Planet of the Political Commentary in Print

Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

The big stand out to me from this symposium was the Gorilla Girls. They're a group who fights sexism and racism in the art world. They've done a lot with billboards, posters, etc. They don't even put themselves in the limelight by wearing gorilla masks. Their most popular piece is this

I assume the art world had a reaction close to, "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" or something like that. It brought a lot of attention to the art world. It humiliated them

And I'm more then sure their response was "The way you humiliated me? All of you? YOU led me around on a LEASH!" But that's just an assumption. 

The art world really is dis-proportionally white and male. If you ask them they'll say they're taking efforts to make it more diverse but nothing they've done has made effective change. A conversation about it with them would go something like this.
Honorious :Tell us, why are all apes created equal?

George Taylor:George Taylor Some apes, it seems, are more equal than others.

OK I'll stop monkeying around. They seriously helped push for change using prints. It's impressive and it gave me the opportunity to use Planet of the Apes (1968) quotes. So, it's a win win. 

By the way if the font looks like the size changes often sorry it does and I don't know why.

The Project Video.

Be prepared for the saddest video you'll ever see

Boom.

Progress the only thing that will last.

Honestly when we started I felt totally out of my league. I have never done physical art so I was a fish out of water. The whole time I’ve felt like I needed to prove to myself that I could do this and at some points I think I really did, and other times I disappointed myself. Mainly because I know what I did wasn’t the best which is a good sign that I can improve, but it’s always been hard to enact those changes to get better.

The first thing we did was inward and outward movement. A common problem is I really don’t know how to represent abstract ideas. My head can’t think in these shapes and concepts because i’m too used to the linear or at least in some way a full story. But not knowing how to do something has never stopped me from doing it, so I did the project the best I could. Went around campus a bit and just kept replaying what Chapin said in class over and over in my head. I got some decent stuff but I knew it could be better.

The next project was one big piece that had both inward and outward. A thing Chapin kept telling us was to go bigger. So I busted out Neil Patrick Harris’ 2013 Tony opening number along with some awesome Jazz and did my best. I turned off my brain and went with what I thought was right and by the end I had something I actually liked. It felt right, and I liked looking at it. But even with that one I went less abstract than I wanted creating the progress of washing something with the continuous line. Kind of a bummer but not a huge problem.

Then we had to make paintings of different views and meanings of our work. This is where my downfall began. I got up to 9 and I was just stuck for hours. People all around me were doing these crazy things and using way different methods for their paintings, and I felt like once again my inability to think on a more conceptual level was really hurting me. I went back to my dorm and tried again with a fresh mindset the next day. I was only able to get 3 more done. On the bright side I caught up on all my podcasts and listened to a movie commentary track while I worked.

Then we worked with the dancers and it was such a cool experience that I felt bad for not being able to replicate it well (this feeling would only be amplified with the next project) but I still had a blast and enjoyed being able to do something different for a day. I felt like it was a lot easier to paint the movement in a way that worked for me because I just imagined it as taking notes on their movement. Also the lemonade and sandwiches we got were pretty dope. But that’s besides the point.

Then we had to make a work with the bamboo that represented what we saw the day before with the dancers. I was absent during class so I tried to put in extra time that just ended up being wasted on forcing everything together in a very poor way. I tried to make small pieces that were going to each be something from my sketches and I was going to frankenstein them together to make this bigger abstract work. But I fell to the same fate as Frankenstein where I found out I couldn’t play god. I created a really bad piece and by the morning it had blown itself outward as if to spite me for not liking it but still forcing it to work. Learned you just can’t force some stuff.

Overall I’ve learned a lot from all of this, mainly about work ethic and what to do when I just can’t wrap my head around something. Also no one has seen the work I put into my blog with its references to work like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Saturday Night Fever, Doctor Strangelove, Gambino, and more. I put genuine thought into what quotes fit what pictures and how the movie/T.V show fits with the work I did. But honestly, even if someone besides my mom read this stuff (Hi Alma, I love and miss you) I don’t think they'd find it as amusing as I do. (And for a good reason, they're lame)

Tuesday Morning Fever.

So I missed class due to being sick but my classmates filled me in and I found out I had to make a piece inspired by the dancers and the movement drawings we made of them.

So I tried to replicate multiple movements in the one work and I don't think it came out that well if i'm being honest. The loops are meant to represent the times when she ran across the room and one foot would stomp and the other would glide a bit more, the loop on the ground was when they kept eye contact while circling, and the loop within the other loop was when they danced together. At first my work was too symmetrical and it was really hard to break it, then when I started to it got better but I couldn't tell why it still wasn't that good. I think maybe if I had gone bigger it would have helped but I know something else is still missing.

