Graceful Bloodshed91.44cm X 91.44cm
Mixed Media (digital manipulation & silk printing) 11/2/2018 Exhibition Text: Graceful Bloodshed The reason behind Graceful Bloodshed was to demonstrate the violence and beauty that plague the southside of Milwaukee. Graceful Bloodshed was inspired by the Mural of Peace and by Longo’s Bullet Hole in Window. All objects used in the making of Graceful Bloodshed are self made. I tried to fully encapsulate the spirit of the south side that can be seen on the Mural of Peace to show unity within the southside of Milwaukee, trying to give it my own meaning i applied some designs of Bullet Hole in Window to emphasize my meaning
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Rose Tinted Addiction91.44cm X 91.44cm
Mixed Media (digital art & silk printing) 11/2/2018 Exhibition Text: Rose Tinted Addiction In Rose Tinted Addiction my piece portrays the dangers of alcohol and in essence alcohol is a drug and addiction to it is serious. Rose Tinted Addiction is composed of a digital art piece that takes inspiration from Roy Lichtenstein's style, The Use of repetition of my Stencils are reminiscent of Magritte's Golconda. All of the Pieces that came together to create this project were created by me. As for my inspirations I focused primarily on trying to incorporate their hues, repetitions and aesthetic into my piece.
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Artistic Inspiration: Graceful Bloodshed
For Graceful Bloodshed I derived Inspiration from Milwaukee’s Mural of Peace by Reynaldo Hernandez and Robert longo’s Untitled (Bullet hole in window). The Mural of Peace was a mural created to commemorate Milwaukee’s southside, and it’s diversity, aspirations and it’s concerns. I incorporated the symbolic meaning and the composition within Mural of Peace and into my piece. The various figures displayed on my tyvek print represents the big hispanic heritage present in the southside of milwaukee, and the artistic style of the figures are composed of bright intensity and solid colors reminiscent of the Mural of Peace. Robert longo’s Untitled (Bullet hole in window) showcases the damage that a bullet caused as there is a hole representing the scars the bullet left behind. I based my stencils around this certain piece as the present themes fit in perfectly on the message that my piece conveys.
Artistic Inspiration: Rose Tinted Addiction
For Rose Tinted Addiction I got inspired by the Pop Art movement, more specifically Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art. Lichtenstein’s artwork was influenced by the comics of his time this is evident as his pieces feature both thin and dark organic lines, organic shapes, and a variation of colors ranging from both light and dark values. Lichtenstein's work also focused on showing the inanities of American culture. For my tyvek printing I decided to incorporate lichtenstein’s artistic style and implement it into my piece through similar uses of organic lines and color. As for the theme I decided to show the inanities of Mexican culture, most importantly the alcoholism that plagues not only the adults, but also the young. As for my stencils I took inspiration from Magritte’s Golconda as I used the pattern and repetition found within Golconda.
Planning: Graceful Bloodshed
I tried to represent the Southside of Milwaukee, Having the valley be composed of a music pentagram, representing harmony. and letting the Sun be a a flower symbolizing the beautiful summers that i'm so found of. The Sunrise representing a new day and standing for the beautiful sunrises that overlook lake Michigan. But I felt that that the piece was too crowded and sought on to fix that inconvenience.
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Here I cleaned it up and added color, restricting cold and warm colors between two sides within the sketch. I also added highlight to my piece to my piece via gradation. But after receiving criticism I scrapped this whole Idea. While beautifully composed it failed to represent the Southside of Milwaukee, as any city had sunrises and valleys.
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Starting again, new I came up with this design. The figures at the bottom representing the people that live in the Southside of Milwaukee. With the images above the figures representing the active latino community present in the Southside of Milwaukee. While being more focused on the community within the Southside of Milwaukee, I faced the old issue of my piece being too crowded so back to the sketchbook I went.
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Planning: Rose Tinted Addiction
Having decided upon the theme of alcoholism within the Hispanic community. I immediately came up with this, I hate it, The image of the broken bottle I derived from the common image that is broken beer bottles in the Southside. with the liquid oozing out representing alcohol. The reason why I hate it is because it's too basic. As there's a broken beer bottle but how does that apply to my theme of alcoholism within the hispanic culture.
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After doing some more research and getting new artistic inspiration I came up with this. I replaced the broken beer bottle with a beer can, I incorporated a hand grabbing that beer representing the hispanic community, and a red chain representing imprisonment to the drink. While Adjustments would be made latter on, this served as a basis for what became my tyvek print
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Process, Ideas and Intentions: Graceful Bloodshed
Background Composition
Once having the sketch I would be basing my tyvek background, I had complete freedom on how I could approach create my background. For Graceful Bloodshed I wanted to encapsulate the essence of murals and that were present all over Southside Milwaukee. In order to get the same aesthetic I planned to do it manually. After deciding to do it based on paper and pencil I tried many ways on how to bring a mural onto paper. I experimented with markers, pens, and pencils to achieve the visuals I wanted. But after trying Many I decided on a Combination of all. I decided to use a wide variation of hues and values to showcase the colorful and vibrant within the hispanic community. But in comparison to my inspiration it looks more earthy and more inline with the street art of the South Side.
