Title: It All Comes Together Size: 25.5 x 38 cm Medium: Colored Pencil on Illustration Board Date: November 28th, 2020 This piece initially was made to represent the acceptance of the complexity of a person, and how they could be made of varying pieces. The pieces, while different, overall form the people who we are today. It was formed by an adaptation of cubism that focused more on a semi-realistic appearance, while still retaining some of the abstract qualities of many cubism pieces. |
Artist Inspiration
For my artist inspiration, I chose the french artist Robert Delaunay. I chose this artist because I was originally looking for inspiration from art that had both an abstract approach, but with a realistic figure. I wanted the project I was creating to represent the feeling of closure from a complex scenario. Cubism was initially looked at to find the abstract aspect that I was looking for, but many of the art presented focused on abstract shapes rather than forming a recognizable figure. This artist stood out as it combined a style of cubism to form a human figure, using primarily small square strokes to create a picture of the man (Jean Metzinger).
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Planning
As for the eyes of the model, I wanted to choose eyes that would initially fit with the style for cubism. I was initially leaning towards shadows that left the impression of eyes (middle example), however since eyes played an important part of the "realistic" aspect of the project, I chose the bulky, lighter versions of the eyes. |
Process and Experimentation
I initially started the project by developing a light pencil sketch of the person in general. being the soon-to-be grey suit, black hair, and face. The character retained some aspects of my looks such as the messy hair and facial hair, but some things, such as glasses, were omitted. I felt as though drawing the person how I felt would further connect with the theme of "the pieces falling together".
I then separated the character into numerous shapes. The shapes varied from rectangles to triangles to varying polygons. Some shapes had round ends or intersected with other shapes, and served as one of their borders. I shaded the borders and surrounding space with further intensity, which lessened as I got closer to the shape's center. When coloring the face, sketch outlines were erased to avoid the sketch from contrasting the color. Dark shades of the face's colors were used so that the borders were still visible.
Lastly, I completed the background in a similar matter to that of the man. I used vibrant colors to symbolize the difference between the pieces that make us up, compared to those that make up our surroundings, whether they be people objects (in this case, objects that make up the space around us).
Compare and Contrast
Compare
- Relies on the use of shapes to form a humanoid figure - Background is purely consistent of varying colors (No visible objects besides the men) - Colors present in the background considerably contrast (most of) the colors on the men. |
Contrast
- My work relies on varying shapes at varying sizes; not all shapes are small nor are they all rectangles. - My work focuses the intensity of colors on the outside of the shapes, and the color becomes less intense closer to the center. - Multiple colors (while difficult to see) are present in the creation of Delaunay's suit and hair. This does not apply to my work. |
Reflection
Overall, I am not completely content with this work. The shape of the man, while not exactly completely off, had some flaws in its design. These flaws were especially seen in parts where the character has been split apart. The design loses some of it's "realistic" areas in favor of having straight polygons along the character. This causes some parts (primarily the hair) to have a blocky appearance. Another area of concern is the skin tone of the face, which consists primarily of yellow and orange. The ratio and intensity of these colors caused a blend that lead to an overall discolored face, and lead to a design considerably different than intended. I did, however, find myself content with the blending used for the shapes in the background and parts of the character, with intense borders and lighter interior design.
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.
Delaunay's work had it's largest impact on the overall design of my work, considering it is a parody. My initial reasoning for approaching this artist is due to the recognizable shapes in cubism, where that does not often apply to other artists. I wanted a complex but recognizable design similar to his work.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I believe the approach of the author considering the art was an overall tribute to the model, who was also considered a cubism artist. In a way, it's unique style is capable of bringing attention to itself, and bringing attention to the things included within the piece.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you
researched your inspiration?
While searching for my inspiration, I took not of how strong of a presence cubism has in terms of abstract art, often being the epicenter of distorted beings and complex creatures. Delaunay's work help proved that the complexity does not have to be nearly as intense to bring attention to it.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Being the positive illustration, I wanted a piece that focused on acceptance or closure. In this case, the piece was to represent the acceptance of the complex nature of people, and how experiences and developments that occur make us considerably different than our surroundings.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Not only is a parody of singular art possible, but there are many variations of the same style of art that could be considered their own parodies. If you think of it like that, individual art styles themselves can be considered our own little parodies.
Bibliography
“Portrait of Jean Metzinger - Digital Remastered Edition by Robert Delaunay.” Fine Art America, fineartamerica.com/featured/portrait-of-jean-metzinger-digital-remastered-edition-robert-delaunay.html. - (Source of Image)