"Politicians Are Not Your Friends"Size: 25 inches by 18 inches
Medium: Graphite, Acrylic and Oil Pastels on Cardboard Date: September, 2019 |
EXHIBITION TEXT
Inspired by the massacres in the land of the free and the socio political power that Dáreece J. Walker portrays in his work helped me build this piece of mine. Within it you will find that who is taking the seat in the White House in his truest form. I used pencil, acrylics and oil pastels on recycled cardboard as they react quite well with each other. I had no specific intention with the piece as I was in a numb state of being after a solid hour of watching the news, thus I have no real recollection of what was going through my head. My hand picked up a pencil and here are the results. Enjoy.
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ARTISTIC
I N S P I R A T I O N
( A Critical Investigation)
December 14, 2012. Sandy Hook Elementary School. Newtown, Connecticut. 20 children, 6 adults died that day. Gunman shot himself.
June 12, 2016. A Gay Nightclub. Orlando, Florida. 50 dead.
October 1, 2017. Music Festival. Las Vegas, Nevada. 59 dead.
If you say that America has no problem with gun control and you dare to say "never again" then think again.
It takes more than words to have an effective solution to these mass shootings. America has lost whatever "greatness" it presumed to have.
Even the smallest cities in America are rising up to the headlines and not for the good reasons:
August 20, 2019. Mexican Fiesta, Milwaukee Wisconsin. My Hometown...
Thankfully, no person was harmed as police swarmed the place. A gun man threatened to shoot up the festival, many opted out from going out to celebrate their culture and socializing. Fear has now reached our city. We are not the only ones, we won't be the last ones if the legislation and the governing heads refuse to listen to our voices.
The president has allowed and given a validation for all the rising hatred. Seeing this I can't stand by however I can't feel my voice being loud enough. That is why this piece is being made.
June 12, 2016. A Gay Nightclub. Orlando, Florida. 50 dead.
October 1, 2017. Music Festival. Las Vegas, Nevada. 59 dead.
If you say that America has no problem with gun control and you dare to say "never again" then think again.
It takes more than words to have an effective solution to these mass shootings. America has lost whatever "greatness" it presumed to have.
Even the smallest cities in America are rising up to the headlines and not for the good reasons:
August 20, 2019. Mexican Fiesta, Milwaukee Wisconsin. My Hometown...
Thankfully, no person was harmed as police swarmed the place. A gun man threatened to shoot up the festival, many opted out from going out to celebrate their culture and socializing. Fear has now reached our city. We are not the only ones, we won't be the last ones if the legislation and the governing heads refuse to listen to our voices.
The president has allowed and given a validation for all the rising hatred. Seeing this I can't stand by however I can't feel my voice being loud enough. That is why this piece is being made.
"Made in the U.S.A" by Dáreece J. Walker (2015). Retrieved from, https://www.dareecejwalker.com/about
After experimenting with cardboard for my summer project I realized that I really liked working with it.
The paint wasn't being sucked out by the cloth of canvas and the color was able to spread across the surface with much ease.
I decided I wanted to continue to use cardboard to make more paintings, thus I began to look into artists that worked with it.
I found Dáreece J. Walker as I scrolled through images. The image above was what captured my attention. A socio political piece.
His website is filled with these "figurative narratives" of police brutality, (black) identity, religious pieces and other artworks that make bold statements on the topics of political values.
His compositions focus on being vocal about the ruthlessness of the American society when it comes to removing "inalienable rights" and safety of the people by the brutality with which the police are approaching marginalized communities. It's art that speaks. It is more than a "simple race issue".
Children have been killed before.
Mother's have lost their sons.
Parents are the ones having to bury their kids...
I had been thinking for a while to make a piece that portrayed how I felt about politics. Better yet, the political figures with which America has to live with at these times...
The paint wasn't being sucked out by the cloth of canvas and the color was able to spread across the surface with much ease.
I decided I wanted to continue to use cardboard to make more paintings, thus I began to look into artists that worked with it.
I found Dáreece J. Walker as I scrolled through images. The image above was what captured my attention. A socio political piece.
His website is filled with these "figurative narratives" of police brutality, (black) identity, religious pieces and other artworks that make bold statements on the topics of political values.
His compositions focus on being vocal about the ruthlessness of the American society when it comes to removing "inalienable rights" and safety of the people by the brutality with which the police are approaching marginalized communities. It's art that speaks. It is more than a "simple race issue".
Children have been killed before.
Mother's have lost their sons.
Parents are the ones having to bury their kids...
I had been thinking for a while to make a piece that portrayed how I felt about politics. Better yet, the political figures with which America has to live with at these times...
