Choice Illustration
"Shattered"
Size: 30.5 cm by 40.5 cm
Medium: Copic Markers on Illustration Board Date: February 2020 Exhibition text"Shattered" was inspired by the expressionism movement, specifically the work of Edvard Munch, and a few lesser known works by Jack Cooley, and Maia Oliver, who capture my idea perfectly. I wanted to tackle an idea of hiding emotions to please others, and not burden them with my problems, but breaking under the pressure. This piece is a commentary on my own experiences.
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Planning/Concepts
Inspiration
In the piece "Shattered" I took inspiration from the sloppy and brush stroke filled work of the famous Edvard Munch, the way that the paint was done, gives an emotional vibe, that hits the Expressionism motif perfectly. I enjoy the almost dark and dreary tone that is given, despite using colors like Lime and Chartreuse, along with vivid Crimson and Maroon. The way the paint is used within the work, gives a very depressing and emphasises the expression of emotions within his work. Expressionism captures what I want to express within my piece, as I wanted to show deep and tough rooted emotions that are very important to me wanting to express my own emotions that I really have, instead of putting on a mask that covers them up to make myself more attractive to other people, covering up pain and misfortune that overcomes my own perception. I see myself as a very comedic person, I like to make people laugh as I find Laughter to be the only time people express true happiness for a good amount of time, it's like a window into avoiding fake emotions. But usually the person instigating the laughter, by telling jokes or being comical relief, are pained the most, as they do it to cover up emotions and to appease others. I myself am a victim of this self induced pain, I try to make people laugh as much as possible, while I do find myself in a lot of stress and pain but choose to laugh it off and help others. This is where the symbolism of the Crying or the Sad Clown comes into play, many depictions of the clown is sort of a mask, a way to cover up emotions that we are taught to keep hidden from the outside world. I represent myself as a clown because I see myself as a slave to comedy, a slave to others comedic enjoyment, While yes I do enjoy making others laugh as I stated before its a window into someones actual emotion, as real true laughter is beautiful, but sometimes I feel that I have to be funny, and that I have to make others laugh at my own expense, by hiding away emotions. I used broken glass to show the shattering of one's mind, the destruction of ones mental state when all of the stress, fear, and loneliness builds up, they crack, like the glass on a picture frame. I have broken down many times within my life, from school, family and other sources, mostly from keeping my emotions pent up, and bottlenecked from getting out of my mind, to others that can help me. The Expressionism movement as a whole really lets me express this idea, and emotions that I keep hidden away, This piece is used to express pain, and also growth. becoming a more open person, and a more expressive human being, not the clown I once was.
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Planning Sketches
My first sketch I wanted to get the basic outline and pose going for the whole figure, I wanted to convey a message by putting the right side shoulder down more, to show decay and the mental state of the figure (me) to seem like it was broken. Almost like a broken or shattered mind like a stroke. I wanted to convey pain within the crack in the glass as his mind shattered.
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My second sketch I wanted to emphasize the crack within the piece, I wanted to show how a shattered mind could really destroy someone, and take them from one state to another instantly. I basically wanted to show slight mental illness, but not being born with it, instead succumbing to it after constant self abuse from experiences. The broken glass I wanted it to show a broken mindset and a broken feeling inside.
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My final sketch is an updated and more clear and defined version of my second sketch, showing more detail and finesse that would go into my final piece, It has the suit and the tie that I want to use to express the clown like nature, while also showing it being dilapidated and dried out and worn out, showing the difference between the cracked glass, this was a perfect representation of what I wanted to convey.
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Process
Experimentation
I am very used to and experienced with creating illustrations as an art form, I know how to create figures to tell a story and how to stylize pieces to create a deeper meaning than just to look nice. Despite this I still did quite a lot of experimentation, I wanted to try a new style, by not making deep black colored outlines to centralize color and make things look cleaner, and more refined, easier on the eyes. I instead used shading and color contrast to create subtle lines within the clothes and the face to create "Lines" to cause differences within the piece to basically try to make it look more refined and realistic. I used Alcoholic Copic Markers which are very smudgeable and are easily used to create gradients, which I used this to create gradients within the clothes to show shadow. I also used a special gray water color marker to darken the broken side of the face, and suitcoat, I did this to make this side darker and dirtier to show a total mental and physical breakdown.
