"POPe pius xII"
Charcoal on paper
1. Define which techniques you tried and mastered? Struggled?
With this piece I decided to really let go and start grating charcoal aggressive against the paper without much regard for technical perfection. I incorporated my fingerprints, smeared the charcoal at will. I was messy and it was really fun to make. That being said, there was no technique or aim in my artistry that I could either struggle with or master. I wanted to splatter blood like I did in my previous work, but it wasn't showing up on the charcoal as I had hoped. Instead, I decided to use the ink dropper to drip paint onto the canvas from about a foot high. This splattered the ink when it hit the charcoal as it was somewhat resistant to absorption, which worked in my favor.
2. How did you draw inspiration from other artists techniques or aesthetics in your work? In what ways did you derive meaning or gain historical perspectives from their work? Why these artists?
-Pope Pius XXII
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold
- Dubliners
Pope Francis said that he does not want the church to be full of "whited sepulchers" walking around and looking like they're doing all the right things, but inside full of "dead people's bones" (mt 23:27)
3. Describe the evolution of your piece. Decisions made. Compositional elements.
My original idea was to show people standing, following, like robots, much like an army would. In front of them would be a religious figure, which originally was God/Jesus. His angel wings cast a shadow over them. However, instead of actually drawing individual people I decided that it would be more interesting (easier) to represent the souls of the people using black rectangles. I used perspective in this piece by making the rectangles smaller to show that they were farther away. Using charcoal (aggressively) lead to inevitable finger smudges. Instead of trying to avoid these, I incorporated them into my piece. I believe they made it seem more haunting and ghastly. It ended up looking like a graveyard, but that meaning works as well. I then drew Jesus with big wings and yellow around him and it looked really stupid. This piece was originally meant as sort of a joke, just to mess around a little bit. Then I started sketching an actual piece I wanted to do. It was a portrait of Pope Pius XII with the bones of the dead under his cloak. At the last minute, I decided to combine the two pieces, pasting Pope Pius XII
4. If you could consider doing something over, explain why you would do this and what you would do next time?
Nothing. C'est parfait.
5. Elaborate on how this piece links with your other pieces? What is the common thread?
The common thread is religion in literature. Inspired by the bishop in Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the paralyzed people of Dublin under the church.
With this piece I decided to really let go and start grating charcoal aggressive against the paper without much regard for technical perfection. I incorporated my fingerprints, smeared the charcoal at will. I was messy and it was really fun to make. That being said, there was no technique or aim in my artistry that I could either struggle with or master. I wanted to splatter blood like I did in my previous work, but it wasn't showing up on the charcoal as I had hoped. Instead, I decided to use the ink dropper to drip paint onto the canvas from about a foot high. This splattered the ink when it hit the charcoal as it was somewhat resistant to absorption, which worked in my favor.
2. How did you draw inspiration from other artists techniques or aesthetics in your work? In what ways did you derive meaning or gain historical perspectives from their work? Why these artists?
-Pope Pius XXII
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold
- Dubliners
Pope Francis said that he does not want the church to be full of "whited sepulchers" walking around and looking like they're doing all the right things, but inside full of "dead people's bones" (mt 23:27)
3. Describe the evolution of your piece. Decisions made. Compositional elements.
My original idea was to show people standing, following, like robots, much like an army would. In front of them would be a religious figure, which originally was God/Jesus. His angel wings cast a shadow over them. However, instead of actually drawing individual people I decided that it would be more interesting (easier) to represent the souls of the people using black rectangles. I used perspective in this piece by making the rectangles smaller to show that they were farther away. Using charcoal (aggressively) lead to inevitable finger smudges. Instead of trying to avoid these, I incorporated them into my piece. I believe they made it seem more haunting and ghastly. It ended up looking like a graveyard, but that meaning works as well. I then drew Jesus with big wings and yellow around him and it looked really stupid. This piece was originally meant as sort of a joke, just to mess around a little bit. Then I started sketching an actual piece I wanted to do. It was a portrait of Pope Pius XII with the bones of the dead under his cloak. At the last minute, I decided to combine the two pieces, pasting Pope Pius XII
4. If you could consider doing something over, explain why you would do this and what you would do next time?
Nothing. C'est parfait.
5. Elaborate on how this piece links with your other pieces? What is the common thread?
The common thread is religion in literature. Inspired by the bishop in Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the paralyzed people of Dublin under the church.