Walker employs of common cardboard as his canvas. The idea behind this was that cardboard is something disposable and rather worthless since it tends to be only used one to then be tossed away. I like that idea of actually destroying and tearing apart the space on which I will be working on. I have a couple ideas based of his ideology of violence and brute force of the police but rather than focusing on police brutality I want to attack gun violence in my piece. My ideas are revolving around too much but I know I want to do something to my piece of cardboard. Instead of gradations of black and white I will be using color. Not as realistic and more expressive than anything. I'll also have some lettering but I am unsure at the moment. Apart from that, I want my piece to generate a similar effect that Dáreece has with his own work. His manner of physically bringing his visions to life have been described as "a slap on your face" by The Know Online News Article and I agree. I don't want to hold back to make a statement that exhibits not only an artistic piece of work but my "personal truth" based on all that I see going on around me. After all, we can't live as if tomorrow is promised... |
"Criminalized 4" by Dáreece J. Walker (n.d). Retrieved from,
https://www.dareecejwalker.com/
https://www.dareecejwalker.com/
P R O C E S S
&
I N T E N T I O N S
01. Creative Ideas & Brainstorms
Diving onto the beginning of the artistic process...
I began by sketching out and taking notes on what I want to plaster on this piece of cardboard. I knew it was going to be political and I had a clear vision of what would be at the center of my board.
The fellow showman and entertainment expert of 2019, Sir Trump.
I began by sketching out and taking notes on what I want to plaster on this piece of cardboard. I knew it was going to be political and I had a clear vision of what would be at the center of my board.
The fellow showman and entertainment expert of 2019, Sir Trump.
Also I want to give credit where it's due. I talked about my piece with fellow classmates in DP Politics Year Two and outside of it. Their names? Sam and Derick :)
I was asking for their thoughts and some of them helped me brainstorm and expand my ideas. Derick for example started talking about scribbles on the walls of a white house. The White House idea came from Sam but because of the time frame and limitations on supply I opted out of it. I still really appreciated the input and perhaps I could do that for another piece using the same material. What I will for sure using are the kid scribbles on the floor or maybe all around the the board. I'm still planning this as I go. I need to have the actual thing in front of me to move on with the vision. It's all about actually materializing it now. |
02. Into Planning
Planning Sketches
Well, the piece is portraying a certain individual in a certain light...
So I wanted to practice a bit the build and anatomy of a baby that had a little bit of extra baby fat.
So I wanted to practice a bit the build and anatomy of a baby that had a little bit of extra baby fat.
From the scan above:
The bottom three are questions that came to mind as I was working and texting pastels because I didn't know how the materials would react with each other. Later on I answered my questions and took notes as I experimented with that exact purpose to answer my doubts. Answers to my questions are below. |
Because the piece is going to revolve around a certain politician, I was focusing my sketches on the facial section of what would be plastered on the board. I sort of failed, or at least I feel like I did but I used it to my advantage by morphing the face according to the exaggeration of the body. Besides that I tried out different mouth and nose shapes because why not. |
I transferred whatever skill I was able to muster in the previous planning sketches and managed to sketch on the cardboard itself.
I used pencil and crayola in order to bring out the initial stage of placement and an actual solid sketch that gives me a Two Dimensional outline to follow.
I used pencil and crayola in order to bring out the initial stage of placement and an actual solid sketch that gives me a Two Dimensional outline to follow.
03. Experimenting with the texture of Cardboard
These are some quick tests I ran on the specific type or cardboard that I brought from home. Tested: Oil Pastels by layering, blending with finger and fusing together. Layering without blending. Layering, blending and then layering again to see how that would turn out. Acrylic paints blended. Acrylic paints blended with finger and adding pastels on the dried portions of the paint. |
I couldn't go blind into this. I only have one shot and if I messed it up then it was game over therefore I used the extra edges to the cardboard to text paints, pastels and the easiest most "cleanest" way to puncture the board. The notes on the boards themselves explain the experimentation process. |
04. Adding Details to the Sketch on the Board
After having the final outline and positioning of the body on the board I began to develop the "setting" to my piece.
By this I mean America. And currently in America we are not doing very well. Thus I am going to illustrate the flag as the background. The colors won't be so solid. I will follow through with my planning and add the gunshots perforations all around the cardboard.
Finally I will sketch the rest of the articles that complete my piece:
The twitter bird in Trump's hand being suffocated by his grip and lady liberty on the floor as a baby rattle toy.
By this I mean America. And currently in America we are not doing very well. Thus I am going to illustrate the flag as the background. The colors won't be so solid. I will follow through with my planning and add the gunshots perforations all around the cardboard.
Finally I will sketch the rest of the articles that complete my piece:
The twitter bird in Trump's hand being suffocated by his grip and lady liberty on the floor as a baby rattle toy.
05. Adding Color
Here is when everything comes together.
The color adds to the allusion of violence. The broken and badly treated cardboard has been detailed with emphasis of hue saturations.
The figure in the middle puts on a show for the nation as a visual description of Trump's abuse of social media and freedom to spread his lack of respect and low capacity to understand half of the things he says.
The color adds to the allusion of violence. The broken and badly treated cardboard has been detailed with emphasis of hue saturations.
