Imag(e)ine
Exhibition Text
Heartbeat was created to show how the people in the community give it its life and vibrancy. They are the heartbeat that keeps the city alive. I was inspired by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam as well as an image in the short story animation In a Heartbeat by Beth David and Esteban Bravo form Ringling College of Art and Design.
The Community- Bringing People Together
A community is defined as a unified body of individuals that share common interests. Although this is the straightforward definition of community, there are certain different things that make a good one.
People in communities all work together to strive towards a larger goal, and doing so are able to both come together and raise the community up to reach new heights. The people in the community are the roots of the entire city: without them, the community would not be able to grow or even function.
According to Chris Guillebeau, "A community built on hope is stronger than one built on fear", which I also wanted to portray in this piece. It takes more than one person to make a change and build a strong community, and when we can all come together, we can build something great.
People in communities all work together to strive towards a larger goal, and doing so are able to both come together and raise the community up to reach new heights. The people in the community are the roots of the entire city: without them, the community would not be able to grow or even function.
According to Chris Guillebeau, "A community built on hope is stronger than one built on fear", which I also wanted to portray in this piece. It takes more than one person to make a change and build a strong community, and when we can all come together, we can build something great.
Planning
Inspiration
Detail of Hands
Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. 1511, Sistine Chapel.
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I was inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam in the Sistine chapel for the central idea surrounding the second design. I wanted to focus on only the hands of the two figures in the original piece, because if I had included full bodies, they would not be seen clearly from a distance. I adjusted the positioning of the hands a little to better fit what I wanted to do with them. I was also inspired by the idea of using a cloudy background in my piece to make it seem as it was floating.
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David, Beth, and Esteban Bravo. YouTube, Ringling College of Art and Design, 31 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0.
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I was also inspired by an animation done quite recently called In A Heartbeat. There was a scene in this short story animation that really caught my eye, and while the meaning and story behind this animation did not inspire my piece, this image from this scene did. (left). I thought this image from the animation tied in with the meaning I wanted with my piece, showing how people are connected through a common goal, or in this case, love.
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Sketches
These were my notes I took during the MIAD presentation, as well as my original ideas and comcepts
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This was the sketch for my second piece. I was inspired by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, as well as the pattern a heart rate monitor makes. The hands in the piece emulate the detail of Michelangelo's piece, with similar positioning. A distorted city skyline will connect the hands, in the shape of how someone's pulse would look on a heart rate monitor to show that the people bring life to a community.
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These are my sketches for the stencils that will go over the background. I experimented a little with the positioning of the cupped hands and the skyline for the second piece.
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This is my final sketches for both pieces. It includes the backgrounds that I wanted to create with the colors and stencils
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Background
I chose this for the background because it reflects Michelangelo’s piece and it symbolizes that the sky is the limit when we are all together as a community. It also includes the color blue, symbolizing faith, loyalty, and stability, and white, symbolizing unity, all of which are represented in communities. Clouds in Asian countries symbolized transition and transformation, as they are constantly changing and bringing on different weather, just as a community is constantly changing and growing.
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Experimentation
One afternoon, my family and I took a drive downtown so I could get some pictures that I could put together to create the skylines for my pieces. I didn't necessarily need the entire Milwaukee skyline, because that would be harder to photograph, because I figured that if I could take pictures of individual buildings, I could take their silhouettes and put them all together even if it isn't 100% accurate.
Process
5. When we got there, we picked out our colors to use. My original plan was to use only black and white stencils, but for some reason, they didn't have a lot of solid white or solid black, so I had to change my ideas a little bit. I found a container with a little bit of white, but it wasn't enough to do the entire print, so I mixed the white with an off white color. I also had to use a grey color to do the skyline instead of solid black
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6. Then, they showed us how to screen print. First, we placed out stencils on the screens (right). Then, on a piece of newsprint, we had to do a "test run" of the print. We had to put a glob of paint on the top of the screen, then use a squeegee (left) to scrape down, towards us, using a lot of pressure.
7. Then, we had to do a flood coat on the screen, which means we had to put all of the extra ink on top of the stencil so that it wouldn't get dried out while we positioned the screen on our backgrounds. |
7. Then, we had to do a flood coat on the screen, which means we had to put all of the extra ink on top of the stencil so that it wouldn't get dried out while we positioned the screen on our backgrounds.
Reflection
Critique
Similarly to the first piece, a lot of things didn't go exactly as planned because of the lack of colors available at MIAD, but I still really like how it turned out in the end. This piece actually went more smoothly than the first one because I had enough of the ink that I wanted to use, even though it wasn't exactly solid black and solid white. I actually think the more off white color was better for this background because if it was solid white, then it would blend in too much with the clouds and you couldn't see the detail from a distance. When I was planning these two pieces, I actually much preferred the first piece, but after these prints went so smoothly, I actually like this one better. I also was happy with the way the stencils transferred so crisply on the backgrounds. If I were to do anything differently, I would actually make the hands a darker color so they stood out more against the background. I would also make each stencil a little bit bigger so that there wasn't so much negative space.
Compare and Contrast
Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. 1511, Sistine Chapel.
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Similarities
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Heartbeat by Lexie Snyder
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David, Beth, and Esteban Bravo. YouTube, Ringling College of Art and Design, 31 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0.
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Differences
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ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Creation of Adam and the image from In a Heartbeat influenced the hands reaching toward each other, as seen in Heartbeat
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author in this article talks about what makes a good community. He says that it is about being unified and together so that we have the ability to make a change
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that people become stronger with the support and love from others
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of this piece is community and how the people in the community are able to give it life and help it function
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that in order for a community to flourish, it needs the support of the people in it
Creation of Adam and the image from In a Heartbeat influenced the hands reaching toward each other, as seen in Heartbeat
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author in this article talks about what makes a good community. He says that it is about being unified and together so that we have the ability to make a change
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that people become stronger with the support and love from others
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of this piece is community and how the people in the community are able to give it life and help it function
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that in order for a community to flourish, it needs the support of the people in it
Bibliography
David, Beth, and Esteban Bravo. YouTube, Ringling College of Art and Design, 31 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?
v=2REkk9SCRn0.
Everett, Connie. “COMFEST 2016 - Something for Everyone.” The Columbus Freepress, 3 June 2016,
columbusfreepress.com/article/comfest-2016-something-everyone.
Guillebeau, Chris. “What Makes a Community.” Chris Gillebeau, ByteGrow, chrisguillebeau.com/what-makes-a-community/.
Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. 1511, Sistine Chapel.
v=2REkk9SCRn0.
Everett, Connie. “COMFEST 2016 - Something for Everyone.” The Columbus Freepress, 3 June 2016,
columbusfreepress.com/article/comfest-2016-something-everyone.
Guillebeau, Chris. “What Makes a Community.” Chris Gillebeau, ByteGrow, chrisguillebeau.com/what-makes-a-community/.
Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. 1511, Sistine Chapel.