Project TwoTitle: Without Purpose
Size: 5'1" by 3' Medium: Acrylic paint, hair, and acrylic varnish Date: October 2021 Exhibition Text: As often as humans waste valuable resources, we also expel resources for art and other forms of expression. This painting inspired by Claude Monet, and was created to highlight the use of unusable materials and make viewers overly uncomfortable. The painting brings forth the discussion of both how hair displays femininity, and how it also portrays illness.
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Inspiration:
While searching for an artist that could mimic the type of art I was hoping to produce I came across Claude Monet's artwork. Both as a person and as an artist, Monet was devoted to taking realistic images and making them come to life in the abstract form. Originally Monet focused on just the core idea of what shapes looked like. Monet was a spiritic artists that liked to indulge in his work completely. French painter who was the initiator, leader, and staunch defender of the Impressionist style. In his later works, Monet developed his method of creating repeated studies of the same motif in series, alternating the canvases with light or changing interest. These series were often showed in groups, for example Monet's Haystack Pictures (1890/91) and Rouen Cathedral (1894). At his home in Giverny, Monet created the water lily pond, which served as the inspiration for his latest series of paintings. Monet's popularity increased in the second half of the 20th century. Impressionism, widely viewed, was a celebration of the luxuries of the middle-class life. Monet’s subject matter from this period often involved scenes featuring his wife, son, and garden. Yet, painting la vie moderne (“modern life”) was not the main aim of Monet’s art. More significantly, in his case, was his restless search for painterly means to implement his view of nature. This view of nature also peaked my interest when planning a painting. |
More than just his ambitious figure paintings, works as "On the Bank of the Seine", Bennecourt (1868) or "The Beach at Sainte-Adresse" (1867) give a clear accounting of Monet’s advance toward the Impressionist style. Overall, his work was regarded of some of the most interesting and influential paintings of his time. This grasp on taking color away from shape and shape from color, furthered my interest and lead me to choose him as my inspiration for my own painting.
Planning:
As I began working out my planning process for this piece I knew I would have to be specific about the connections that I was going to make so that it could be more obvious to the viewer. I needed to find an inspiration that showed use of color to create a tone, while also being disturbing for the viewer to look at and enjoy. I drew most of the elements from Monet's very impressionist paintings. The paintings had the same color theme and overall composition, while also having a different focus and overall feel. This allowed for the two to not be identical in nature, but still extremely similar. In order to match the theme that Monet had when creating his paintings, so I focused on three things.
1. Using muted colors- Monet focused on muted yellows and pale pinks, so I would do the same
2. Including one abstract detail- To allow the viewer to be drawn in just has Monet did with the purple line or orange sun
3. Having a smooth overall look to the piece- Having all the brushstrokes be the same size
These three things helped me to shape my artwork into a piece that would truly show emotion and show the main themes of the work. In order to properly plan this piece I began by laying out what I wanted to accomplish each day that I would work on the piece. I began with picking out a color pallet that would properly fit into the theme of my piece. This would allow me to keep my creativity balanced while also being productive. Next, I worked on what my main focal point would be. I planned on following in my inspirations footsteps, and using the abstract detail, the most interesting part of the painting, to show the amount of emotion in the piece. This would allow me to use all of the three elements listed above to truly show the theme. Lastly, I planned out my construct, because my piece was life size I had had to take extra time on this step. I wanted the piece to be able to fit to the original inspiration photo and also be recognizable as a shower wall with hair. To do this I had had spend time making sure the hair stayed on the piece, and not being messy all over, which would cause it to distort the final products aesthetic. Eventually, I worked on making sure the piece was simple enough to be enjoyed, but also gross enough to make the viewer think twice about what they were seeing.
As I began working out my planning process for this piece I knew I would have to be specific about the connections that I was going to make so that it could be more obvious to the viewer. I needed to find an inspiration that showed use of color to create a tone, while also being disturbing for the viewer to look at and enjoy. I drew most of the elements from Monet's very impressionist paintings. The paintings had the same color theme and overall composition, while also having a different focus and overall feel. This allowed for the two to not be identical in nature, but still extremely similar. In order to match the theme that Monet had when creating his paintings, so I focused on three things.
