Block Print
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ConversationBlock Print
15cm x 23cm September 2019 Exhibition Text: Conversation was inspired by the Post-Impressionism movement. Vincent Van Gogh's The Bedroom and Gauguin's Chair are the two main sources of inspiration. The intention of the piece is to showcase confrontation in an apprehensive manner. The theme didn't come from the two pieces but rather from the fact that there is symbolism that comes from objects and the rough brush stroke technique that is used in his paintings. |
Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration came from the works of Vincent Van Gogh. The two pieces are The Bedroom and Gauguin's Chair which were both oil painted in 1888. The rough brush strokes and sentimentality, emotions and background expressed through the objects is what inspired me. Both of the artworks made me feel how the mood, placement, and overall atmosphere of a room can tell a story. Vincent Van Gogh said that the reason he didn't put any shadows on the objects in The Bedroom is because he wanted the piece to resemble a Japanese print. I found that to be an interesting decision to have in a still life painting especially since it related to the medium of my project so that's why I wanted to apply that concept to my piece.
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(Click on images to enlarge)
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Gauguin's Chair is a painting of a chair of Van Gogh's friend whose also an artist who passed away. The symbolization of the colors, placement of objects such as candles, and overall everything is to describe the characteristics and absence of his friend, Paul Gauguin. The green and red hues were put into the composition to resemble a night time atmosphere. There also detailed shadows and lighting on the legs of the chair from a gas lamp shining onto the polished wood. Though those intricate details related to contrast and shadows/lights can be admirable, what really pulled me into this piece was the symbolism and how a simple painting like this can mean something so powerful. Another interesting fact about this is that he also made another painting of his peasant chair which was made in a daytime atmosphere called Van Gogh's Chair. This painting isn't particularly related to my project but it still relates to the fact that objects can tell a story so I still found it pretty intriguing.
Planning Sketches
My first idea was to choose an artist from the art nouveau and figural expressionism movement. The person and pose would be directly inspired by Madome X by Sargent and the background would be inspired by Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace by Frida Kahlo. Also, the theme of the piece would have been identity. I decided not to choose this one because I felt that I could've thought of a better idea that dealt with a more personal composition.
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My second planning sketch is inspired by pop art movement. The inspiration piece would be The Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein. The theme would have been apathy or obliviousness and how it leads to isolation in some ways. The style of Lichtenstein isn't really presented well in the planning sketch but that's because the plan was if I chose this piece to be my block print I would have refined it later on with techniques and metaphorical connections.
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This last sketch is the one that is closest to the final piece. I was inspired by the way that Vincent Van Gogh took a more simplistic approach when painting the bedroom with the unsaturated contrast in color and an interesting use of movement. The theme is confrontation which is shown by how the placement of objects and lighting create that sort of feeling. The end product ended up having only one light source so I things didn't end up getting complicated since this is my first print. But I also felt that it adds more of a suspense factor only having one spotlight on the 2 chairs.
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Process
Experimentation
To the right are all of the prints that I made up until the final one. I had difficulty making the first print clear but I realized that I used too much ink. I also didn't try to stray away from the carved areas which resulted in a lot white areas being covered in ink.
On the second print I decided to use less ink and be more cautious on where I would roll the ink. This made up for a decent print in my opinion but I felt that the black areas could be darker since in some areas there were more white specks than I expected. The third print had even more white specks in the black areas because I didn't put enough ink on the ink roller and that I didn't realize that I didn't rub hard enough with the brayer on some of the areas where there were small details. The fourth print ended up being the best print since there was more of a contrast. But I didn’t want it to have too much contrast though so it would still give off the rough look that Van Gogh had in his paintings. |
(Click on images to enlarge)
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(Click on images to enlarge)
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ProcessAfter I finished the planning sketches and decided on which one was going to be the final product, I completed the final drawing which has the same margins as the block which is 30cmx23cm. The drawing is kind of rough but I added enough detail just so I had a decent guide of what to carve and what not to carve. Then, I scanned and made a copy of the page and cut it out with scissors. On the back of the copy of the drawing I shaded the whole side with pencil so then I could transfer the graphite on to the block. The transfer method works by me tracing the copy over the block so the graphite underneath the paper can transfer because of the pressure, this is to replace carbon transfer paper.
