Title: beautiful little girl
Size: 20cm X 15cm
Medium: Dry Point
Completion Date: October 2, 2017
Size: 20cm X 15cm
Medium: Dry Point
Completion Date: October 2, 2017
Exhibition Text
“Beautiful little girl,” is a continuation of my block print Calla Lily in Flames; It's my sister’s image juxtaposed onto a Mucha-esque (art nouveau artist), background. The influence is clear knowing how he used beautiful, delicate girls and flowers. The title is a reference to Jorja Smith’s song Beautiful Little Fool. Together they portray my theme of purity, specifically the consequences of instilling purity as a value for little girls and my own personal fear for my sister to succumb to this.
Inspiration
Art Nouveau
Art nouveau is an art movement that can be best described as a fresh a breath air in the midst of the industrialization of the time. While some movements work to be representative of the times, this one decided to reject the simple, mechanical ones of their time. It is keeping that in mind that the idea of using this movement sparked for me. My idea was to maintain the same or similar theme as my piece “Calla Lily in Flames”. In that piece the message is the irrelevance of purity which at first does not exactly seems like something that can portrayed in the elegant and carefree style of art nouveau. Still I thought it would be incredibly interesting to see how I could portray my heavy theme into the airy and delicate style of art nouveau.
"Art Nouveau Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm#beginnings_header. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
"Art Nouveau Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm#beginnings_header. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
Mucha
Alphonse Mucha is synonymous with art nouveau as someone who utilizes women figures accompanied by luscious flowers and delicate swirls and shapes, there is no other place to fit him in.
Mucha seemed to be the perfect artist for what I had in mind in doing. From the start I knew I wanted to centralized my piece whatever it may be on a women figure. This is the biggest reason as to why I utilized Mucha since he always seemed to do that. Mucha did this as to utilize the female as an escape from the industrial world, I instead wanted to highlight them and their struggle. So while Mucha uses female subject like coping mechanism to me they were going to be a point of acknowledgment, a vehicle to to help bring awareness to.
Stylistically there were many things I wanted to employ from not only Mucha but largely the art nouveau movement. To start off I really wanted to have ornamental elements such as that of the delicate and organic use of line, usually seen in curves of many pieces in that style. Another thing was the use of different shapes, art nouveau usually incorporates flowery organic shapes alongside geometric shapes. Still the unique feature I found in Mucha is he usually stick to using circles when it comes to anything geometric. I particular found that of interest because sometimes it makes it seem like you're looking at these women through a peephole in a door, as if they were going to tell you something interesting or secretive. That’s when I knew I wanted something similar since I wanted to have my message (of my piece) be portrayed as interesting or secretive insight. All in all what drew me to art nouveau and to a greater extent Mucha was the use of space. Every inch of Mucha's works seemed to be covered but nothing felt crowded or overwhelming. It made movement in the piece very interesting and keeps the viewer entranced. It thought that if my goal is for the viewer to understand the message of my piece, I would have to do the same in order to keep their attention.
“Alphonse Mucha Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-mucha-alphonse.htm. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
Mucha seemed to be the perfect artist for what I had in mind in doing. From the start I knew I wanted to centralized my piece whatever it may be on a women figure. This is the biggest reason as to why I utilized Mucha since he always seemed to do that. Mucha did this as to utilize the female as an escape from the industrial world, I instead wanted to highlight them and their struggle. So while Mucha uses female subject like coping mechanism to me they were going to be a point of acknowledgment, a vehicle to to help bring awareness to.
Stylistically there were many things I wanted to employ from not only Mucha but largely the art nouveau movement. To start off I really wanted to have ornamental elements such as that of the delicate and organic use of line, usually seen in curves of many pieces in that style. Another thing was the use of different shapes, art nouveau usually incorporates flowery organic shapes alongside geometric shapes. Still the unique feature I found in Mucha is he usually stick to using circles when it comes to anything geometric. I particular found that of interest because sometimes it makes it seem like you're looking at these women through a peephole in a door, as if they were going to tell you something interesting or secretive. That’s when I knew I wanted something similar since I wanted to have my message (of my piece) be portrayed as interesting or secretive insight. All in all what drew me to art nouveau and to a greater extent Mucha was the use of space. Every inch of Mucha's works seemed to be covered but nothing felt crowded or overwhelming. It made movement in the piece very interesting and keeps the viewer entranced. It thought that if my goal is for the viewer to understand the message of my piece, I would have to do the same in order to keep their attention.
