Dry Point |
Curiosity's Censor15cm x 20cm
Drypoint print October 2019 Inspired by religious Renaissance art and surreal sculpture Curiosity's Censor is a piece meant to show the silence of inquiry seen in religion as the "Truth" in most religions is meant to be accepted with blind contentment and faith in everything that is displayed in these religions |
Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration for this dry point came mostly from Religeous paintings from Leonardo Da Vinci In particular the different portraits he did. Especially the portrait of Jesus called "Salvatore Mundi (c.1500)" which displays jesus in a very personal and intimate manner with His subtle stare. Another Renaissance painter I took inspiration from was Sandros Botticelli The hand gestures used in both Leonardo's and Botticelli's pieces were a big influence in the one seen in my art piece as it is meant to express wonder. The other Artist I took heavy inspiration from was the Sculptor Johnson Tsang whose use of hands in his surrealist sculptures influenced the use of them in Curiosity's censor.
Though the main focus of tsang's art is that of surrealism and the unconscious mind i found the piece "Speak no evil (2016)" which interested me with the hand silencing the subject. I saw the same kind of suppression in the sculpture from "Lucid Dream Series II - 7" with the two hands squeezing the subjects face. click for citation |
Planning Sketches
At first I wanted to make a dry point print about the passing of habits through siblings and family but saw it as to much of a bland topic and a bit overdone but that doesn't mean the design wasn't interesting as the design was appealing to look at and i would have taken more inspiration from pieces such as "enlightenment of man".
This second sketch was a little more experimental with the addition of a more decorated halo held up by weak strings. This would have symbolized the more flashy but ultimately plastic aspects of some religions such as that of the Catholics and other religions that make a big spectacle of there beliefs when in reality there is no reason for all the glamour of these aspects when their message is the same as others with slight variations.
This third sketch is the one i decided to make which puts a bigger emphasis on the hands and the gesture. I choose this over the second planning sketch since this design more closely resembled my inspiration and the last sketch would have been more inspirations than needed so i
ExperimentationExperimentation didn’t have many applications for this piece and the medium as it is very straight forward. As I worked on the different prints I tried to add more and more detail by carving into the plastic more with the drypoint tool. But the one thing that I would have liked to Do a better job at is shading with but eventually as you can see it didn’t look as pretty as I wanted it to. Instead of giving the subject a more shaded look it made him look weird and I wasn't really a fan. I also realized that during the process my plastic sheet would move a little to much and some things are inconsistent with the sketch and the prints as far as distances between the different aspects of the dry point like the hands and head. I also experimented with the amount of ink I put on the plastic sheet but in the end this would help with the problem of line thickness or clarity. Overall The only print I liked was #3
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Process
I started with the planning sketches where i choose which Design i would chose. From here I would place the plastic sheet on my sketch book and secure it in place with masking tape. From here I would etch out the design with the tool provided by the school. I would etch out each line and would go over thicker lines more times than usual. After etching my entire ketch into the plate i would then get my work space ready. I would get my work space ready by first getting about 6 pieces of news print, the oil based ink, a palette knife and a scrapper.
I would place down my plastic sheet and dip the palette knife into the oil based ink only getting a little bit up to half of the blades length, then I would get the ink onto the plastic sheet and start to scrape the Ink into the sheet until you start to see the design almost clearly on the sheet. From here take as many pieces of newsprint as needed and take off the rest of the ink. from here go to the press and leave on of the sheets down. line up the plastic sheet and a piece of watercolor paper that has been soaking in water for a couple minutes and dried. Now cover the paper and print with the other layers of the press. now turn the wheel on the side and lift up the layers of the press and remove the watercolor paper from the plastic and put it on the drying rack, paint with watercolor in needed.
I would place down my plastic sheet and dip the palette knife into the oil based ink only getting a little bit up to half of the blades length, then I would get the ink onto the plastic sheet and start to scrape the Ink into the sheet until you start to see the design almost clearly on the sheet. From here take as many pieces of newsprint as needed and take off the rest of the ink. from here go to the press and leave on of the sheets down. line up the plastic sheet and a piece of watercolor paper that has been soaking in water for a couple minutes and dried. Now cover the paper and print with the other layers of the press. now turn the wheel on the side and lift up the layers of the press and remove the watercolor paper from the plastic and put it on the drying rack, paint with watercolor in needed.
