StacyB

I chose this as my figurative piece because I really liked the look of it. It looked unfinished, but it was really interesting that it looked great anyway. I'm really glad that I chose this piece. The process of making this project was difficult at first. We made a grid and did the picture square by square. Mine was done in just black and white, so I used an ebony pencil. I also used a kleenex to blend most of the picture. The hardest part of the picture was the face because it was different than what someone would normally draw. The eyes were dramatic, and some of the face was completely hidden by a shadow. I think it was a successful work of art. I used different techniques than what I usually would to create this piece. If I were to do this again, I wouldn't do anything different to it.

Social Issue Reflection The reason I chose censorship for my project was it was an issue that I was interested in knowing more about. I found that not many people like to talk about it, and the issue can get very complex. Who really has the right to say what is “right?” I thought that censorship was an important issue to research and explore. The creative process for this project was unlike anything we have done before in our previous art classes. First, we had to create a figure out of clay that represents our social issue. Next, we had to create a way to inform our audience about our social issue. This could be a window, a tri-fold, or poster. I chose to do a tri-fold because it was easy to display information as well as show images. The problems that I encountered with this project were like I expected, at first. I had a hard time creating a clay figure, and getting it to stay together. After using slip and keeping it very wet in a paper towel overnight, it managed to stay the way that I wanted it to. After being in the kiln, it exploded. I glazed it normally, and glued it together later. Another problem I had was that my figure wouldn’t stand up by itself. Mrs. Ruggles helped me by recommending that I hot glue the figure to a piece of glass. This worked out perfectly. I also put some more censored letters under the glass to make it look more part of the piece. We also had to make many artistic decisions while creating this project. What should the clay figure look like? How should I display my information? How could I present this social issue in an artistic way? For my tri-fold, I chose to collage censored World War 2 letters and modern images that represent censorship. I then painted “The worst part about censorship is..”, followed by scribbles. I believe my project persuades my audience to my point of view because it shows the historical part of censorship in an interesting way. The red color in the black in white letters make the piece pop. I think people will consider changing their views on censorship after looking at my project.

Critique of Social Issue Paintings In the second painting, I think it shows homelessness as a social issue; mostly because of the materials surrounding the boy. It looks like he is sitting on the street with his dog. His clothes are made of newspaper and covered with words. I think the artist was trying to express his opinion through these words. Also, the sad expression on his face shows that he is wishing for a better life. The artist showed this through the materials used in this piece. By using cardboard and metal, it makes the project appear gritty and real. It makes one think of a street in a large city. He also used warm colors such as brown. This shows that his message is more of a subtle one, rather than if he used bright colors to convey his message.