Stencil Factory
Once having my background done and out of the way, Once again there are multiple ways on how to approach stencils, but with more restrictions. As anything you carve out will be filled with paint so its impossible having free hanging objects within your stencils. So keeping this in mind, I made my first stencil be a solid shape. I hated it. The solid shape had the composition of a muddled star, it didn't share the composition with that of a bullet hole. So I went back to the drawing board and designed my stencil to look as much as a bullet hole as possible. I designed the second version to have the illusion of a free hanging object and made it look less like a star. But I was indifferent towards the results as it had the aesthetic of a bullet hole. But when paired up with my background it seemed to have no unity with it, also there were thin slits present in the stencil that would be difficult to see far away. So having all this newfound knowledge I went back and designed a new bullet hole. I wanted to create something that would look like a bullet hole and that would have unity with my background. As it’s more rounded shape not only fit the tone of the background but it did it while still looking like a bullet hole.
Putting It Together
The art of silk screening is a tedious one, as it requires patience and discipline, which I unfortunately had to learn the hard way. There’s several things needed in the process of silk printing but I found myself primary using a blank screen printing frame, a squeegee, stencils, tyvek background, water hose and dryer.
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What Is You Doing?
When I began the process of creating my piece I had various colors with various kinds of transparencies at my disposal. Before arriving at MIAD I had the visual image of doing all my screen prints in black, but at the last moment I decided to use solid colors with little to no transparency. After doing some practice prints I decided to finally print onto my background. The first print came out semi perfect as the bullet hole came fragmented, I was a little disappointed on the outcome but I went for print number two. Print two came out perfect, but for some reason it seemed out of place with my theme. As bullet holes aren’t supposed to be perfect or majestic, as longo said it himself a bullet hole is a bullet hole. So while I did try to make my bullet hole stencils a bit fragmented while conserving their overall shape. I also played around with position of my stencils arranging them in ways that would create rhythm and movement in order get the most impact out of my piece.
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Kowalski Analysis
When compared to Mural of Peace, my piece seems to fall short on an artistic aspect. As the mural is radiating with high intensity hues, organic shapes, variety of form, textures and proportions. In contrast my piece lacks color, movement, and contrasting values which the Mural of Peace offers. When it came to the theme we seem to be more in tune as the Mural of Peace focuses on the diversity present, within the Southside of Milwaukee. In contrast My piece focuses more on the hispanic heritage of the dark side of the moon. Compared to Longo’s Untitled (Bullet hole in window), my piece seemed to execute perfectly the theme and ideas surrounding violence regardless of the differentiating artistic style
Process, Ideas, and Intentions: Rose Tinted Glasses
Background Composition 2: Electric Boogaloo
Once I having the basic concept that I would be basing my background from, I quickly began to debate how to bring it into fruition. After doing some research I stumbled into Lichtenstein’s Pop Art pieces, I wanted to use it’s use of line, vibrant colors, organic shapes, unity and movement. I knew that in order to achieve this stylistic choice that color pencils weren't enough to convey the same aesthetic present within my inspiration. So at home I began to look for various Art Programs and I stumbled upon an art program called krita, I downloaded it and began paying around. This paying around caused me to come up with my first “sketch”. For creating the main structure I mostly used the pain and the line tool, except when it came to curves i either used free draw, circle tool, or round connector. To make things easier i made multiple layers. This not only made things easier but also added depth into my background
Stencil Factory: Part ll
When It came for stencils I knew I wanted to symbolize what alcoholism could cost you, so I decided to use burning money to symbolize it. But I had no idea how to execute my idea I did some research and found Golconda. Golconda uses repetition and rhythm to establish emphasis within it’s piece. Taking inspiration from Golconda’s use of repetition and rhythm. I planned for my stencils to appear in such way when printing. Using what I learned from creating Graceful Bloodshed’s stencils. I was able to create various stencils varying in shapes and sizes. All though they proved to still be a challenge as they now had to be tweaked in ways that they are still supported by the paper so that it does not collapse into itself.
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Putting It Together: The Screen Print Strikes Back
Having shared the process on how to screen print the previously, I won't discuss that again. But instead I will focus on the creation process of Rose Tinted Addiction. When it came to choosing the colors for my stencils I decided to use only grays and blacks. Wanting to take precautions I decided to practice printing on newsprint once having a clear Print, I set off to begin printing on top of my background. I did my first stencil using the practice stencil, after doing the process, I hoped for the best but once I lifted the board frame my hopes were crushed, as a deficient stencil sat on top of my background. I immediately created another stencil next to the first one also to come out incomplete. In hindsight these incomplete stencils were most likely the caused by dried paint within the silk screen. Being a bit frustrated I decided to start off new with a new stencil, that's when I realized that all but the first stencil were out of proportion and took up a large position of the background. But to make matters worse the stencil came out incomplete as well. Frustrated I called it a day and what was once a piece with promising ideas was now what my mom calls me a, mistake.