1. Using muted colors- Monet focused on muted yellows and pale pinks, so I would do the same
2. Including one abstract detail- To allow the viewer to be drawn in just has Monet did with the purple line or orange sun
3. Having a smooth overall look to the piece- Having all the brushstrokes be the same size
These three things helped me to shape my artwork into a piece that would truly show emotion and show the main themes of the work. In order to properly plan this piece I began by laying out what I wanted to accomplish each day that I would work on the piece. I began with picking out a color pallet that would properly fit into the theme of my piece. This would allow me to keep my creativity balanced while also being productive. Next, I worked on what my main focal point would be. I planned on following in my inspirations footsteps, and using the abstract detail, the most interesting part of the painting, to show the amount of emotion in the piece. This would allow me to use all of the three elements listed above to truly show the theme. Lastly, I planned out my construct, because my piece was life size I had had to take extra time on this step. I wanted the piece to be able to fit to the original inspiration photo and also be recognizable as a shower wall with hair. To do this I had had spend time making sure the hair stayed on the piece, and not being messy all over, which would cause it to distort the final products aesthetic. Eventually, I worked on making sure the piece was simple enough to be enjoyed, but also gross enough to make the viewer think twice about what they were seeing.
Process/Techniques/Inspiration:
As I began putting the final piece together I had had to focus on using my skills as both an artist, but also focusing my creativity. I wanted my piece to cohesively work well together, while also giving off the complexity I was hoping for. I had not worked on such a large scale very much in the past, so this was a test of my skills as an artist, as well as my understanding of the process I had set for myself. I began by sketching out the tiles and format, and then working to the hair so that the piece would surround the hair and its texture most. This would guide the viewers eyes to the details of the hair and grossness of it, rather than the paint of the tiles. Next, I had to focus on how the hair would attach to the painting. I needed a solution that would allow me to have the hair look wet. I was able to create a mixture out of a modge podge and varnish. This allowed the hair to stick to the canvas while also looking as if it was really in the shower. Continuing, in order to create the best quality piece that I could, I focused on my technique a lot. For example, I focused intently on not having the varnish over power the surface of the piece. This would promote better composition of the piece in the end. Furthermore, I focused on having the space between the tiles clean and evenly painted. This added a lot of time to the overall process of my piece, but resulted with a cleaner finishing product. The hair, for instance, took a long time to complete; but the overall finished look gave the exact look that I was going for. Giving the final product a complex and clean look. Finally, I focused on my technique of spacial awareness as well to allow the piece to be life size, and accurate to my own showers size. I wanted to keep it as realistic to the size so that the connection between the inspirational photo and the final piece would be obvious. This allowed for an overall deeper meaning which was important in finishing the piece as a whole. In another project I would want to create a more detailed set of tiles showing the exact connection of the painting to a real shower. It definitely takes a more impressionist approach as of right now. Overall, the piece gave way for more inspiration as I added each element together. All in all, the piece very obviously is a hair on a shower wall and that was the goal from the beginning, so I would call it a success. |
Experimentation/Critique/Compare and Contrast:
In my past experimentations with art, I have not focused on creating such a large scale piece. This creates a struggle for me when I was given the opportunity to create a piece entirely focused on the size of the painting. I took this into account when I started my piece. I first began my piece by focusing on just the final composition of how I would connect my inspiration to my final creation. I knew that I wanted the piece to look cohesive, while also being made up of several different components. So I experimented with different shades of color for each element of the tiles and shadows, as well as adding other unusual shapes that would end up creating the shadows and framing the tiles. Doing these things helped me better understand how to put together the final composition for the piece. During the process I learned three very important things:
1. Using a half water half paint wash does a very good job at making the colors less immediately vibrant.
2. Using modge podge to glue hair to a canvas works surprisingly well, even if you wet the hair first.
3. Using a thin layer of varnish works well to make the painting either look shiny, or in my case, wet.
Continuing, these three things helped me evaluate my success as an artist and my understanding of my inspiration as I worked on it. I also experimented with the techniques I used to attach the hair together. Originally I tried attaching the hai pieces together with just bits of Elmers glue, but as soon as I laid down the piece, it would start to come apart. This led me to using wet hair and modge podge which ultimately was most successful, but took a lot more time. Furthermore, the composition of the entire piece was extremely important. This can be interpreted in many ways but ultimately had to be focused onto one singular meaning. This was something I struggled with originally because it was an aspect of the piece I knew was important, but I had so many ideas. Eventually I was able to have enough ideas that I could create a singular focal point, while also looking like it was a cohesive piece. Finally, with these concepts, I was a was able to create a piece that flowed and used line and balance to create a painting that looked like my shower that had hair on the wall. Using my new skills surrounding technical art, I had a better understanding of using varnish and acrylic paint to create a large scale artwork.