“Alphonse Mucha Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-mucha-alphonse.htm. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.
Planning
Sketches
The idea with this sketch was finding a subject that symbolizing purity but juxtaposing it with a body that was more scandalous. That was how I ended up using Mother Mary, who is synonymous with all things pure. Now the idea of having her in a bodysuit in a relaxed posture was suppose to be that scandalous element since what usually comes to mind (for Mother Mary) is prim and proper. The subject is then but in a T.V. to show the broadcasting of the contradicting message. Basically building on the theme in my piece “Calla Lily in Flames,” of the irrelevance of purity.
I didn’t end up choosing this sketch because I was really set on incorporating the art nouveau style. Yet within the sketch I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate flowers without it seaming overbearing. I thought it would make the space of the piece feel too crowded, which was not my intention. |
In this sketch again I want to utilize symbols and subject that relate to purity which is why I include my sister and Mother Mary again. Still my sister’s behavior in this piece is quite reckless, she sticks out her tongue. As well as the Mother Mary’s surrounding her all have differing expression; some more holy and in prayer while others wink. This is a call to how even the most pure beings can’t help to get a bit wild. Still in this sketch I included hands in prayer pulling my sister’s hair, a reference to the Mexican culture where if you are misbehaving you’re parent’s will take this corrective measure. Overall this was another piece where I am challenging the notion of purity.
Again I didn’t choose this sketch because I really wanted to keep the flower imagery I had in my piece,” Calla Lily in Flames,” and couldn’t find a way to add it in. The biggest reason for not forcing the flowers into the piece was I didn’t just want the flowers to be part of the aesthetic, ornamental style of art nouveau. If I drew in flowers I wanted them to actually have a meaningful reason for being in my piece. |
This is the sketch that is most like my final piece yet it didn’t quite have everything I wanted out of my final piece. In this sketch I again utilize my sister in order to symbolize purity but it is here where I finally understood how my piece could be influenced Mucha (Art Nouveau artist) but still be centered around my theme.
In this sketch I have my sister with a pretty bored expression surrounded by many pretty line elements such as swirly curves and big cempazuchitl flowers. It is those elements that reflect my inspiration of Mucha, who used beautiful girls surrounded by gorgeous flowers. But I incorporate my Mexican culture very organically too. For example my little sister is a beautiful young girl but I decided to draw her with a bored expression. As well as I have flowers but they are cempazuchitl which are traditional flowers for the Day of the Dead. They are utilized to guide the dead back to their homes and loved one since they are bright, big flowers. Still as much as I felt this was the right idea there were many loose ends I couldn’t figure out. That was why I didn’t pick this exact sketch and decided I needed to figure out certain stylistic and thematic qualities in order to move forward. |
Evolution of Final Sketch:
I realized that while I was incorporating a lot of art nouveau elements, such as the use of flowers and curving lines, there was something missing. The first thing I realized was the element of value was missing or at least not being utilized well. This was especially problematic since drypoint is a medium that thrives on detail, which the gradient between shadow and highlight (value) help to create. Also the fact that I was using flowers and not incorporating value seemed wrong since my inspiration was Mucha and he depicted to a certain extent realistic flowers, Of course he had color in order to achieve this but value was just as important in doing so. That was when I understood I could not show a clear inspiration from Mucha without incorporating value in my flowers.
The second was there isn't a clear path within my sketches to my theme, after I had created the third sketch I realized that I didn’t just want to just recycle my old theme. That was when I decided that in my final sketch I should explore the consequences of my theme in “ Calla Lily in Flames, which was the irrelevance of purity.
The second was there isn't a clear path within my sketches to my theme, after I had created the third sketch I realized that I didn’t just want to just recycle my old theme. That was when I decided that in my final sketch I should explore the consequences of my theme in “ Calla Lily in Flames, which was the irrelevance of purity.
Click to enlarge
After I worked out all the kinks of what I wanted I came up with this sketch. It ended up incorporating enough of my culture (Mexican) and art nouveau inspiration but still being able to convey my theme properly.
