The Summer Posts

It’s summer here I hearing about the class available during the summer at GCE (Art History), I thought why not. Just like every other term this year, there are the Action Projects which overall answer the guiding question and sums up the unit we were working on. As of this unit, we were to create a poem about who claims our Chicago experience, create a visual that represents this poem, and then write an artist statement explaining about what it is. The Action Project does involve art and had me working with a new medium, carving. I do always enjoy all types of art and using something different than a pencil, pen, piece of charcoal, and other handheld basic drawing tool was also a challenge. I had never used a carving tool before but I  learned that the way the linoleum cutout was going to be flipped through a filling, that meant everything carved in was going to be popping out, so basically I just had to draw while keeping depth in mind. Below this the artist statement as well as the poem and picture, I hope you enjoy.

Beauty is Everywhere

VG

Soft cut linoleum, Carving tools

6x6 inches

7/1-2/14

I answered the guiding question for this unit, "Who claims my Chicago experience?", using a visual that relates to my poem which was also written to answer it.By referring to art and beauty using this poem I answered the guiding question (free verse poem):

Who Claims the City

Do you want to know who rules this city?

The true one who controls common life,

Is not a person

One can say that it’s the government and judicial system

I can say it’s the art

The Art Institute, Marwen, even the streets

They all have art, and are famous for it

Not only visual arts either

Nothing restricted, multiple mediums

Not always hand made, or meant for the eyes

But what it is? it is beauty,

True wonderful beauty for all to behold

This is what controls my Chicago experiences, the amazing art for all

Photography, statues, models,

Figures, tags, graffiti,

Murals, paintings, animation,

music too…

Everywhere, everything, everyone,

you can find beauty inside it.

VG, Carving of Poem (mirrored for convenience)

My poem also connects to historical events because Chicago was a vast, empty land that may not be all so nice to the natives, but the Anglo-Americans (the settlers who came in afterwards/not native to the land) saw true beauty and possibilities with it and it’s rivers for water trade. They saw beauty where no one else did. Since I spoke of street art and the beauty you can find anywhere, I made a carving of street art that contained various styles and a graffiti tag of the word beauty with a hand below it pointing at the viewer (representing how beauty can be found anywhere).

Now Neoclassical art is a simple idea/subject art piece that contains symmetry and rather emotionless features (no strong influence or any specific feeling associated with it) with clean lines, the figure depicted may be of a heroic figure as well. My art piece is pretty simple with the word beauty and a hand pointing towards the viewer, I also added symmetrical elements with two human figures on the side. After sketching the piece, I shaded (several times  and very darkly) the areas that I would want to stand out.

Then using the linocut, the graphite rub off, creating an outline. Then I could carve the same spots I wanted to pop out which in the final product, will be lifted from the concrete canvas. As of the carving alone, it will be fine adjusted with the tools and then be the base a a concrete like mold, flipping it over and receiving the final product.