After transferring I finally started to carve the block. For the small details like the chairs, I used a small curved carving tool. For the smaller details like refining the lines of the legs of the chairs I used the v-shaped tool. The large curved carving tool is what I used for the largest white areas such as the beaming light. There were a lot of consideration of how I was going to get the look of Vincent Van Goghs painting out of block print but it does help to know that one of the paintings were inspired by Japanese prints. |
Though the paintings made by Vincent Van Gogh that I chose for inspiration weren't block prints I found some ways in emulating his style. One of the ways I did this was by carving the areas I was going to leave white partially carved, so that there would be a rough look to the light and the chairs, but I still left the use of line from The Bedroom as well as demonstrating the movement and contrast from Gauguin's Chair. After I finishing up the carving process I started to print. The first picture to the right are the tools I used to print and the bottom left picture is what I used to lay the ink down so that I could get it onto the ink brayer. I used a bamboo baren because I wanted to give it a more organic feel like Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. On that note, the piece would have lost that major connection if I used a plastic baren where it is completely flat and solid. Overall I enjoyed the process and I feel I developed more carving skills since last year. I also learned which tools are the most efficient for different tasks in terms of detail.
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(Click on images to enlarge)
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Reflection
To outline the whole project, the process of creating a block print was very challenging and out of my comfort zone but I'm very glad with the end result. I feel I developed better print-making skills and a better understanding of making art in a reverse-like manner in terms of the contrast between positive and negative space. I did face a few problems trying to create small details but throughout the process I discovered which methods were the most effective. For example, the individual carving tools have their own unique purpose depending on what kind of details you want to add. Another example that I found out is that you don't need to carve in too deep for smaller details, you just need to use less ink in the more intricate areas of the piece.
Similarities
- Uses line for the majority of the piece. - Rough organic texture. - No shadows are being cast from objects. Differences - I used mostly symmetrical balance but Van Gogh used asymmetrical balance. - Van Gogh's paintings have more use of movement than my piece since my piece was made to be focused on one thing/concept rather than multiple things. - Both mediums are different. Since the medium of my piece is a block print, mine can't have color. |
ACT Responses
Clearly explain and describe how your are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Overall,The Bedroom and Gauguin's Chair by Vincent Van Gogh inspired me to create a background with no people as my block print. The composition and movement inThe Bedroom inspired me to tell a story/scenario using the placement of furniture, and in this case, chairs. Finally, the use of space in Gauguin's Chair made me want to make a simplistic but effective piece.
Overall,The Bedroom and Gauguin's Chair by Vincent Van Gogh inspired me to create a background with no people as my block print. The composition and movement inThe Bedroom inspired me to tell a story/scenario using the placement of furniture, and in this case, chairs. Finally, the use of space in Gauguin's Chair made me want to make a simplistic but effective piece.
What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author that described Vincent Van Gogh's motivation for his pieces states that every detail in his artworks has a reason.
The author that described Vincent Van Gogh's motivation for his pieces states that every detail in his artworks has a reason.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People usually pay attention to smaller details when the big picture is missing. An example of this especially being the death of a loved one.
People usually pay attention to smaller details when the big picture is missing. An example of this especially being the death of a loved one.
What kind of inferences (conclusons reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I feel that Vincent Van Gogh really cares about expressing himself personally throughout his artwork but wants the public to perceive it in their own way.
I feel that Vincent Van Gogh really cares about expressing himself personally throughout his artwork but wants the public to perceive it in their own way.
Bibliography
Van Gogh, Vincent. Gauguin's Chair, 1888, Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0048V1962
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Bedroom, 1888, Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0047V1962