Dry Point
Controllers, Part II
Medium: Ink on Paper Size: 15cm X 20cm Completed: October 17, 2017 Exhibition Text: This piece is meant to show the conflict between Man V. Machine; how technology is heavily integrated into our society, and whether we have control over it and use it as a tool, or if it has control over us, and we are addicted and blinded by it. The piece uses inspiration from Tolkien's metaphor of the One Ring and Sauron in the Lord of the Rings, and the style and purpose of propaganda from Rubber-Hose Animation used in early cartoon animation. |
Artistic Inspiration
J.R.R. Tolkien & The Machine
An inspiration for the continuation of "Controllers" came from Tolkien's trilogy "The Lord of the Rings", and the metaphor of "Man V. Machine" hidden through the One Ring, and Sauron.
Tolkien had interpreted machinery as something more menacing than a mechanical device used as a tool to aid us, but as a fundamental representation for the lust of power - more specifically, for power over other people. While machinery - and now technology - isn't something that can't be gotten rid of because of how integrated it is into our society, Tolkien shows us how we have trouble seeing how it may negatively impacts our everyday lives.
Sauron is the representation of mankind and their greed for power, and how the use of machines is what will give them that absolute power over everything; the machine that those people desire in the Lord of the Rings is the One Ring, a ring that if given to, corrupts the user absolutely of its lust for power. The machine takes away how humans use creativity and hard-work to produce things for necessity and pleasure - which is the way of living for Hobbits, and transforms that into something dull and enervating for the only benefit of gaining more power. Instead of mankind taking the joy from making things, machines replace that creation process and make us as people only want to consume more to gain more.
I incorporated the metaphor into my piece through the representation of Sauron/the machine through the large figure in the background that is in control of the person he has stringed up, as well as the world, with the globe connected to him. The One Ring in the image is the phone in the person's left hand, which is also the hand broken away from the influence of the machine, to demonstrate the resist of control over us through the use of technology.
An inspiration for the continuation of "Controllers" came from Tolkien's trilogy "The Lord of the Rings", and the metaphor of "Man V. Machine" hidden through the One Ring, and Sauron.
Tolkien had interpreted machinery as something more menacing than a mechanical device used as a tool to aid us, but as a fundamental representation for the lust of power - more specifically, for power over other people. While machinery - and now technology - isn't something that can't be gotten rid of because of how integrated it is into our society, Tolkien shows us how we have trouble seeing how it may negatively impacts our everyday lives.
Sauron is the representation of mankind and their greed for power, and how the use of machines is what will give them that absolute power over everything; the machine that those people desire in the Lord of the Rings is the One Ring, a ring that if given to, corrupts the user absolutely of its lust for power. The machine takes away how humans use creativity and hard-work to produce things for necessity and pleasure - which is the way of living for Hobbits, and transforms that into something dull and enervating for the only benefit of gaining more power. Instead of mankind taking the joy from making things, machines replace that creation process and make us as people only want to consume more to gain more.
I incorporated the metaphor into my piece through the representation of Sauron/the machine through the large figure in the background that is in control of the person he has stringed up, as well as the world, with the globe connected to him. The One Ring in the image is the phone in the person's left hand, which is also the hand broken away from the influence of the machine, to demonstrate the resist of control over us through the use of technology.
Rubber-Hose Animation
Rubber-hose animation was something that I recently have wanted to try in a piece since the recent debut of a game called "CupHead", which uses rubber-hose animation to create a unique style for the surreal story-line and "run-and-gun" mechanics of the game. Rubber-hose animation was used in the early-1920's to mid-1930's, and refers to how characters noodle-like arms and legs were like hoses to indicate no bone structure, allowing for them to be more bouncy and surreal in their movements. Some examples are Walt Disney and his partner Ub Iwerks, who both created Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Warner Bros. Looney Tunes first character-hit Bosko.
I wanted to use rubber-hose animation for its style, as it creates a unique style for my dry-point that I thought would be more attractive for viewers to look at, as it would stand out from the more realistic and semi-realistic approaches, and allows for more creative freedom on how detailed and surreal the piece can be, and for the metaphor and interpretations of the piece. Taking into consideration that the art style was done in black and white - due to saving on production costs - I respected that of the medium and kept my dry point in black and white.
Rubber-hose animation was something that I recently have wanted to try in a piece since the recent debut of a game called "CupHead", which uses rubber-hose animation to create a unique style for the surreal story-line and "run-and-gun" mechanics of the game. Rubber-hose animation was used in the early-1920's to mid-1930's, and refers to how characters noodle-like arms and legs were like hoses to indicate no bone structure, allowing for them to be more bouncy and surreal in their movements. Some examples are Walt Disney and his partner Ub Iwerks, who both created Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Warner Bros. Looney Tunes first character-hit Bosko.
