Exhibition Text
Man With Gas Mask
Drypoint
17.5 x 12.5 cm
October 2016
'Man With Gas Mask' is a drypoint meant to represent people who are angry with the current beliefs of how people should behave and how they want to create a revolution that changes that. The gas mask is meant to be a symbol of revolution and the messy look is supposed to create a sense of anger. The piece was inspired by the street art of Banksy and the paintings of Tony Bevan.
Man With Gas Mask
Drypoint
17.5 x 12.5 cm
October 2016
'Man With Gas Mask' is a drypoint meant to represent people who are angry with the current beliefs of how people should behave and how they want to create a revolution that changes that. The gas mask is meant to be a symbol of revolution and the messy look is supposed to create a sense of anger. The piece was inspired by the street art of Banksy and the paintings of Tony Bevan.
Inspiration
The main inspiration for this piece came from Tony Bevan's "Man with Surrounding Black" and "You have beautiful eyes" by Banksy. Tony Bevan is an English artist that mainly works with the idea of psychological insanity. Most of his paintings are portraits of people that appear to be in extreme psychological states. "Man with Surrounding Black" is a drawing of a man with his mouth open and a vacant look in his eyes. He employs a messier style to draw it which makes the man look even more insane. I attempted to use his seemingly careless and messy drawing style to make the subject in my drypoint appear more insane and psychologically stressed. Banksy is an English street artist who began creating graffiti in the early 1990s. He uses stencils to create striking work which is sometimes accompanied by a slogan. His work is a social protest that varies from criticizing war to opposing capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed. "You have beautiful eyes" shows a woman that looks like something that would be typically seen in a Victorian era piece, except she is wearing a gas mask. He secretly hung this piece inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art near old historical paintings. I used the gas mask in my piece to try and represent the act of rebelling and protesting against an oppressive system which is what many street artists mean when the use a gas mask in their work.
The main inspiration for this piece came from Tony Bevan's "Man with Surrounding Black" and "You have beautiful eyes" by Banksy. Tony Bevan is an English artist that mainly works with the idea of psychological insanity. Most of his paintings are portraits of people that appear to be in extreme psychological states. "Man with Surrounding Black" is a drawing of a man with his mouth open and a vacant look in his eyes. He employs a messier style to draw it which makes the man look even more insane. I attempted to use his seemingly careless and messy drawing style to make the subject in my drypoint appear more insane and psychologically stressed. Banksy is an English street artist who began creating graffiti in the early 1990s. He uses stencils to create striking work which is sometimes accompanied by a slogan. His work is a social protest that varies from criticizing war to opposing capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed. "You have beautiful eyes" shows a woman that looks like something that would be typically seen in a Victorian era piece, except she is wearing a gas mask. He secretly hung this piece inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art near old historical paintings. I used the gas mask in my piece to try and represent the act of rebelling and protesting against an oppressive system which is what many street artists mean when the use a gas mask in their work.
Process
Planning Sketches
Planning Sketches
I originally was going to create a piece about space in a similar manner to my block print but I decided not to after I couldn't decide on how to tie my meaning to space.
|
First sketch with a gas mask, I decided not to use this as my final inspiration because it lacks an immediate connection to my meaning and is not as visually appealing as my other sketch.
|
Second sketch with gas mask, I used this as my final inspiration because I believed that the hood gave a better connection to my meaning and it is more visually appealing than my first sketch.
|
Experimenting
Etching Process
To create this drypoint I first had to etch my design into a Plexiglas plate. I placed the Plexiglas plate over my final sketch and began to scratch out parts of the plate. We were supposed to use a needle specifically designed for drypoint but I did not have one when I was working at my house so instead I used a nail which ended up working perfectly. I used the crosshatching method to achieve some rudimentary shadows in the final print but the don't look very good.
Printing Process
The first step in the printing process was to place a piece of watercolor paper into a bucket of water for about 5 to 8 minutes. Once the paper is soaking I took ink and used a palette knife to spread the ink over the plate and push it into all of the crevasses in the plate. Then I used pieces of newsprint to wipe off excess ink from the top of the plate while trying not to wipe any out of the grooves. Once the top of the plate was cleared and there was only ink left in the scratches I took the soaking watercolor paper and dried it off so it was only slightly damp. Then I placed the plate face up and then put the watercolor paper onto it. I then ran it through the roller to push the ink out of the grooves and onto the watercolor. I had to repeat this process several times before getting a semi-decent print.