Reflection
Overall I am happy with the end product. The design is nice and learning how to make art in this new medium was challenging but it looked really nice in the end. The one gripe I have with dry point is the lengthy and overall unforgiving process of making just 1 print. My early prints weren't as nice as I hoped but the final print came out nice and I was pleased with it. Then I add more detail to the sheet and as seen in my experimentation it just got worse as I tried to add more detail since this is my first time using this medium. I think I successfully conveyed the message of questioning religion in my art piece. I believe I caught the facial manipulation Tsang is known for as well as the hand gestures used in Da Vinci's and Botticelli's work. Although I am satisfied with the design I can't help but wonder what using the second planning sketch with the halo would have been like as I saw the concept of religious glorification very interesting. But I failed to use the concepts explored in these artist works rather relying on the use of certain elements of the different artists to form my own meaning.
Compare and Contrast
Comparisons:
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The Inspiration which was Da Vinci showed me how to put emphasis on hand gestures and Tsang's work effected my piece by showing me how to use facial manipulations to elicit an emotion from the viewer.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The sites I used for the most part just showed the artwork and the information regarding dimensions and such But on some websites I found that the authors try to deliver a mostly non biased manner.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I drew the conclusion that many artist such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Botticelli were heavily contempt and deep in their religious beliefs never taking a step back to look at the whole picture.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that of inquiry of religion in a world blinded and flooded by different branches and forms of belief.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can conclude from my research that Renaissance was a period of history and art that involved alot of glorification of both art and religion by both parties.
The Inspiration which was Da Vinci showed me how to put emphasis on hand gestures and Tsang's work effected my piece by showing me how to use facial manipulations to elicit an emotion from the viewer.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The sites I used for the most part just showed the artwork and the information regarding dimensions and such But on some websites I found that the authors try to deliver a mostly non biased manner.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I drew the conclusion that many artist such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Botticelli were heavily contempt and deep in their religious beliefs never taking a step back to look at the whole picture.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that of inquiry of religion in a world blinded and flooded by different branches and forms of belief.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can conclude from my research that Renaissance was a period of history and art that involved alot of glorification of both art and religion by both parties.
Bibliography
The National Gallery, L. (n.d.). Sandro Botticelli. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/sandro-botticelli.
Esparza, D. (2018, December 5). What Do the Hand Gestures in Icons Mean? Retrieved from https://aleteia.org/2016/06/12/what-do-hand-gestures-in-icons-mean/.
Shovava. (2019, February 9). Surreal Sculptures of Contorted Clay Faces Reinterpret Reality. Retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/johnson-tsang-lucid-dream-ii/.
Johnson Tsang - Lucid Dream series, #2-4: See No Evil, Speak No Evil, & Hear No ... - #dream #Evil #hear #Johnson #Lucid #séries #Speak #Tsang. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.favland.org/pimage/628885535446512042/Johnson-Tsang-Lucid-Dream-series-2-4-See-No-Evil-Speak-No-Evil-Hear-No-dream-Evil-hear-Johnson-Lucid-s/.
Leonardo da Vinci Artworks & Famous Paintings. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/da-vinci-leonardo/artworks/.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico151930-39636.html.
Esparza, D. (2018, December 5). What Do the Hand Gestures in Icons Mean? Retrieved from https://aleteia.org/2016/06/12/what-do-hand-gestures-in-icons-mean/.
Shovava. (2019, February 9). Surreal Sculptures of Contorted Clay Faces Reinterpret Reality. Retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/johnson-tsang-lucid-dream-ii/.
Johnson Tsang - Lucid Dream series, #2-4: See No Evil, Speak No Evil, & Hear No ... - #dream #Evil #hear #Johnson #Lucid #séries #Speak #Tsang. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.favland.org/pimage/628885535446512042/Johnson-Tsang-Lucid-Dream-series-2-4-See-No-Evil-Speak-No-Evil-Hear-No-dream-Evil-hear-Johnson-Lucid-s/.
Leonardo da Vinci Artworks & Famous Paintings. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/da-vinci-leonardo/artworks/.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico151930-39636.html.