I wanted to use rubber-hose animation for its style, as it creates a unique style for my dry-point that I thought would be more attractive for viewers to look at, as it would stand out from the more realistic and semi-realistic approaches, and allows for more creative freedom on how detailed and surreal the piece can be, and for the metaphor and interpretations of the piece. Taking into consideration that the art style was done in black and white - due to saving on production costs - I respected that of the medium and kept my dry point in black and white.
Cuphead's "King Dice" and Pinocchio's "The Coachman"
A massive inspiration for the design of "the machine" in my piece was originally a character from the game CupHead named King Dice, who I used for both the design of the machine with his large, toothy grin and big eyes, and for the design of his tuxedo. A conclusion I did when researching further into the design of King Dice, however, was the comparison made with him to The Coachman, the villain from Pinocchio. The image on the right shows the obvious similar characteristic choices with both characters, but interestingly the characters share similar goals towards their protagonists. Both of these characters use manipulation and brute force to attempt stopping the protagonist of their story to achieve their goals of freedom in order to obtain more power; King Dice wants to stop the protagonists of Cuphead - Cuphead and Mugman - from being freed from their deal with the devil so that he doesn't lose his bet with the Devil, and the Coachman wants Pinocchio to not gain his freedom and become a real boy for money.
Already using the design of King Dice to be the physical representation of the machine, I wanted to use what I learned about the motives through The Coachman", and showed that by having mankind dangle from strings like a puppet being controlled, much like Pinocchio himself.
A massive inspiration for the design of "the machine" in my piece was originally a character from the game CupHead named King Dice, who I used for both the design of the machine with his large, toothy grin and big eyes, and for the design of his tuxedo. A conclusion I did when researching further into the design of King Dice, however, was the comparison made with him to The Coachman, the villain from Pinocchio. The image on the right shows the obvious similar characteristic choices with both characters, but interestingly the characters share similar goals towards their protagonists. Both of these characters use manipulation and brute force to attempt stopping the protagonist of their story to achieve their goals of freedom in order to obtain more power; King Dice wants to stop the protagonists of Cuphead - Cuphead and Mugman - from being freed from their deal with the devil so that he doesn't lose his bet with the Devil, and the Coachman wants Pinocchio to not gain his freedom and become a real boy for money.
Already using the design of King Dice to be the physical representation of the machine, I wanted to use what I learned about the motives through The Coachman", and showed that by having mankind dangle from strings like a puppet being controlled, much like Pinocchio himself.
Planning
|
After thoroughly understanding my inspirations, metaphors, and theme of my piece, I started work on putting these ideas together into a draft for my dry point. With the ideas of the piece already figured out, what I was trying to construct was the composition of the piece, the movement around the piece, and keeping true to the art style of rubber-hose animation.
The first sketch had a heavy focus on the person - with him located in the center and foreground of the piece, and the entity of the machine being in the background. However, I wanted to draw more focus on "the machine", and decided with the second sketch that I would make him the focal point, by making him larger in scale to the person. I was happy with the composition of the piece - your eyes being able to mover around the piece in a circular motion, but the meaning I was trying to get across and the level of detail in the piece wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be. |
I decided to first redesign "the machine", keeping the idea of the TV head and the tuxedo design of the suit, but added more detail that solidified the character as some machine that has added parts to himself, like the antenna, the mechanisms in the hat, and the little extension on the left-side of his head.
For the person, I implemented the design of myself into the piece to add a personal connection to the struggle I feel with technology and its negative impact that it has had on me.
The final sketch emphasizes the personal struggle that I have with technology, and the attempt of breaking free from it by having the hand with my phone in it pulling free from control of the strings, demonstrating the control I have over technology and its influence on me. The final sketch also emphasizes technology has on the world; having the machine literally sitting atop the globe and being hooked into it by wires and pipes to demonstrate its grasp it has on the Earth.
For the person, I implemented the design of myself into the piece to add a personal connection to the struggle I feel with technology and its negative impact that it has had on me.
The final sketch emphasizes the personal struggle that I have with technology, and the attempt of breaking free from it by having the hand with my phone in it pulling free from control of the strings, demonstrating the control I have over technology and its influence on me. The final sketch also emphasizes technology has on the world; having the machine literally sitting atop the globe and being hooked into it by wires and pipes to demonstrate its grasp it has on the Earth.
Process, Ideas, and Intentions
After finishing my sketch, I first peeled the plastic layers off of the clear-printing plate and taped it directly on top of the sketch. Next, I used the linoleum cutter tool and carved into the plate, looking through the plate to follow over the lines of the sketch to replicate the image onto the plate. Once I had the lines traced, I want over them one more time to assure myself that they were deep enough for the ink to rest into them.
Next was to start the printing process. Grabbing a sheet of thicker paper, I placed It into a tub of water - provided by the class - and let it sit in there for a few minutes while I prepared to ink my plate. Before starting, I grabbed the oil-based ink, the plastic palette knife, and paper for the plate. I tore up one of the sheets of paper for cleaning the ink off later on, and then used the other to rest my plate on. |
|
Using the plastic palette knife, I scooped a small amount of the oil-based ink and smeared it across the plate to make sure that the ink settled into the crevices. Once I knew that there was enough ink in the plate, I used the torn paper I had and cleaned off the ink until the only ink on the plate was in the lines I carved.