Etching Process
To create this drypoint I first had to etch my design into a Plexiglas plate. I placed the Plexiglas plate over my final sketch and began to scratch out parts of the plate. We were supposed to use a needle specifically designed for drypoint but I did not have one when I was working at my house so instead I used a nail which ended up working perfectly. I used the crosshatching method to achieve some rudimentary shadows in the final print but the don't look very good.
Printing Process
The first step in the printing process was to place a piece of watercolor paper into a bucket of water for about 5 to 8 minutes. Once the paper is soaking I took ink and used a palette knife to spread the ink over the plate and push it into all of the crevasses in the plate. Then I used pieces of newsprint to wipe off excess ink from the top of the plate while trying not to wipe any out of the grooves. Once the top of the plate was cleared and there was only ink left in the scratches I took the soaking watercolor paper and dried it off so it was only slightly damp. Then I placed the plate face up and then put the watercolor paper onto it. I then ran it through the roller to push the ink out of the grooves and onto the watercolor. I had to repeat this process several times before getting a semi-decent print.
Reflection
This project became a major issue for me and overall I am not pleased with how it turned out. My first and most important issue is the meaning behind the piece and how it is not very obvious to see. The meaning behind all of my art pieces should be obvious to see as soon as someone looks at it but I believe this drypoint does not do that. I realized that my piece should have included more visual cues to emphasize my meaning after I had finished inscribing it into the plate and I did not have the time to redo it so I just decided to keep it as it is. I also believe that the meaning that I was attempting to go for was a bad decision. By attempting to combine the meanings of both of my artists I created a confusing and unintelligent meaning that I ended up executing poorly. Another issue with this piece is the visual aspect to it. My final piece looks messy which was partially my intention but it was not executed the way I wanted it. I originally wanted to have lots of messy lines around the piece to make it seem more chaotic and strange but the final piece has lots of spots that should have had ink in them but don't and it looks quickly done. I also believe that during the printing process I let the paper soak for too long and the fibers in the paper broke apart too much and it made the ink bleed into the paper which made the lines look less clean.
This project became a major issue for me and overall I am not pleased with how it turned out. My first and most important issue is the meaning behind the piece and how it is not very obvious to see. The meaning behind all of my art pieces should be obvious to see as soon as someone looks at it but I believe this drypoint does not do that. I realized that my piece should have included more visual cues to emphasize my meaning after I had finished inscribing it into the plate and I did not have the time to redo it so I just decided to keep it as it is. I also believe that the meaning that I was attempting to go for was a bad decision. By attempting to combine the meanings of both of my artists I created a confusing and unintelligent meaning that I ended up executing poorly. Another issue with this piece is the visual aspect to it. My final piece looks messy which was partially my intention but it was not executed the way I wanted it. I originally wanted to have lots of messy lines around the piece to make it seem more chaotic and strange but the final piece has lots of spots that should have had ink in them but don't and it looks quickly done. I also believe that during the printing process I let the paper soak for too long and the fibers in the paper broke apart too much and it made the ink bleed into the paper which made the lines look less clean.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
Banks's painting mainly inspired my use of the gas mask as a main component in my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has taken regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The information about Banksy and Tony Bevan was strictly biographical and neither of the authors expressed their personal opinions on the artists.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that most people are angry about the current political and social state of the world and want to see change.
What is the central theme or idea around your central research?
My central theme was the idea of being angry at social norms and opinions of how people should act and how people want to change that.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
During my research I inferred that Banksy and Tony Bevan had to have had difficult lives that inspired them to create the gruesomely beautiful art that they do.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
Banks's painting mainly inspired my use of the gas mask as a main component in my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has taken regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The information about Banksy and Tony Bevan was strictly biographical and neither of the authors expressed their personal opinions on the artists.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that most people are angry about the current political and social state of the world and want to see change.
What is the central theme or idea around your central research?
My central theme was the idea of being angry at social norms and opinions of how people should act and how people want to change that.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
During my research I inferred that Banksy and Tony Bevan had to have had difficult lives that inspired them to create the gruesomely beautiful art that they do.