In this sketch I have my sister sticking out her tongue in very rebellious manner. She is encapsulated in a circle and instead of flowing hair I have various bold curves. She is surrounded by huge cempazuchitl flowers and intertwining curved vines. With my sister and the type of flowers I am incorporate my culture .Yet it is in the stylistic decisions I make that it is still art nouveau. Still I knew I wanted to keep Mucha’s art nouveau elements of flowers and ornamental curves but I also wanted to rebel from it to convey my theme. The ways I contrasted from Mucha was I didn’t just use a beautiful young girl who was delicate and graceful in expression and with flowing locks of hair. Instead I wanted to purposely stray from that, instead my sister sticks out her tongue and she has no real hair just bold outlined curves. It felt necessary to do so to show the drift from the classical portrayal of purity. |
Process
click images to enlarge
In order to begin etching I had to first tape my panel of plastic onto my sketch. This allowed me to more precisely etch without worrying about the panel shifting and making an incorrect scratch. Once that was done I etched first all the elements in my piece that had a solid outline such as in the face, flowers, and so on. After that I continued on to the parts that had value through stippling. For this I did not start stippling by randomly poking the panel with the tip of the etching tool, I did something to be more orderly. I decided to take the flashlight of my phone and place it on the panel. This way every time I poked the panel I knew exactly where since light would shine through. This also allowed me to know where I needed to add more stipples, since the more light a particular area had, the darker in value it would be when printed. It really served as a guide and prediction tool for value.
One important thing to note is that I initially started etching my third sketch but once I had finalized it I realized there was very little detail and most of it failed to utilize value well. As well as the general outline of the piece was quite rough and patchy, it lacked a lot of craftsmanship. Now of course I could have made the decision to just continue on the same panel and just add more detail that incorporated value. Yet once I tried to do this on the flowers the little stippling I had done already was to difficult to fix since the places I had stippled offered little opportunities to modify; so I had to resort to starting over. That was when I ended up using my forth and final sketch, it incorporated value all around better but still stuck to the theme I wanted to convey.
One important thing to note is that I initially started etching my third sketch but once I had finalized it I realized there was very little detail and most of it failed to utilize value well. As well as the general outline of the piece was quite rough and patchy, it lacked a lot of craftsmanship. Now of course I could have made the decision to just continue on the same panel and just add more detail that incorporated value. Yet once I tried to do this on the flowers the little stippling I had done already was to difficult to fix since the places I had stippled offered little opportunities to modify; so I had to resort to starting over. That was when I ended up using my forth and final sketch, it incorporated value all around better but still stuck to the theme I wanted to convey.
Printing Process
Once I had my plate the actual printing process could begin. The very first thing I had do is take water color paper and soak it in a tub of water, so the fibers would become soft and the ink will easily go on when in the printing press. While that is going I took a dab of oil based ink and spread it all over plate. Once I saw it was well coated I took ripped pieces of paper and used those to wipe off excess ink. Once I felt satisfied that I had rubbed off all the ink, I could moved onto the printing press.
The first thing I did was remove the watercolor paper from the tub and tap it dry with a cloth, so it wasn't soaking yet still damp. Then I could move onto the printing press. First I pulled up the cover of the press and placed a blank piece of paper and then set down my plate with the side that was etched facing up; I put the watercolor paper on top and then the cover. At that point I used the lever to roll the plate; once it rolled to the other side I removed my plate with my print.
It should be noted I had to do this process about 5 or 6 times before I felt satisfied with the final print.
The first thing I did was remove the watercolor paper from the tub and tap it dry with a cloth, so it wasn't soaking yet still damp. Then I could move onto the printing press. First I pulled up the cover of the press and placed a blank piece of paper and then set down my plate with the side that was etched facing up; I put the watercolor paper on top and then the cover. At that point I used the lever to roll the plate; once it rolled to the other side I removed my plate with my print.
It should be noted I had to do this process about 5 or 6 times before I felt satisfied with the final print.
Prints
click to enlarge image
Experimentation
Value
I had been thinking about the value of the piece since my planning phase. Still all I did in the planning phase was decide on whether to use stippling or cross hatching but in the actual etching part I had to think further than that. Initially I decided to heavily stipple only the very center, to make it the darkest part. Then from there I would uses minimal stippling to create the creases in the petals, since I felt that is what gives flowers that realistic element. Yet I looked at my panel once I finished one flower in that fashion and felt that the stippling looked awkward and the value did not add any realism. I quickly realized the stippling was off and was not creating effective value, I had to change my approach in order to create something better fit.
click images to enlarge
In the end I decided that I had to think about the fundamentals of adding value. Value really is presence or lack of light in an area. Thinking about that I decided to re-sketch the cempazuchitl trying to incorporate that idea. That meant that I stippled the flowers thinking that the light source or “sun“ would be coming from the right. That meant at the right of the flower I had very little stippling and only incorporating it to create creases in the petals to get that realistic feel. Then as I moved left the stippling got heavier to the point that the leftmost side is completely stippled and almost all dark in value. At the end I ended being the most satisfied with the look of the flower after I had done this.