Kowalski Analysis: the sequel
When comparing Rose Tinted Addiction to Lichtenstein’s pop art pieces, I feel that my piece completely portray my inspiration through its composition, color, shape, and movement. Some contrast between both pieces is that my piece seems to be more active as it’s colors are more bright and vibrant than those found in Lichtenstein’s Piece. But when compared to Magritte’s golconda, my piece shares no resemblance. My piece tried to imitate its use of repetition and rhythm of the figures in golconda and try to apply it to my stencils and to my piece overall. But what resulted was, a completely different piece that has no hint of Golconda present anywhere
Reflection Nation
even Throughout this piece I leaned about the impact of life in general has on art. As this project had me doing research into my community. Looking into my community for artistic inspiration has opened my mind on the influence the world around us has on art, as the world is what gives art its meaning, purpose, color, form, unity, etc. In this project I am content with my outcome. The background and it's harmony with my silk prints, regardless I was left devastated by the poor quality of my silk print in Rose Tinted Addiction. Which was a result of poor craftsmanship on my part.
ACT Questions
1. Q: Explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and it's effect on your artwork
A; For Graceful Bloodshed, the tyvek background shows the vibrant hues, and Hispanic influence that are present within Mural of Peace. As for my stencils, their overall composition is that of Longo's Untitled (Bullet Hole In Window)
2. Q:What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
A: For both Mural of Peace and Untitled the author seem to focus on the story and meaning behind the picture, While Golconda is given a more artistic approach as it talks about it's use of repetition and unity, while Roy Lichtenstein is given a more meaning centered approach
3. Q: What kind of realizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A; That community and culture isn't limited to where you live or your ethnicity, a community can be a group of people with similar interests. while culture can be a movement.
4. Q: What was the central Idea or theme around your inspirational research?
A: For Graceful bloodshed the main idea was the violence that faces the Hispanic community of Milwaukee. For rose tinted addiction the main idea of was the alcoholism that plagues the Hispanic communtiy.
5. Q: What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
A: That the Hispanic community have many problems to deal with but we must not turn a blind eye to them we must face them head on.
A; For Graceful Bloodshed, the tyvek background shows the vibrant hues, and Hispanic influence that are present within Mural of Peace. As for my stencils, their overall composition is that of Longo's Untitled (Bullet Hole In Window)
2. Q:What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
A: For both Mural of Peace and Untitled the author seem to focus on the story and meaning behind the picture, While Golconda is given a more artistic approach as it talks about it's use of repetition and unity, while Roy Lichtenstein is given a more meaning centered approach
3. Q: What kind of realizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A; That community and culture isn't limited to where you live or your ethnicity, a community can be a group of people with similar interests. while culture can be a movement.
4. Q: What was the central Idea or theme around your inspirational research?
A: For Graceful bloodshed the main idea was the violence that faces the Hispanic community of Milwaukee. For rose tinted addiction the main idea of was the alcoholism that plagues the Hispanic communtiy.
5. Q: What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
A: That the Hispanic community have many problems to deal with but we must not turn a blind eye to them we must face them head on.
Sources
“BIOGRAPHY.” Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, lichtensteinfoundation.org/biography/.
“Golconda, 1953 by Rene Magritte.” The Lovers II, 1928 by Rene Magritte, www.renemagritte.org/golconda.jsp.
“Luminous Discontent by Robert Longo.” #59 MAGAZINE, 19 Aug. 2016, 59magazine.nl/art/luminous-discontent-by-robert-longo/.
Silver, Maayan. “A Deeper Look At Milwaukee's South Side 'Mural Of Peace'.” WUWM, www.wuwm.com/post/deeper-look-milwaukees-south-side-mural-peace.
Trouillot, Terence. “Robert Longo on Why 'Making Art Is a Political Gesture, Period'.” Artnet News, Artnet News, 25 Sept. 2017, news.artnet.com/exhibitions/robert-longo-brooklyn-museum-proof-1086530.
“Golconda, 1953 by Rene Magritte.” The Lovers II, 1928 by Rene Magritte, www.renemagritte.org/golconda.jsp.
“Luminous Discontent by Robert Longo.” #59 MAGAZINE, 19 Aug. 2016, 59magazine.nl/art/luminous-discontent-by-robert-longo/.
Silver, Maayan. “A Deeper Look At Milwaukee's South Side 'Mural Of Peace'.” WUWM, www.wuwm.com/post/deeper-look-milwaukees-south-side-mural-peace.
Trouillot, Terence. “Robert Longo on Why 'Making Art Is a Political Gesture, Period'.” Artnet News, Artnet News, 25 Sept. 2017, news.artnet.com/exhibitions/robert-longo-brooklyn-museum-proof-1086530.