Block print
Man vs Nature
Size: 15x23cm Medium: Ink on paper Date: October, 2016 This piece was created to showcase the harsh reality of the human race destroying nature. Besides trying a new medium for the first time- carving linoleum and then printing with ink- I wanted connect this piece back to pop art and to capitalism in the 1950s. |
Artist Inspiration
My artist inspiration is Andy Warhol and the pop art movement. Andy Warhol created art that often focused on the mass consumption of commercialized goods. His work critics materialism and fame. His work was able to become such an iconic staple because of the repetitive techniques he used to illustrate these themes.
Andy Warhol helped to create the movement known as pop art which lasted from about 1950-1970 and focused on themes of pop culture and mass media. Pop culture revolved around themes of everyday life, and most pop culture art aimed to get rid of any emotion between the work and the viewer. One could say that pop culture also heavily endorsed the capitalistic market.
I was inspired by Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement to create a piece focusing on capitalism, large corporations, and mass media vs nature. I'm also very interested in media and commercialization in the 1950s. In these years, the general population was less aware of the effects of pollution and global warming, which I also warned to bring to my art work.
Andy Warhol helped to create the movement known as pop art which lasted from about 1950-1970 and focused on themes of pop culture and mass media. Pop culture revolved around themes of everyday life, and most pop culture art aimed to get rid of any emotion between the work and the viewer. One could say that pop culture also heavily endorsed the capitalistic market.
I was inspired by Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement to create a piece focusing on capitalism, large corporations, and mass media vs nature. I'm also very interested in media and commercialization in the 1950s. In these years, the general population was less aware of the effects of pollution and global warming, which I also warned to bring to my art work.
Above, one can see how Warhol painted staple products or ideas over and over again. The repeated dollar signs symbolize capitalism and to me I see how we only ever focus on profit, and maybe not so much on the effect that we are having. These images by Andy Warhol inspired me to focus on a theme of destruction of nature because of the effects of mass consumption and commercialization.
Planning
Process & Experimentation
I started my block print by drawing a picture of what I wanted to carve out onto the linoleum. One thing that I wish I would have done before I started to carve is draw what I wanted in the background as well as what I wanted as the main image. Not drawing everything I the beginning made it hard later to balance the piece.
Once I started to carve using the carving tool, I noticed that it was difficult for me to get straight, clean lines, especially in some areas of the coca-cola can. I also had to be careful not to accidentally slip and stab into my hand holding the piece, but carving on wood made this much easier not to do. Eventually, I ended up using a differently shaped tool than in the beginning to try to get clean lines, but this made some of the letters a little bigger than I wanted. Cutting all of these circles in the tentacles of the octopus was also a little difficult, but it probably ended up being my favorite part. It was difficult to find a carving tool with a small enough tip to carve these tiny circles. After I carved the main coco-cola can and trapped octopus design, I put the a net in the background of the piece. I did this to further relate back to pop art by using repetitive images. This also took nature being caught and taken over by humans to the next level. After going back and smoothing out lines as much as I could, I got ready to print my image onto a piece of paper using ink. To start, I put a a little of ink onto the metal sheet. I then used the roller to distribute it evenly so that it wasn't too thick on only some areas. The first time that I tried printing the image, it looked grainy and faded. This was because I didn't put enough ink on the metal sheet. After spreading the ink even on the pan, I put my linoleum piece on a fresh piece of paper and rolled the ink on top of it using the roller. This is a picture of the first time I tried to print the image. Its grainy and faded because there wasn't enough ink. For my final image, I tried to smooth out more lines with the carving tool before I printed it again using more ink. I am happy with the way that it turned out the second time that I printed it. |
Reflection
Although this piece isn't my best work, I was block-printing for the first time. I like how I was able to repeat the circles in the octopuses tentacle and how that looks against the background. I think that it helps to define the differences between the animal from nature and the net made by humans using contrast, lines, and shapes.
When experimenting, at first I had a hard time making clean lines, but I found that using different carving tools helped me with that. I also found out how much ink I had to use to get my print by a process of trial and error. The first time I printed my image with ink, it turned out washed out and grainy. The next time, using more ink, it turned out more bold and less grainy.
I connected the theme of my project to my inspiration more than anything else. The coca-cola can symbolizes mass consumed products, The net symbolizes how humans are pretty much consuming nature and, generally, not caring about the effects. The net is repetitive just like images in the pop-art movement. I think balancing my piece would have been easier if I would have drawn everything out before I started to carve, so I will definitely keep that in mind for next time.
When experimenting, at first I had a hard time making clean lines, but I found that using different carving tools helped me with that. I also found out how much ink I had to use to get my print by a process of trial and error. The first time I printed my image with ink, it turned out washed out and grainy. The next time, using more ink, it turned out more bold and less grainy.
I connected the theme of my project to my inspiration more than anything else. The coca-cola can symbolizes mass consumed products, The net symbolizes how humans are pretty much consuming nature and, generally, not caring about the effects. The net is repetitive just like images in the pop-art movement. I think balancing my piece would have been easier if I would have drawn everything out before I started to carve, so I will definitely keep that in mind for next time.
Connecting Block Print to the ACT:
1) Identify cause and effect relationships between your inspiration and your artwork.
Being inspired my Andy Warhol and the pop art movement caused me to focus on the theme that I did and try to incorporate different pop art aspects into my block print, including cold 2nd techniques with little shading.
2)What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I feel as though the author appreciated the motives and aspects that stood out in this specific art movement, but he could have also been criticizing mass consumption.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that people base their lives off of the media and off of what they see other people doing. I can connect this to theories that iv'e learned in my IB psychology class.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I believe the central idea is focused around themes of mass consumption, pop culture, and of everyday american life.
5)What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I found that the way media was portrayed was probably as influential on people for as long as it has existed. I find the influence of media very interesting because of how easily one can be influenced.
Being inspired my Andy Warhol and the pop art movement caused me to focus on the theme that I did and try to incorporate different pop art aspects into my block print, including cold 2nd techniques with little shading.
2)What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I feel as though the author appreciated the motives and aspects that stood out in this specific art movement, but he could have also been criticizing mass consumption.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that people base their lives off of the media and off of what they see other people doing. I can connect this to theories that iv'e learned in my IB psychology class.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I believe the central idea is focused around themes of mass consumption, pop culture, and of everyday american life.
5)What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I found that the way media was portrayed was probably as influential on people for as long as it has existed. I find the influence of media very interesting because of how easily one can be influenced.
Additional sources
"Andy Warhol." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
"Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works." The Art Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
"Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works." The Art Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.