Prints: Developing techniques
Click to enlarge image
The prints took me quite awhile to get right, or at least meet my standard. At first my approach was to spread ink onto my plate fully and then wipe off the excess ink until everything that wasn’t etched look clean of ink. Still after 4 or 5 prints I realized this was getting me nowhere. I knew I needed more ink but I also did want the hassle of wiping off so much excess ink. It was then that I decided I should ink and wipe right away, working in sections instead of fully coating the plate. This allowed me to add more ink to places that I felt hadn’t been penetrated with ink; I also did not have to wipe off so much, wasting less time. In the end it produced clearer and less faded prints.
Color
Click to enlarge images
Once I had a couple clean prints I knew right away that I wanted to watercolor my prints. I wanted to do this for a couple reasons. The first reason is since my inspiration lies heavily in Mucha, whose advertisements are known for its beautiful coloration. Still the parallels to my inspiration end there since the cempazuchitl is a bright yellow, almost orange color. This flower was suppose to be the direct link to my Mexican culture, but choosing this bright color scheme would immediately oppose the pastel color scheme Mucha was known for.
That being said I actually did two watercolor prints but only finalized one. The one I did not chose was because while I loved the color that came off in the cempazuchitl, the outline of the flower was completely lost. This partly due to having weak prints and not enough stippling. The one I did chose has a lighter yellow coloration and I uses more earthy tones. This decision I made since I'm depicting my sister and I began thinking how her wild nature comes natural to her. Keeping this in mind I thought using colors so closely related to the natural world would help evoke this.
That being said I actually did two watercolor prints but only finalized one. The one I did not chose was because while I loved the color that came off in the cempazuchitl, the outline of the flower was completely lost. This partly due to having weak prints and not enough stippling. The one I did chose has a lighter yellow coloration and I uses more earthy tones. This decision I made since I'm depicting my sister and I began thinking how her wild nature comes natural to her. Keeping this in mind I thought using colors so closely related to the natural world would help evoke this.
Reflection
Overall my dry point prints are pretty satisfactory that being said I still have some places that I wish I would have done better in.
In the very beginning I struggle so much to create a good sketch and I even ended up starting over with a new plate because I wasn’t satisfied by my piece. Most of it came from the fact that I did not have a great understanding of how to use value in a medium that thrived on utilizing it since it allowed a lot of line detail. For example the vine details on the sides of my piece were very rough and incredibly unsatisfactory for me even after I tried to fix them. Although I do feel that my print lacks a lot of detail, I will say it came out a lot better than I expected. Especially in the flowers since for the most part I can tell where the light source is coming from and where the veins of the petals lie. That being said in any future piece involving flowers I would like to add more heavy line outline, as well as more stippling. Although I will say in the inking process with stippling doesn’t always pick up the ink and produce the best prints. That being said when it does produce a good print, the product is very pleasing. So I would like to experiment with stippling in any future piece, especially with flowers or plant life.
Despite my dissatisfaction with the stylistic qualities I am incredibly satisfied with the way my piece conveys my theme. I think my inspiration of Mucha is very clear but it is in the things that I directly opposed from Mucha that really solidify my theme. I think a prime example is how I utilize my inspiration of Mucha’s Byzantine Heads; placing my sister inside a circular frame; yet in Byzantine Heads only the women’s profiles are shown, in mine my sister is facing forward. This a purposeful decision to show how she faces everything head on, a fearless, beautiful, little girl. In this I show how her rebellious spirit will always prevent her from succumbing to the terrible consequences of purity.