"Going Through the Motions" Top 3

You know I really wanted to put a song lyric from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode for each photo but I'm more then sure you all think i'm insane now. But seriously it's the best musical episode of all time. You know what? I'll do it. Skip to the end for me talking about the process.

Buffy: Everybody started singing and dancing?

Buffy: (singing) Nothing seems to penetrate [stakes vampire] My heart.

(P.S this one and the next one are upside down and I tried to fix them but couldn't)

Giles: That would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronized dancing from the room service chaps.

Xander, Tara, Anya, Willow: [singing] It's getting eerie, what's this cheery singing all about?

So these are my top 3 from drawing the dancers in motion. It was a great experience and I felt bad for not being able to replicate it well enough. I think I made 3 more? But It was hard trying to replicate the graceful motion. I'm going to see The Nutcracker opening night so this got my hyped. Ya boi got a great seat. I'm talkin Orchestra A with seats in the 100s. Right in front of the aisle. Overall one of the coolest things I've had the privilege of doing.

My 12 Paintings That Were Way Harder Then Expected.

 So this one I painted the figure with its shadows

 This one is just the sculpture as is so I could better understand it all.

This orientation is wrong and I don't know how to fix it but this is all the shadows alone.

For this one I tried to make all of the loops really tight and it made me like the stuff I had made even more.

I focused on the right side for this to show how the lines work and it looks cooler then I thought it would.

This is another one with the wrong orientation but this is the left side and it's not as strong as the other but I still like it.

This one feels a bit like a trip but I painted the sculpture and repeated the curves to really make them pop.

I added loops where there wasn't and straitened up areas where there was. It really helped me appreciate what I had made before.

Why are so many of these the wrong orientation? I added squiggles galore and it made it a mess. 

This is a top down view. The idea came to me when thinking of Top Gun for no real reason.

This one is only lines, without the sink in the way, and the photo is upside down. Boom.

I did the whole thing the other way round and took everything into account.

I totally ran out of ideas at the 9 mark and just stared at it for hours. Took a nice long nap to think of 3 new ones. On the bright side I got to catch up on my NPR related podcasts like the 35 year old mom I really am and I found a new song I like. J'Ai Duex Amours by Madeleine Peyroux, look it up it's a really sweet nice song. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYIWRA7lqOY

Doctor Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Making Art.

"Sir! I have a plan!"

"He'll see the big board!" - General "Buck" Turgidson

"Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!" - General "Buck" Turgidson

"Mandrake, have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?" - General Jack D. Ripper

"Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines."

"I do not support the work of imperialist stooges." - Ambassador de Sadesky 


Ok but really tho this was a lot of fun. I kinda turned off my brain while listing to Jazz and trying to make a the outline then honed it into what the final product while listing to Goodbye Porkie Pir Hat, Blue in Green, and In A Sentimental Mood and using what we learned in class. BTW if you look at it from right to left it looks like the progression of someone washing something.


Bonus Quotes I wanted to use but didn't take enough pictures for

"Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face." - General Jack D. Ripper

You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company. -  Colonel "Bat" Guano

[Strangelove's plan for post-nuclear war survival involves living underground with a 10:1 female-to-male ratio]
General "Buck" Turgidson: Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn't that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship, I mean, as far as men were concerned?

Dr. Strangelove: Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious... service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.

 Ambassador de Sadesky : I must confess, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor.

Are You an Innie or an Outie?

Inward

The movement from the bending goes up to form a teardrop and I added another smaller one in the center of the formation.

 For this one the bamboo stems form the drain and wraps around and into itself a lot before the other end retreats back into the drain.

for this one I wanted it to look like it was passing from one piece of wood to another while having it move into itself a lot so even thought it's going from point A to point B it still has inward movement

Outward

For this one I wanted something basic but with a strong leading line to have more outward motion to try to start to understand the motion more.

This has upward motion with multiple ends pointing up to try to explode upward creating that energy.

The coiling of the wood around the chair felt active and even though the wood wraps within the chair. It trying to find its way out felt outward in that way.

Inner and Outer

 The movement from one point out out of the rack to another along with the intertwining around the objects captured what I felt to be both types of energy.

 The way this one expanded outward greatly but tightened up at points tried to capture what we talked about with how our hands gave away feelings.

This one was simple but I think it captures in and out on a really basic level that helps in understanding it.

Colors on Colors on Colors

So for this one I tried to use analogous color scheme. The people carry more weight and the blue in the arm of the man is meant to accent it while the tinted purple in the back is meant to soften the image. I thought of using blues when I remembered how calm the man was while getting arrested so I wanted to try something with that.

So for this one I tried a split complementary color scheme that had a darker tone. I used the orange red to make the mans head pop but then also added it to the cops shoulder and arm thing to balance it out. Since he is getting arrested I thought the place where the sheriffs patch and the man getting cuffed are good focus points. The blue/purple and green are complementary so they look really well together and help blend each other in.