In my past experimentations with art, I have not focused on creating such a large scale piece. This creates a struggle for me when I was given the opportunity to create a piece entirely focused on the size of the painting. I took this into account when I started my piece. I first began my piece by focusing on just the final composition of how I would connect my inspiration to my final creation. I knew that I wanted the piece to look cohesive, while also being made up of several different components. So I experimented with different shades of color for each element of the tiles and shadows, as well as adding other unusual shapes that would end up creating the shadows and framing the tiles. Doing these things helped me better understand how to put together the final composition for the piece. During the process I learned three very important things:
1. Using a half water half paint wash does a very good job at making the colors less immediately vibrant.
2. Using modge podge to glue hair to a canvas works surprisingly well, even if you wet the hair first.
3. Using a thin layer of varnish works well to make the painting either look shiny, or in my case, wet.
Continuing, these three things helped me evaluate my success as an artist and my understanding of my inspiration as I worked on it. I also experimented with the techniques I used to attach the hair together. Originally I tried attaching the hai pieces together with just bits of Elmers glue, but as soon as I laid down the piece, it would start to come apart. This led me to using wet hair and modge podge which ultimately was most successful, but took a lot more time. Furthermore, the composition of the entire piece was extremely important. This can be interpreted in many ways but ultimately had to be focused onto one singular meaning. This was something I struggled with originally because it was an aspect of the piece I knew was important, but I had so many ideas. Eventually I was able to have enough ideas that I could create a singular focal point, while also looking like it was a cohesive piece. Finally, with these concepts, I was a was able to create a piece that flowed and used line and balance to create a painting that looked like my shower that had hair on the wall. Using my new skills surrounding technical art, I had a better understanding of using varnish and acrylic paint to create a large scale artwork.
Compare and Contrast:
The two images share many similarities including color, composition, and impressionism style. They focus on using pale colors with one accent so that the piece can have a more specific focal point. This is what brings the two pieces closer together. They are also similar in inspiration because they are both inspired by surroundings of the painting and are taken from a direct inspiration (photo and eyes). However, they are also both very different in ways such as material used, size of the piece, reason for painting, and overall message hoping to be conveyed. Monet did not make his piece so that others would begin to talk about a subject otherwise left in the dark (which is what I did). Monet also focused on using more colors than I did when you break it down into numbers of colors used. Monet focused on creating houses and using the impressionist eye to make the viewer imagine it themself. Where as I used impressionism to get close to the actual image, but leave a lot of imagination also up to the viewer. |
Reflection:
Looking back on the final piece that I created, I am very proud of the process and product I was able to produce. I was able to adapt quickly to using a skill set I was not used to using, which helped me learn about what my strengths and weaknesses were. Continuing, I was able to see a clear connection between my inspiration and my final piece. I included similar themes, as well as similar final lessons for the viewer to take away. I wanted to focus on the "creepiness" of the artwork and make it the entire piece. That way it would flip the subjects from the original calmness of a bathroom. I knew in the beginning of this piece I had to focus on getting to a final product and not correction every single mistake that I would make. Although I am not a perfectionist, when I work on art I tend to over analyze the piece I am creating and never finish my projects. Knowing this was something I would have to work around I planned out each day and how much work I would get done on that day. This helped me to finish my painting in a timely manner and create a piece I was overall truly proud of.
Continuing, my favorite part of creating this piece was definitely creating the hair for the background. I had never created a piece out of hair before, so it was a fun test of skill. I enjoyed the amount of creative freedom it gave me when I worked on putting all the different ideas in my head together. Originally I did not know what to put as hair, but as soon as I realized I could could use a mix of painted hair and real hair to add texture to the piece. Continuing, when I try and create a large scale piece it can be difficult to stick to a specific theme. This was something that i worked hard on staying consistent through this piece and this was reflected in the final product. Even now, I am still working on improving my skills when it comes to felt, but this process showed me the strengths and weaknesses I already had.
In conclusion, I hope that others take my work as a chance to look back on their own life. This piece, although relatively innocent on the outside, has a lot of meaning, and this makes it even more meaningful. Often times the loss of hair is related to age, eating disorders, cancer, and many other problems and illnesses. To me this painting highlights those problems and allows people to see them as a part of life, that can be helped and improved upon. I want to bring awareness to the "gross" and make it a subject people can talk about more freely.
