Block Print
Controllers
Medium: Ink on Paper Size: 20cm X 30cm Completed: September 21, 2017 Exhibition Text: The block print is meant to represent the progression of gaming: from its original intentions of being fun to becoming a stale, repetitive business copying each-other. A large inspiration was Andy Warhol, who dabbled in advertising and media, and how we perceive everything in our everyday life. The artwork is simplistic in its line and balance, but is done to allow the works focus to be direct. |
Artistic Inspiration
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Andy Warhol was the inspiration for the work that I had in mind. His knowledge and role in media, advertising, and marketing were what allowed us to have different perspectives on what was standardized and under-appreciated, and what was over-appreciated and idolized, and flipping those meanings on their head. A massive way that Andy Warhol did this was through his use of repetition and scale.
One of the two artworks of his I used was ¨Campbell´s Soup Can's", a 1962 piece that was made using synthetic polymer paint on canvas; the size of the piece being 246.38 cm X 414.02 cm as a whole, and each individual soup can on a 50.8 cm X 40.6 cm canvas. The other piece I approached was Andy Warhol's "Twenty Five Colored Marilyns", another 1962 piece of his that was also made using paint on canvas, with the piece being 208.3cm X 168.3cm in size. The main concept behind these two works is mass-production, and how we can see commonplace items or even huge celebrities, and see that when they're repeated on an image how their roles are reversed or re-interpreted: the soup can is given more purpose and meaning, and Marilyn Monroe is made more commonplace. As well, Andy Warhol's work had a balance of color and a great use in line that allowed for all of the detail in his work to be seen, showing that the work was hand-made. |
Planning
I had my piece in mind when deciding on the inspirations to use for my work, but of course wasn't sure beforehand how I wanted to display that, and more specifically, which controller I should choose. So, I drew out two designs: one obviously being the Nintendo NES Controller (the one I'd obviously go with), and then the standard controller used for other corporations like Microsoft and Sony for the Xbox and the Play Station. I played around with patterns for both designs in order to create something that would have more attraction to draw in viewers, with the "standard" controllers having Patterns where they interlocked with each-other to create a wallpaper effect, and then with the NES Controller having a brick or staggering pattern. When deciding between the two ideas, I liked the Nintendo controller as the better choice, as it was simpler in design, but also stood out more because of its background with a founding gaming company: Nintendo. Using my two inspirations, I worked on a rough-draft sketch of my product, which would be repeated rows of the NES Controller block print I made, with the far left column being all red controllers to signify when the industry was new and fresh, and the other controllers being black, with each row converging closer together in order to show how gaming is no longer unique.
With my piece, I planned on using the repetition in Andy Warhol's work to convey the industry of gaming in mine, and how their is the comparison from when gaming had a more fun purpose to becoming something so commonplace it lost it's original meaning. It has massively shifted from it's origins - the Nintendo NES Controller in red to represent that origin, to the black controllers, showing the mass-production of games, and how they follow a formula established just for the sack of business and competition with other gaming companies and studios. As well, I wanted to replicate the clean-lined look that Andy Warhol had achieved in his work, along with a contrast with the positive and negative space in the work.
With my piece, I planned on using the repetition in Andy Warhol's work to convey the industry of gaming in mine, and how their is the comparison from when gaming had a more fun purpose to becoming something so commonplace it lost it's original meaning. It has massively shifted from it's origins - the Nintendo NES Controller in red to represent that origin, to the black controllers, showing the mass-production of games, and how they follow a formula established just for the sack of business and competition with other gaming companies and studios. As well, I wanted to replicate the clean-lined look that Andy Warhol had achieved in his work, along with a contrast with the positive and negative space in the work.
Process, Ideas, and Intentions
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After planning how I wanted my work to be presented, I worked on carving my artwork on the linoleum board, using the linoleum cutting tools. While carving, I learned that it was required for you to take your time in order for me to get the clean-lined look that I was trying to achieve for my block print, and to make sure I didn't accidentally carve out any positive space; I also learned to go slower as to not harm myself while working on carving away the linoleum: I cut myself four times in the process. Once satisfied with the carving, I gathered the necessary materials to start printing. Using a tray, a roller, and the black ink, I smoothed out the ink on the tray for the roller to have a clean coat to spread across my design. When I had an even coat, I then rolled the ink across the linoleum, but immediately noticed that the negative space wasn't shallow enough, and had ink filling up in it. Before proceeding, I washed off the ink and carved the negative space deeper to prevent the ink from appearing in the negative space. Once I was finished with that, I re-inked the linoleum board and grabbed paper to finally start inking.