Once that completed, I went over to the tub and took out my paper, then used a towel and dabbed it to prevent from dripping, but still wet enough for printing. Then I grabbed the thick paper and my plate with the ink, and then laid it into the printing press. Then I closed the folds in the press and rolled it through to get my final product.
Once that completed, I went over to the tub and took out my paper, then used a towel and dabbed it to prevent from dripping, but still wet enough for printing. Then I grabbed the thick paper and my plate with the ink, and then laid it into the printing press. Then I closed the folds in the press and rolled it through to get my final product.
Experimentation
|
When working on printing out my dry point, I noted that the first one turned out too muddled due to me putting too much ink to the plate, and from applying too much pressure distributing the ink from the plate to my paper in the printing press.
Next, I tried to add less ink, and applied less pressure. After going through the printing press, the image looked cleaner, and some areas of the overall image turned out better than before, but the image was now more faded, and lost most of the detail I needed for the piece. I added a little more ink to the next few, but still kept getting the same result. I was a little stumped as to what I wasn't doing right, until I was recommended by a friend to try and slightly increase the amount of pressure in the press, as there may not have been enough to put the ink onto the paper. |
I took the suggestion, and increased the pressure, which resulted in getting the best piece I could get. While the tooth lost a little detail, and filled itself in, it didn't distract the piece at all and works with it just as it would've if the detail was there. It was as close to perfect as I would get, and furthermore, I was proud of it.
Critique
When working on my dry point, I went back after the first two sketches to better incorporate my inspirations, more specifically through the rubber-hose animation art style. In all of my sketches, I was able to include all of the metaphors/symbolism's and themes that I wanted the viewer to see - the final draft being the strongest in showing these ideas.
Reflection
I am extremely pleased with the final product of the dry point. I was able to include the message - on a global and personal level - that has made the piece stronger than my block print, which despite being a strong final piece, wasn't my original take on how I wanted it to be. This piece had a clear focus, and I put a lot of effort into bringing that into the piece. My inspirations for Tolkien's metaphor of "the machine" in Lord of the Rings, the style of Rubber-Hose animation, and the overall character design and ideologies of Cuphead's King Dice and The Coachman from Pinocchio were perfect choices for this piece, and allowed a balance of being unique in its style while allowing the themes to be equally as strong and present. After learning from the block print that the piece would be mirrored, I drew and carved the piece mirrored to allow the piece to be presented correctly.
ACT Responses
- Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its affect upon your artwork: I was able to identify the cause-effect relationship of my piece to my inspirations through metaphors, with the biggest one being the entity in my piece "The Machine" and the idea that it controls us and strips us of our basic humanity, and how we should always keep guard and rebel from its control.
- What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration: Regarding the topic of the inspiration, Tolkien demonstrates his fear of machinery, showing how it corrupts and controls us to have the desire to have more control - the One Ring representing that idea; it's affects are showed the Orcs, who destroy nature for resources to make more weaponry and machinery. He displays through the Hobbits, however, how we can use it for our benefit, but should always keep guard of it and resist its temptations.
- What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration: What I've learned about society through inspiration is the general idea of technology, and the negative interpretations that have followed it from its introduction. Tolkien demonstrates his fear of machinery and technology, and rubber-hose animations used propaganda and negative connotations towards machinery and its relation to the automation of people during The Industrial Revolution and The Great Depression.
- What was the central idea of theme around your inspirational research: The central theme of my piece and my inspirations were "Man versus Machine" and the idea of control and manipulation, which were all large focuses all three of the inspirations I used drew from as well.
- What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research: In my inspiration, I was able to note the use of metaphors in the artwork and writing, and apply them to my piece through the use of metaphors in the globe, and largely in the idea of the person and their actions.
Citations (MLA Format)
Rubber-Hose Animation (Info & Image): Belton, Natalie. “The ANIMATORIUM.” Spaghetti Limbs, Bouncy Movements: The Age of Rubber Hose, 1 Jan. 1970, the-animatorium.blogspot.com/2013/06/spaghetti-limbs-bouncy-movement-age-of.html.
King Dice/Coachman(Info & Image): “King Dice.” Cuphead Wikia, cuphead.wikia.com/wiki/King_Dice.
Tolkien and The Machine Metaphor (Info and Image): Richard Gunderman Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Tolkien and the machine.” The Conversation, 7 Dec. 2017, theconversation.com/tolkien-and-the-machine-35826.
King Dice/Coachman(Info & Image): “King Dice.” Cuphead Wikia, cuphead.wikia.com/wiki/King_Dice.
Tolkien and The Machine Metaphor (Info and Image): Richard Gunderman Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Tolkien and the machine.” The Conversation, 7 Dec. 2017, theconversation.com/tolkien-and-the-machine-35826.