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Process
I started by creating the concepts of the work, and also doing research on how I could represent the feelings and emotions I wanted to express within this work. The "Sad Clown" motif really captured the feeling and thought that I had before creating this work. From this point on, I started by sketching onto the illustration board, creating a basic shoulder Idea, and a head size and shape, trying to keep the key focus on the crack in the glass and the two halves of the person. I decided from here that I would work on making the glass look like actual cracked glass, trying to make the randomness and also the connectedness of broken glass. From here I started on drawing the deeper features onto the suit coat and making the two halves look similar enough to be noticeable but different enough to be drastic in change. from there I moved onto the facial features trying to capture joy and sadness within one picture, trying to keep the message consistent and simple. After the facial features were made and set, I decided to then start coloring.
The process of coloring was an interesting beast, It was difficult picking the right colors to convey the joy and sadness motif I was going for, especially regarding color pallette. The first question I had to ask myself was what do clowns wear, and what color palettes go well with each other. I started with a yellow suit as I thought that the best color choices for the happy side would be primary colors. Yellow was a great play as I could easily replace it with brown in the following side next to it. Using copic markers I colored in the rest of the clown making the skin pink, and the lips white, with a deep red nose. I wanted to keep the clown potif alive, but also humanize it, by giving it human complexion, and a more human skin tone so it isn't creepy or distant to normal people. After the coloring of the clown was completed, I moved on to adding a picture frame around it to give it a rustic and almost "dropped and forgotten" picture frame look.
The process of coloring was an interesting beast, It was difficult picking the right colors to convey the joy and sadness motif I was going for, especially regarding color pallette. The first question I had to ask myself was what do clowns wear, and what color palettes go well with each other. I started with a yellow suit as I thought that the best color choices for the happy side would be primary colors. Yellow was a great play as I could easily replace it with brown in the following side next to it. Using copic markers I colored in the rest of the clown making the skin pink, and the lips white, with a deep red nose. I wanted to keep the clown potif alive, but also humanize it, by giving it human complexion, and a more human skin tone so it isn't creepy or distant to normal people. After the coloring of the clown was completed, I moved on to adding a picture frame around it to give it a rustic and almost "dropped and forgotten" picture frame look.
Compare/Contrast
Similarities
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Reflection
Overall I think this is one of the strongest pieces I've ever created. It holds so much emotional weight and backs that up with actual skill within the medium, I am an illustrator at heart, and I have taken classes and lessons specifically to help my ability at storytelling within just a picture. The overall outcome of the piece is amazing, the colors are great, it pops, you can see the separation and the mental divide between both states of the clown (me) within the piece. Im amazingly surprised with how well the skin tones and the face turned out really expressing the pain and sadness that I wanted to show within this work. I was working within my comfort zone and that paid off in full, This work expresses the suppression of emotions so well it gives me and my family chills, I am so proud of this piece. The only things that I would change would be to make more ties to the expressionism movement, and to create more ties to the actual source of Edvard Munch. Maybe cleaner edges and possibly a better pallette for the neck of the clown too, as it was too dark in contrast to everything else. As this being my choice piece I am completely satisfied with how I created this work and how it turned out in the end.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The cause effect relationship between my inspiration and my work is fairly easy to see, as expressionism was a dark and messy art period, which is shown within the "dark side" of my piece. Along with the use of a clown in the piece as Maia Oliver did.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Expressionism is a fairly odd art movement, it looks like impressionism but has the symbolic meaning like symbolism. It really opens up when used, and can help people like Edvard munch get ideas across.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The symbolism of clowns are fairly different depending on the medium its used in, it can be happy, and joyful, or creepy and unsettling, or even like in my piece, depressing and saddening.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to convey and express the pain that I felt personally, by representing myself as a clown, which is what I see myself as at certain times in my life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Intention behind what people, (especially Edvard Munch) had behind their art work.
The cause effect relationship between my inspiration and my work is fairly easy to see, as expressionism was a dark and messy art period, which is shown within the "dark side" of my piece. Along with the use of a clown in the piece as Maia Oliver did.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Expressionism is a fairly odd art movement, it looks like impressionism but has the symbolic meaning like symbolism. It really opens up when used, and can help people like Edvard munch get ideas across.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The symbolism of clowns are fairly different depending on the medium its used in, it can be happy, and joyful, or creepy and unsettling, or even like in my piece, depressing and saddening.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to convey and express the pain that I felt personally, by representing myself as a clown, which is what I see myself as at certain times in my life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Intention behind what people, (especially Edvard Munch) had behind their art work.
Bibliography
“Edvard Munch and His Paintings.” Edvard Munch - Paintings,Biography,Quotes of Edvard Munch. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://www.edvardmunch.org/.
“Sad Clown Paintings.” Fine Art America. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/sad clown.
“Expressionism Movement Overview.” The Art Story. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/expressionism/.
“Sad Clown Paintings.” Fine Art America. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/sad clown.
“Expressionism Movement Overview.” The Art Story. Accessed February 10, 2020. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/expressionism/.