Title: New Lens
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 60.96 x 60.96 cm Date: October 2016 A depiction of the human eye such that cultural diversity is expressed. An Aztec calendar as the iris represents not readily apparent Aztec roots. Additionally, the diverse array of pigments for the skin symbolize the influence of other cultures. Inspired by René Magritte, the objective was to demonstrate cultural diversity deeper than what is readily apparent to others. |
Artistic Inspiration: The artist who inspired this piece was René Magritte. Magritte was a Belgian artist born in 1898. He began his artistic career in commercial advertising while during his leisure time he experimented with his painting techniques. It wasn't until the 1920s that he began implementing a surrealist style into his artwork. He created thought-provoking images using simple graphics and painting simple everyday objects yet giving them a new meaning. Although Magritte experimented with numerous artistic styles, he was most well known for his surrealist techniques.
The painting that inspired my piece was his work The Fase Mirror. In this painting, a close up of a human eye is painted on a canvas utilizing oil paints. Although the eye is readily apparent, it is subjective in interpretation as René replaces the iris of the eye with a cloudy blue sky. It is this combination of simple objects that inspired my work. A combination such as this gives the work a new meaning. Although both objects are well-known, they develop a deeper meaning, subjective to interpretation. Personally, I interpret the painting as there is more than meets the eye as a common iris color is usually a dark brown. This dark brown coloration usually reminds me of an empty dark abyss yet when it is replaced with a cloudy blue sky I think of huge open world full of new discoveries. The sky gives the feeling of space and that there is more to a person than can be seen. It was such ideas that I wanted to be able to convey in my artwork using a similar method, however projecting the message of culture. |
Cultural Inspiration: Incorporating Aztec culture was one of the goals of my project. Being of Aztec decent, I wanted to portray this aspect of my heritage that is not often readily apparent to most. In order to do so, I wanted to utilize my piece as a medium of expression through which I could convey a deeper message. Combining the artistic style of Magritte and Aztec culture, my purpose was to express my inner roots that are not often visible upon exterior examination of myself. I chose to incorporate the Aztec calendar in my piece in order to symbolize my Aztec heritage due to it being a well-known piece of Aztec culture.
Planning
I began my work by first identifying what I wanted my piece to demonstrate. I set the goal of having a work of art that was able to show not only my personal connection to Aztec culture, but also analyze the idea of lost roots. Often times we descend from countries across the globe and branch from diverse cultures, yet our ancestry becomes lost over time. The goal of my piece was to express this message and provoke others to further examine their roots rather than identifying as just the societal norms of White, Black, Hispanic, Native, or other. Once I had a goal in mind, I continued my planning by sketching out ideas.
I began my work by first identifying what I wanted my piece to demonstrate. I set the goal of having a work of art that was able to show not only my personal connection to Aztec culture, but also analyze the idea of lost roots. Often times we descend from countries across the globe and branch from diverse cultures, yet our ancestry becomes lost over time. The goal of my piece was to express this message and provoke others to further examine their roots rather than identifying as just the societal norms of White, Black, Hispanic, Native, or other. Once I had a goal in mind, I continued my planning by sketching out ideas.
For my first planning sketch, I decided to approach my piece from solely a cultural perspective. I focused on only Aztec culture without an artistic inspiration in mind. I then implemented aspects of the Aztec culture into the human body. I focused on the heart to demonstrate the importance and connection of Aztec culture to me.
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Finally, I decided on depicting Aztec culture within me, since it is not readily apparent. False Mirror seemed like the perfect manner of portraying this. Therefore I decided to replace the sky in False Mirror with an Aztec calendar in order to demonstrate that within one there is more than meets the eye.
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Process
Once I had chosen a planning sketch, I began my process by photographing my eye. I experimented photographing my eye from varying angles as well as using landscape and portrait orientations. My goal was to capture mainly my eye but also the skin surrounding it. Additionally, I took photos with the flash on and without. When the flash was on, my pupil was dilated greatly which I didn't want. I wanted my eye to have a relaxed pupil with little dilation, however when I removed the flash my images were too dark and did not capture the detail in the eye. Therefore I decided to use the flash and then adjust my pupil size using Photoshop.
Once I had chosen a planning sketch, I began my process by photographing my eye. I experimented photographing my eye from varying angles as well as using landscape and portrait orientations. My goal was to capture mainly my eye but also the skin surrounding it. Additionally, I took photos with the flash on and without. When the flash was on, my pupil was dilated greatly which I didn't want. I wanted my eye to have a relaxed pupil with little dilation, however when I removed the flash my images were too dark and did not capture the detail in the eye. Therefore I decided to use the flash and then adjust my pupil size using Photoshop.
Once I had chosen an image, I utilized Photoshop to manipulate it. I cropped the image into a square and then used the quick selection tool to remove the iris from the picture, keeping only the pupil. Next I opened an image of the Aztec calendar in Photoshop and placed it as an additional layer behind my image of the eye. This allowed for the calendar to show through the open space left after I had deleted from iris. I then adjusted the calendar to be almost perfectly centered, such that the pupil aligned with the center of the calendar. Once aligned, I increased the size of the pupil to cover the center of the calendar in order to maintain a cleaner image. The whole calendar does not show through because the calendar is too big for the small space of the iris. Even if I resized the calendar, the detail would be too small and complex to create. I then placed a grid over the final image and drew a grid on my own canvas. This allowed me to draw the image on my canvas with greater ease.
Reflection
I accomplished my goal of displaying my diverse cultural background. The diverse arrangement and colors as well as the use of a cultural symbol, the Aztec calendar, help to demostrate this. I would have liked to preferably utilize darker colors in order to portray shading, however overall I am pleased with my work.
ACT Questions
ACT Questions:
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
-Emulated technique of removing iris and replacing it with an uncommon scene in order to portray idea of there is more to a person deeper on the inside.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
-There is more to one than meets the eye, however it is not always readily apparent.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
-People often make generalizations of people based on first impressions without getting to know the individual first.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
-The cultural idea of a diverse background hidden within ones ancestry.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
-Culture helps to define who one is but often times is ignored by others.
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
-Emulated technique of removing iris and replacing it with an uncommon scene in order to portray idea of there is more to a person deeper on the inside.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
-There is more to one than meets the eye, however it is not always readily apparent.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
-People often make generalizations of people based on first impressions without getting to know the individual first.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
-The cultural idea of a diverse background hidden within ones ancestry.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
-Culture helps to define who one is but often times is ignored by others.