip forwards and cut unnecessary lines, reflected on my work. I did a good job at controlling my cutting tool on the skull part, though. I was not too happy with the finished product due to the lack of ink on the middle part of the skull. I feel like it looks out of place with the rest of the piece having an equal amount of black and white contrast. If I were to redo this piece, I definitely would not leave the middle part all white. Overall, I think it looks good and it reflects my theme very well. As for my commitment and effort, I was very committed while doing this piece. I got a couple blisters on my hands when I was using the cutting tool but I still kept going. Compare & Contrast Thaneeya McArdle - Rhapsody In Blue My work was inspired from the outline of the skull figure in Thaneeya McArdle´s work. I have the same shape as her design and the same main theme idea in the work of the Mexican holiday, Dia de Los Muertos and being sugar skulls. My meaning is similar to hers as we both incorporate celebration of the dead but my work does not have a completely positive meaning as it is turning sadness to happiness while hers is straight celebration. The nose and eyes of both our works are similar shapes but inside the eyes of mine, I have a different version of the same design of hers. Kathe Kollwitz - Kindersterben Kathe Kollwitz´ is mostly known for her famous woodcuts and the concept of death in a lot of her work. My piece is similarly having to do with death and using the same design as used in her woodcut pieces. For her woodcut, ¨Kindersterben¨ , it is clearly used, vertical lines on the face portion. Rather than straight vertical lines, I decided to make curved lines on the face prtion of my work but staying with the same design of having an equal amount of black and white or making it seem as if the white parts are being scratched off. Vincent Van Gogh - Van Gogh Self-Portrait A similarity between mine and Van Gogh´s work is the background design/pattern. I used the same rhythm used within his painting technique, in my carving method. His is more intricate than mine, as I cannot completely copy his design. Mine is more spaced out and shortage of lines while his is long swirly lines next to one another. Both of our works have a strong amount of detail except they are both focused on different things and with different meanings. The meaning for my work is the concept of death while his is more lively, with a portrait of himself focusing on the intensity of his facial expression, known as one of the most intense portraits.
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ACT Questions
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork?
The sugar skull image and designs are shown in my work with the main part being a sugar skull and including Impressionism background designs carved out deeply. I incorporate German Expressionism as the idea of my work is a very emotional subject. My overall design appears as a gestural look.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author from the Sugar Skull page, was also the illustrator of the work, interpreting her work as a happy celebration of the dead in Mexican Culture, but did not include work ethics. The authors from my artist inspirations were simply stating the artists intentions of the work and technique used, as one would.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, ect. while you researched your inspiration?
The Day of the Dead originates from Mexico and the religion of Christianity, although many Catholics celebrate it as well. It is widely celebrated in Latin America and other countries, not limited to only Mexico.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was all about the concept of death and celebrating it in Mexican culture.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Dia de Los Muertos is a holiday that is very important to Mexicans and their culture as it is celebrated widely through Mexico and Latin America. I can also infer that German Expressionism is a famous art movement used by many artists to create work that has a deep meaning to it, not only to them, but internationally.
The sugar skull image and designs are shown in my work with the main part being a sugar skull and including Impressionism background designs carved out deeply. I incorporate German Expressionism as the idea of my work is a very emotional subject. My overall design appears as a gestural look.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author from the Sugar Skull page, was also the illustrator of the work, interpreting her work as a happy celebration of the dead in Mexican Culture, but did not include work ethics. The authors from my artist inspirations were simply stating the artists intentions of the work and technique used, as one would.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, ect. while you researched your inspiration?
The Day of the Dead originates from Mexico and the religion of Christianity, although many Catholics celebrate it as well. It is widely celebrated in Latin America and other countries, not limited to only Mexico.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was all about the concept of death and celebrating it in Mexican culture.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Dia de Los Muertos is a holiday that is very important to Mexicans and their culture as it is celebrated widely through Mexico and Latin America. I can also infer that German Expressionism is a famous art movement used by many artists to create work that has a deep meaning to it, not only to them, but internationally.
Bibliography
Sugar Skull Art: Colorful Day of the Dead Art by Thaneeya McArdle — Thaneeya.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thaneeya.com/sugar-skull-art
Kathe Kollwitz (1867 - 1945) — Brier Hill Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://brierhillgallery.com/kathe-kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz Artworks & Famous Paintings. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/kollwitz-kathe/artworks/#pnt_4
Vincent Van Gogh - Self Portraits. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/van_gogh.htm
Kathe Kollwitz (1867 - 1945) — Brier Hill Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://brierhillgallery.com/kathe-kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz Artworks & Famous Paintings. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/kollwitz-kathe/artworks/#pnt_4
Vincent Van Gogh - Self Portraits. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/van_gogh.htm