I pressed the paper down onto the print, and, using a baren, applied pressure so that all of the ink would translate onto the paper for the cleanest print. After I was satisfied with how much pressure I applied to the paper, I peeled back the paper to create the print. |
In my first few prints, their was either too much ink applied, making the image blotchy, or not enough ink, leaving more negative space in the piece than I wanted.
The same process was done with the red ink; however, I noticed that the red ink was more wet than the black ink, which would make the print slide and smear; the ink also dried quicker, meaning that if you weren't quick enough the print would look faced and worn. There was a lot of trail and error creating the perfect image for both the black and the red controller, but I eventually was successful in creating an image that was perfect.
The same process was done with the red ink; however, I noticed that the red ink was more wet than the black ink, which would make the print slide and smear; the ink also dried quicker, meaning that if you weren't quick enough the print would look faced and worn. There was a lot of trail and error creating the perfect image for both the black and the red controller, but I eventually was successful in creating an image that was perfect.
Critique
When doing the process for my artwork, I kept my inspiration in mind with the presentation of the work's color, space, and line work. As well, creating the repetition effect was something I attempted in my experimentation with the prints, but later realized that a digital program would be required in order to create the piece I was wanting to make.
Experimentation
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During my experimentation, the first block print I had made turned out to have not enough ink rolled onto the linoleum, and as a result the print turned out more faded and textured than my clean-lined approach.
This was not what I was wanting out of the piece when it was completed, and so for the next few blocks I changed two things: I included more ink to see if I could get the clean-lined look I was desiring, and also applied more pressure with the baren onto the paper to see if more ink would stick to the page, and result in making the image clean and crisp. After experimenting with this a few times, the results were mixed; some of the pieces were too blotchy with the combination of more ink and pressure, and with a few the lines turned out more crisp, but I didn't always apply the right amount of pressure to certain areas of the piece, and so the top-half or corners of the work would be faded. Finally, however, I was able to get a solid, clean-lined image of the work that I desired, which is used in the final product. After this, I also wanted to use red in the piece to signify a comparison in the piece between "old and new", and so I also experimented with the red acrylic ink. |
I did the same process that I had done with the black ink, and printed out the work onto the paper, but was surprised with the result that the work was very faded and worn (as seen in the slide-show). Curious as to why the work was so faded, I tried one more print and realized that the ink dried faster than the black ink, which led to my "failed" product. With the next piece, I decided to work more efficiently on it, making sure everything was in place before using the ink; on my first try with this change, the product turned out as perfect as I knew I'd get it, and was satisfied with how it turned out.
Reflection
Despite the many changes that went on throughout the process, I am very pleased with the final product, as it has a deeper meaning and connection to me that I feel I was able to display visually. As well Andy Warhol's "Marilyn Monroe" and "Campbell's Coup" were perfect pieces, as it shows both something that's appealing to the viewer, but has an underlying meaning about the industry that melded well with my piece. I didn't realize that the image would print in reverse, and so the controllers are backwards in the final product, making them slightly less recognizable; however, I don't think it distracts from the piece's motive. It I were to do redo the piece, I would've done the carving on the linoleum block in reverse so the final product would be done correctly.
ACT Responses
- Clearly explain how you were able to identify the cause-affect relationships between your inspiration and its affect upon your artwork: the use and function of repetition in Andy Warhol's artwork translated directly for my piece, and was used with the same intent of showing how gaming has been over-saturated.
- What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your research question: The author of my inspiration demonstrates how something being repeated has a positive and negative affect on how it's perceived by its viewer; how everything we do goes through a cycle of being placed on a pedestal for its time, and then losing it, only to repeatedly gain it and lose it. This piece has the same meaning.
- What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration: What I've discovered after researching my inspirations was how the repetition of something can make it no longer hold that specialty or pedestal that it's placed upon, and became a commonality; it can also do quite the opposite, and make common common and unknown be praised for its simplicity, yet revolutionary qualities that we give it.
- What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research: The central theme around my piece was the influence of gaming, and how it´s changed from being something original and fresh to something that is stale and colorless. I wanted to demonstrate that shift through the idea of color and repetition, which is where Andy Warhol came in as a large inspiration for my research.
- What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research: While reading about my Andy Warhol, I concluded on how people repetition in an image can be used to change an interpretation on an object, person, or even an idea; Andy Warhol used his knowledge of media and art to create a different viewpoint on someone or thing by either given it a bigger purpose, or lowering it to a standard.