In the very beginning I struggle so much to create a good sketch and I even ended up starting over with a new plate because I wasn’t satisfied by my piece. Most of it came from the fact that I did not have a great understanding of how to use value in a medium that thrived on utilizing it since it allowed a lot of line detail. For example the vine details on the sides of my piece were very rough and incredibly unsatisfactory for me even after I tried to fix them. Although I do feel that my print lacks a lot of detail, I will say it came out a lot better than I expected. Especially in the flowers since for the most part I can tell where the light source is coming from and where the veins of the petals lie. That being said in any future piece involving flowers I would like to add more heavy line outline, as well as more stippling. Although I will say in the inking process with stippling doesn’t always pick up the ink and produce the best prints. That being said when it does produce a good print, the product is very pleasing. So I would like to experiment with stippling in any future piece, especially with flowers or plant life.
Despite my dissatisfaction with the stylistic qualities I am incredibly satisfied with the way my piece conveys my theme. I think my inspiration of Mucha is very clear but it is in the things that I directly opposed from Mucha that really solidify my theme. I think a prime example is how I utilize my inspiration of Mucha’s Byzantine Heads; placing my sister inside a circular frame; yet in Byzantine Heads only the women’s profiles are shown, in mine my sister is facing forward. This a purposeful decision to show how she faces everything head on, a fearless, beautiful, little girl. In this I show how her rebellious spirit will always prevent her from succumbing to the terrible consequences of purity.
ACT Responses
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work?
The effect of my inspiration on my work is very clear in the imagery I include but also in the intentional ways I try to oppose it. Mucha was known for using beautiful women and flowers in his pieces, which I clearly utilize. Still while he is known for portraying everything very delicately, my female figure (my sister) is rebellious, sticking her tongue out and the flowers are huge and overpowering which help deliver my theme.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The most important thing to note about the author in my sources is t writing for a source that specifies in art and art history. That being said they have a very informative and historical approach towards Mucha; many times they speculate and try to confirm his rationale for his decision based on historical context.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
It has been really interesting to see how Mucha decided to combat the mechanical, human-less-like world of his time by depicting beautiful young women surrounded by flowers, since he deemed this to represent everything that his world wasn't. It was in learning this that although we see beauty as such a superficial thing it really has power and truly is more than skin deep. In Mucha's case he used it to combat the environment that was starting to be considered normal.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My entire themes basis is repelling the idea of purity as an important value, and more personally my hope that my sister will keep her rebellious tendencies that deem her to not be so pure. Still choosing Mucha as inspiration isn't such an obvious point since he seems to portray women in a delicate, pure fashion. Still his reason for doing this comes from trying to rebel from the mechanical, cold world of his time; in reality I was trying to do the same thing, repel the environment of my time, which is one that promotes purity.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While doing research I was able to infer that art really is meaning more than it is a physical piece. Mucha was someone who was known for doing advertisements as his art but he worked towards getting them deemed as art since at the time they weren't considered so. The reality is even if they were advertisements they were sending a strong message about how he felt about the world; which now help us understand one of the many perspectives of the industrializing world of that time period; this being the goal of art.
The effect of my inspiration on my work is very clear in the imagery I include but also in the intentional ways I try to oppose it. Mucha was known for using beautiful women and flowers in his pieces, which I clearly utilize. Still while he is known for portraying everything very delicately, my female figure (my sister) is rebellious, sticking her tongue out and the flowers are huge and overpowering which help deliver my theme.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The most important thing to note about the author in my sources is t writing for a source that specifies in art and art history. That being said they have a very informative and historical approach towards Mucha; many times they speculate and try to confirm his rationale for his decision based on historical context.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
It has been really interesting to see how Mucha decided to combat the mechanical, human-less-like world of his time by depicting beautiful young women surrounded by flowers, since he deemed this to represent everything that his world wasn't. It was in learning this that although we see beauty as such a superficial thing it really has power and truly is more than skin deep. In Mucha's case he used it to combat the environment that was starting to be considered normal.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My entire themes basis is repelling the idea of purity as an important value, and more personally my hope that my sister will keep her rebellious tendencies that deem her to not be so pure. Still choosing Mucha as inspiration isn't such an obvious point since he seems to portray women in a delicate, pure fashion. Still his reason for doing this comes from trying to rebel from the mechanical, cold world of his time; in reality I was trying to do the same thing, repel the environment of my time, which is one that promotes purity.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While doing research I was able to infer that art really is meaning more than it is a physical piece. Mucha was someone who was known for doing advertisements as his art but he worked towards getting them deemed as art since at the time they weren't considered so. The reality is even if they were advertisements they were sending a strong message about how he felt about the world; which now help us understand one of the many perspectives of the industrializing world of that time period; this being the goal of art.