Looking back on the final piece that I created, I am very proud of the process and product I was able to produce. I was able to adapt quickly to using a skill set I was not used to using, which helped me learn about what my strengths and weaknesses were. Continuing, I was able to see a clear connection between my inspiration and my final piece. I included similar themes, as well as similar final lessons for the viewer to take away. I wanted to focus on the "creepiness" of the artwork and make it the entire piece. That way it would flip the subjects from the original calmness of a bathroom. I knew in the beginning of this piece I had to focus on getting to a final product and not correction every single mistake that I would make. Although I am not a perfectionist, when I work on art I tend to over analyze the piece I am creating and never finish my projects. Knowing this was something I would have to work around I planned out each day and how much work I would get done on that day. This helped me to finish my painting in a timely manner and create a piece I was overall truly proud of.
Continuing, my favorite part of creating this piece was definitely creating the hair for the background. I had never created a piece out of hair before, so it was a fun test of skill. I enjoyed the amount of creative freedom it gave me when I worked on putting all the different ideas in my head together. Originally I did not know what to put as hair, but as soon as I realized I could could use a mix of painted hair and real hair to add texture to the piece. Continuing, when I try and create a large scale piece it can be difficult to stick to a specific theme. This was something that i worked hard on staying consistent through this piece and this was reflected in the final product. Even now, I am still working on improving my skills when it comes to felt, but this process showed me the strengths and weaknesses I already had.
In conclusion, I hope that others take my work as a chance to look back on their own life. This piece, although relatively innocent on the outside, has a lot of meaning, and this makes it even more meaningful. Often times the loss of hair is related to age, eating disorders, cancer, and many other problems and illnesses. To me this painting highlights those problems and allows people to see them as a part of life, that can be helped and improved upon. I want to bring awareness to the "gross" and make it a subject people can talk about more freely.
ACT Questions:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- While completing my artwork I was able to clearly identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect on my artwork through the discussion of focus unique media. My inspiration directly influenced the size of the model to be the focus of the entire piece as well use not traditional forms of materials to create a painting.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
-Monet wanted to create an abstract view of a common scene while also allowing the piece to be questioned by the viewer. He focused on including multiple color pallets while also allowing the product to look professional and finished.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- As I researched the inspiration I came to the conclusion that often times people often get grossed out by something complete natural; ex. periods, body hair, etc. Using abstract art/preforming art can be helpful to dismantle this stigma. I generalized this stigma to hair in general, and thus leading me to my final product of hair on a shower wall.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central idea/theme of my inspirational research was not having purpose. This allowed me to focus my research on finding pieces of art work that served no purpose, other than to be art and to be looked at. The same way in which hair is not used for a greater purpose, the painting will just be there to look at and enjoy.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I had to make inferences about the meaning behind Monet's pieces and I also had to inference how throughout the times stigmas would change. This adaption allowed me to focus beyond the moment of creating the piece, but how it would affect the viewer later on.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- While completing my artwork I was able to clearly identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect on my artwork through the discussion of focus unique media. My inspiration directly influenced the size of the model to be the focus of the entire piece as well use not traditional forms of materials to create a painting.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
-Monet wanted to create an abstract view of a common scene while also allowing the piece to be questioned by the viewer. He focused on including multiple color pallets while also allowing the product to look professional and finished.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- As I researched the inspiration I came to the conclusion that often times people often get grossed out by something complete natural; ex. periods, body hair, etc. Using abstract art/preforming art can be helpful to dismantle this stigma. I generalized this stigma to hair in general, and thus leading me to my final product of hair on a shower wall.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central idea/theme of my inspirational research was not having purpose. This allowed me to focus my research on finding pieces of art work that served no purpose, other than to be art and to be looked at. The same way in which hair is not used for a greater purpose, the painting will just be there to look at and enjoy.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I had to make inferences about the meaning behind Monet's pieces and I also had to inference how throughout the times stigmas would change. This adaption allowed me to focus beyond the moment of creating the piece, but how it would affect the viewer later on.
Citations:
Google Arts. (n.d.). Claude Monet - Google Arts & Culture. Google. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/claude-monet/m01xnj?hl=en.
Oscar-Claude Monet. Claude Oscar Monet - The Complete Works. (2011). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://www.claudemonetgallery.org/.
Google Arts. (n.d.). Claude Monet - Google Arts & Culture. Google. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/claude-monet/m01xnj?hl=en.
Oscar-Claude Monet. Claude Oscar Monet - The Complete Works. (2011). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://www.claudemonetgallery.org/.