The figure in the middle puts on a show for the nation as a visual description of Trump's abuse of social media and freedom to spread his lack of respect and low capacity to understand half of the things he says.
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The Rattles/Toys:
I'm satisfied with the color I chose for this portion of the piece. I also like how I didn't really lose the illustration and there's some sort of raw and cold feeling to the expression on the face of Lady liberty because of the color palette that help build up such feeling. |
The Twitter Bird:
Everything was going well. And then I painted the bird... I can't paint the same as I did the day before and I it bother me because how is that even possible??? I was perfectly satisfied with my craftsmanship and then my hand forgot how to paint with the same style. What. |
The Politician:
I do not have any other comments for this portion of my work. Simply observe the expression and mannerism of his representational figure. |
Autumn Beeler, More highlight to the statue of liberty, I felt odd about the other baby rattle and thus she said to paint america as the main focus as a metaphor of shaking up america instead of the globe.
C R I T I Q U E
COMPARISONS
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CONTRAST
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R E F L E C T I O N
I didn't know how this would turn out. I had an idea. I materialized it and I'm quite happy with the process of it all. That's quite strange because I'm always afraid of making a mistake with acrylics or the way an outline to a sketch looks. The width of the pencil on the board was much better than I expected and the cool colors on the baby rattles were placed down in a satisfactory manner in which I felt the harmony of the hues come together. It didn't overpower the shape itself so that was also quite nice.
A C T
R E S P O N S E S
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The symbolism that the material carries in my inspiration is the same one that I want to be evoked in my own piece. Another cause and effect section of it that is carried onto my own art is the violence that is portrayed in Walker's boards. This was through the content of illustration as well as the actual destruction of the cardboard.
The symbolism that the material carries in my inspiration is the same one that I want to be evoked in my own piece. Another cause and effect section of it that is carried onto my own art is the violence that is portrayed in Walker's boards. This was through the content of illustration as well as the actual destruction of the cardboard.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The "author" had interviewed Walker who in turned said that he felt "devalued". Therefore the overall approach that is given based on the inspiration is one of a low to no value. However this is what gives the artist an impact. By saying that he has no value as he person and then proceeds to illustrate the images that he does makes it a juxtaposition.
The "author" had interviewed Walker who in turned said that he felt "devalued". Therefore the overall approach that is given based on the inspiration is one of a low to no value. However this is what gives the artist an impact. By saying that he has no value as he person and then proceeds to illustrate the images that he does makes it a juxtaposition.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded that even if we don't go through the same things at the same time or even if we don't have the same circumstances, the news (in this case the artwork) will reach us eventually. The impact of it all brings about different reactions that is why I believe that it doesn't matter what that impact is if you feel something then the artwork was successful.
I concluded that even if we don't go through the same things at the same time or even if we don't have the same circumstances, the news (in this case the artwork) will reach us eventually. The impact of it all brings about different reactions that is why I believe that it doesn't matter what that impact is if you feel something then the artwork was successful.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The use of color and how it can be used to transmit uncanny visuals that display a contemporary issue that I find important to regard.
The use of color and how it can be used to transmit uncanny visuals that display a contemporary issue that I find important to regard.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I assumed that Walker was making a specific representation of the people of color that are marginalized in a contemporary time of events.
I assumed that Walker was making a specific representation of the people of color that are marginalized in a contemporary time of events.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Image Addresses of Pictures Used for Face Composition:
https://artillerymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/DonaldTrumpAngry.jpg
https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/lovelace/getty/113257835.jpg
https://artillerymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/DonaldTrumpAngry.jpg
https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/lovelace/getty/113257835.jpg
Helenowski, Mark. “Mass Shootings Are an Epidemic. We're Investigating Culprits: Guns, Racism, Toxic Masculinity, and Dark Money.” Mother Jones, 23 Aug. 2019, www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/mass-shootings-epidemic-investigations-el-paso-sandy-hook/.
Rinaldi, Ray Mark. “Not Everyone's Going to like Dáreece Walker's in-Your-Face Drawings on Display in Colorado Springs.” The Know, The Know, 23 Mar. 2017, theknow.denverpost.com/2017/03/23/force-resistance-drawings-dareece-walker-colorado-springs/139808/.
Sargent, Antwaun. “Cardboard Paintings Take an Unflinching Look At Police Brutality.” Vice, 24 Aug. 2016, www.vice.com/en_us/article/ez53wp/cardboard-paintings-police-brutality.
Rinaldi, Ray Mark. “Not Everyone's Going to like Dáreece Walker's in-Your-Face Drawings on Display in Colorado Springs.” The Know, The Know, 23 Mar. 2017, theknow.denverpost.com/2017/03/23/force-resistance-drawings-dareece-walker-colorado-springs/139808/.
Sargent, Antwaun. “Cardboard Paintings Take an Unflinching Look At Police Brutality.” Vice, 24 Aug. 2016, www.vice.com/en_us/article/ez53wp/cardboard-paintings-police-brutality.