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Looking at Artwork for Inspiration

I decided that for this unit I want to look at protest art. I was inspired by the Womens March that happened recently after Donald Trumps Inauguration. I read an article about protest art called 'The Power of Protest Art and the Dignity of the Protester'. The article discussed one issue in particular, Black Lives Matter. In the article, they discussed inspirations for artwork and how it is perceived by both the artist and the public.

My Idea

I want to make protest signs and take photos of people holding them then making everything in black and white except the protest sign. 

Here are some issues I would like to explore 

  • Women's rights

  • Black Lives Matter

  • Illegal Immigrants

  • LGBT rights

  • Global warming 

  • Animal rights

Developing my idea further

I felt like my idea seemed too broad and simple and I really want to focus on a skill that I've never done before. So I've decided to make my project more focused by making it about feminist protests specifically. So basically I am going to make protest signs that depict issues with inequality of genders, then take photographs of women holding these signs, then I will edit the pictures to simple make them black and white. Then I will carve a lino print of a feminist sign and with a pink-oil-translucent color stamp it onto the black and white photographs.  

Planning

  1. Make posters

    1. "They tried to bury us but they did not know we were seeds."

      1. Red, white and black theme; all cap; black marker​

    2. Outraged​

      1. Pink fist​

      2. big black letters

    3. "If you're not angry, you're not paying attention"​

      1. on cardboard paper ​

      2. paint

      3. words underlined

    4. "Girls just wanna have fundamental rights"​

      1. pink cut out hearts​

      2. white poster paper

    5. "Not whores, not virgins, just women" ​

      1. bubble writing ​

  2. Take photographs ​

    1. get 5 models​

    2. take picture using phone camera or professional camera

    3. In the drama court

    4. print multiple photos

  3. Make lino print

    1. sketch design

    2. carve lino print

  4. Put ​the work together

    1. Stamp the lino print unto the black and white photo graph with oily pink ink.​

Making the posters

  • Poster two

  • Poster one 

  • Poster three

  • Poster four

  • Poster five

I picked five quotes or words that I liked to make as protest signs. I looked online for signs that I though were powerful or attention grabbing. Then I made the posters with cardboard and poster paper. I tried to use  a mixture of paint and markers for the protest signs. Then when I was done, I used a glue gun and some scrap wood I found to create the handles for the signs. 

Taking the  photographs

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I photographed the photos with my phone instead of my camera because I felt that it would be easier to munipulate and move the pictures around. After I took the photos, I used an app to change the photos to black and white. I the will now pick the best photos that I will use with the lino print to use as my final work. 

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The Photos I will be using in my final piece

Carving the lino print 

Before I started caring, I researched about feminist symbols and logos. I picked one that I liked and sketched it in my art book and on a lino print. 

After I sketched the first feminist symbol unto the lino print, I carved out the design.

Then I wanted to make another lino print with a different feminist symbol and different material to carve into. Mr. Keys showed me a material I've  never seen before that seems almost like hairier suede, it has a softer, messier print but I really like it so I decided to use it. 

Then I asked Mr. Keys about the type of paint I should use and he suggested glass paint which is great because it is light and transparent so that when it shows up on the photos, it will transparent enough to not block the photos.

Making the final piece 

First I went to the photo store to print the pictures I picked. I could not print them as big as I wanted because they were expensive so I think I am going to have to change my original plan to a collage. Although I don't really want make a collage because I've already made a collage and I want to do some thing different. Then I told Mr. Key and he started arranging the photos in different ways and experimenting with how they looked. So I decided that instead of having a collage or individual images, I would just put them together in one piece. Then I experimented multiple times on the extra photographs that I had. After that, I experimented again with how different colors go together. Then when I thought I was ready, I made about 5 prints of the sign on the pictures.

Arranging the pictures to find a suitable organization.

Testing the paint on a picture for a practice round.

Stamping the lino prints onto the pictures with paper on the back. 

Making the background out of cut out texts and articles.

Final Piece & Artist's Statement

My work is inspired by the Women's March that happened on January 21st 2017, right after Donald Trump's inauguration.  Women's rights is the fight for the idea that women should have equal rights with men. Over history, this has taken the form of gaining property rights, the women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for for equal pay. Today, women are still being oppressed in different part of the world. The protest signs in the artwork play a big part, they give light to issues such as slut shaming and ignorance. The lino print is a famous feminist symbol. The colors blue and purple symbolizes truth and confidence while red and orange represents a fiery anger. 

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