This is a triad and the background is a green that's tinted to hell so I have the colors brown, blue, and green as a color scheme. The blues again are used to calmness, both his and now the officers while the brown on the officers body helps give a feeling of stability. The tinted green is used to complement them both

Another triad, I went with really vibrant colors to to to capture the energy of playing the drums. Pink = playful, blue = the calmness that he had in the photo, and yellow = idyllic

For this one I tried to go for a analogous color scheme to see if I could use the blues to capture more melancholy feeling. An image that's easier on the eyes and shows more of the cool side to the feeling from the original photo

This triad color scheme was used to bring the man to the foreground using red, the yellows were used to heavily accent the lines on his clothes and the symbols help balance it out and the blue is meant to bring stability into the piece.  

For all three of these I tried varying analogous color schemes that tried to contrast the girl sitting on the side of the sidewalk alone after too many drinks with colors had lighter or more vibrant tones then that street at night. I used the light blue to represent a calmness on the buildings and sidewalk as the opposite of they were like that night. I used the light purple in the background to represent dignity, the thing very little people had by the end of the night. Finally, I used the dark blues on the woman (who looks like a gross shape) to represent the seriousness she was feeling at that drunken moment.

For this one I flipped the blues and purple from the last image and made everything darker to carry more weight. I liked how it turned out and I think the meanings all still apply well.

For this one I used another analogous color scheme but one that was more vibrant to show the liveliness going on that night. I also made one important change, and that's the pink added. I put it in because a lot of the people I talked to said they were there for fun, but there was always a but. They would say something along the lines of, "But, if I find someone cool I'll get their number and take them out" So while I don't know if she was looking for love and was sad she didn't find any, I know there must have been a lot of others there that night that did feel that way. So this ones for them.+

My 6 Color Schemes

Color Theory And You: The Best Way To Make Someone Sad.

Color is one of the most important things we all use in our art, it sets the mood or can draw our attention somewhere. Understanding it and using it to your advantage can bring art to the next level. Color theory is one half the technical understanding of colors and how they work and one half understanding the philosophy of color. Both complex, both important.

There are four main aspects to color themselves.

Hue- The color, it says if it’s red, blue, or orange.

Tint- How much white you add to a pure hue.

Tone- How much grey you add to a pure hue.

Shade- How much black you add to a pure hue.

Before we go any further you’ll need to familiarize yourself with this

This is a color wheel, it’s a basic tool to help you understand and make color schemes. But before we can get into color schemes we need to talk about color harmonies.

Complimentary - This will pair colors that are opposite each other on our color wheel. The complete contrast of colors makes a very vibrant look while not being too jarring.

Amelie (2001)

It Follows (2014)

Triad - Colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel. These lead to very vibrant color schemes. The colors should be closely balanced but one color should be dominate.

Pierrot Le Fou (1965) 

Superman Returns (2006)

Split Complementary - This is a variation to the complementary color scheme. You take a base color and add two colors adjacent to its complement.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

DeJa Vu (2006)

Tetradic- This is a rectangular color scheme for colors arranged in two complementary pairs. This offers a lot of variation.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Birdman (2014)

Analogous - this uses colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel. They blend well and feel comfortable. These are more easily found in nature. Be weary, you still need enough contrast. One color should dominate, a second to support it, and another as an accent.

The Godfather (1972) (Also the best movie ever)

Traffic (2000)

Accented Analogous - The combination of Analogous and Complementary color schemes. So you use colors that area adjacent to each other on the wheel and you use a complementary accent as its opposite.

Monochromatic - This only uses colors derived from a single hue by exploring its shades, tones, and tints.

Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Matrix (1999)

 

Now that you understand the variations of color schemes you can make you need to understand the psychology to colors. Colors are closely tied to certain ideas and feelings, for instance a strong red has been shown to raise blood pressure while blues can calm you. Two ways red can raise your blood pressure is using it for hate and cruelty

Kill Bill (2003)

Or love and passion.

American Beauty (1999) (It's overrated imo)

Different colors mean a lot of different things Green can be Hope and fertility,

But also mundane and lifeless

Here is a more detailed photo with more colors, the feelings attached, and most importantly, more movies.

You can also create associations either through repetition or add context with preexisting ideas with what a color means.

Up (2009)

A New Hope farm boy Luke vs Return of The Jedi Jedi Knight Luke

Inside Out (2015)

Star Wars: Episode IV - Empire Strikes Back (1980) Bespin Duel

The Godfather (1972) (Still the best movie ever)

Knowing all of this you can now make a color palette that accurately fits your work of art in it’s technical and emotional aspects.