Shadow Box
Title: Shadows
Size: 24.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 20.5 cm Medium: Acrylic, cardboard, hot glue, and construction paper Completion: November 2019 Exhibition TextShadows was inspired by Kitsune-Ken by Daria Aksenova, Untitled by Al Margen, and Afterlife by Lisa Flynn. This shadowbox represents the looming pressure put on people by expectations from family, friends, and society.
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Planning
Inspiration
Afterlife by Lisa Flynn 2019
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When we visited Stevens Point's art gallery, this piece by Lisa Flynn really caught my eye. I really liked the contrast of the light on the inside of the box and the dark exterior, and I liked the ominous feeling I got when I looked inside the hole. I have seen shadow boxes before, but I really liked this one because it made good use of depth, since the box was quite long.
In my piece, I wanted to make the box similar to this, where the viewer would have to look inside of the box to see what was inside. I also liked the intricate details in the paper cutouts, which is another thing that I wanted to mimic in my piece. |
Vareikaite, Vaiva. “What's Wrong With Today's Society Captured In 58 Though-Provoking Illustrations By Al Margen.” Bored Panda, Bored Panda, 16 May 2019, https://www.boredpanda.com/satirical-drawings-al-margen-pagina/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.
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I was also inspired by this piece by Al Margen.
Al Margen is a small, international artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. His work challenges the idea of a perfect society, and points out the flaws in it, illustrating it in a more literal, comic style. He says, "They are children of boredom, nonconformity or anger… They are the representation of discarded ideas. They are the garbage of the subconscious. But they are more visceral and sincere than other drawings because they have no obligation to please…. Because they were born only by an impulse and nothing more. Because they were born to annoy because they show the imperfect." Margen’s illustrations are mainly created in black and white, with an over exaggerated theme to them. At the beginning of his career, Margen created his illustrations in a comic style, creating the message in multiple frames, but as he went along, he began doing it in one. He took inspiration for many of his pieces by observing society, and critiquing it. He says his pieces are not meant to show superiority because he is pointing out society’s flaws, while being more self-critical as well. Margen believes that artists cannot create or shape the future, but they can influence it by getting their point across through their art, as he has done, and he encourages other artists to do the same (Vareikaite 1968). I was inspired by Margen's simplistic, monochrome color scheme, and I wanted to use some of the themes that come across in his pieces with mine. |
I was also inspired by artist Daria Aksenova. She uses paper cutouts in layers to tell stories of mythology and folklore. She says, “My mission is to bring back our childhood imaginations that are drowned out by the everyday bustle in our ever-busy lives. I choose my settings and subject material to draw the viewer back to the folklore and myths of their youth, hoping to create artwork that inspires the dreamer within.”
I was specifically drawn to her piece Kitsune-Ken, which illustrates the folklore of a Japanese fox who can transform into a woman. This piece, like all of her other pieces, wanted to be able to transport the viewer into this mythical world that she has created. I was really inspired by her simplistic and monochrome style, and I wanted to make sure that my piece had a lot of details like hers did. |
Colorsheets, Viviva, and Shovava. “Enchanting Stories of Folklore Frozen in Time in Multilayered Shadow Boxes.” My Modern Met, 15 Nov. 2018, https://mymodernmet.com/shadow-box-art-daria-aksenova/.
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Sketches
These were my sketches I made before creating this piece. I was brainstorming themes that I wanted to look at, and what the symbolism of the things in the piece would represent. I also mapped out how the layers would look, and what I needed to put on each layer in order to get the effect that Flynn and Aksenova had in their pieces in terms of perspective.
Experimentation
Process
1. First, in order to know what size paper to cut, I had to measure the inside dimension of the box.
Length: 9.5 in Width: 11.75 in/ 30 cm Height: 18.5 cm I also cut a piece of cardboard to fit the bottom of the box so that it was smooth. 2. Then, I cut all of the layers of paper that I needed into the right dimensions to fit inside of the box
I also cut a hole out of the front of the box for people to look into. |
Reflection
Critique
Overall, I like the way the piece turned out. I am happy with the way that the box itself turned out, because I was worried about how the size would do with the pieces inside of it. The most difficult thing that I had to figure out was how I was going to do the details on the trees. I wish I could have figured out how to do the cutouts, but I think in order to do that, I would need thicker paper to support it. I am also happy with the way the lights turned out. I was struggling to figure out how to get the lights in there and be able to turn them off, but velco worked, because I could reach inside and take them out and turn on the lights.
If I were to do this again, I think I would have made the box smaller in length so that the trees would look like they were engulfing the person more. I could also just add more cutouts inside of the box to make it look more filled up.
If I were to do this again, I think I would have made the box smaller in length so that the trees would look like they were engulfing the person more. I could also just add more cutouts inside of the box to make it look more filled up.
Compare and Contrast
Colorsheets, Viviva, and Shovava. “Enchanting Stories of Folklore Frozen in Time in Multilayered Shadow Boxes.” My Modern Met, 15 Nov. 2018, https://mymodernmet.com/shadow-box-art-daria-aksenova/.
Afterlife by Lisa Flynn 2019
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Similarities
Differences
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Shadows by Lexie Snyder
Vareikaite, Vaiva. “What's Wrong With Today's Society Captured In 58 Though-Provoking Illustrations By Al Margen.” Bored Panda, Bored Panda, 16 May 2019, https://www.boredpanda.com/satirical-drawings-al-margen-pagina/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
My inspirations, Kitsune-Ken, Afterlife, and Untitled, influenced the theme of this piece, as well as the monochromatic color scheme, and the simplistic, yet intricate details.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Al Margen's overall approach was to highlight the pressure that it put on people through society, while Daria Aksenova's approach was to create a story of folktales through her art.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I can generalize that in Al Margen's piece, he wanted to criticize the ideas of how society puts pressure on people.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of Al Margen's piece was pressure put on people from society.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Aksenova wanted to create her own idea of how she imagined these folktales.
My inspirations, Kitsune-Ken, Afterlife, and Untitled, influenced the theme of this piece, as well as the monochromatic color scheme, and the simplistic, yet intricate details.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Al Margen's overall approach was to highlight the pressure that it put on people through society, while Daria Aksenova's approach was to create a story of folktales through her art.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I can generalize that in Al Margen's piece, he wanted to criticize the ideas of how society puts pressure on people.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of Al Margen's piece was pressure put on people from society.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Aksenova wanted to create her own idea of how she imagined these folktales.
Bibliography
Aksenova, Daria. “Kitsune-Ken.” Daria Aksenova, 2019, https://www.dariaaksenova.com/kitsune-ken.
Colorsheets, Viviva, and Shovava. “Enchanting Stories of Folklore Frozen in Time in Multilayered Shadow Boxes.” My Modern Met, 15 Nov. 2018, https://mymodernmet.com/shadow-box-art-daria-aksenova/.
Vareikaite, Vaiva. “What's Wrong With Today's Society Captured In 58 Though-Provoking Illustrations By Al Margen.” Bored Panda, Bored Panda, 16 May 2019, https://www.boredpanda.com/satirical-drawings-al-margen-pagina/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.
Colorsheets, Viviva, and Shovava. “Enchanting Stories of Folklore Frozen in Time in Multilayered Shadow Boxes.” My Modern Met, 15 Nov. 2018, https://mymodernmet.com/shadow-box-art-daria-aksenova/.
Vareikaite, Vaiva. “What's Wrong With Today's Society Captured In 58 Though-Provoking Illustrations By Al Margen.” Bored Panda, Bored Panda, 16 May 2019, https://www.boredpanda.com/satirical-drawings-al-margen-pagina/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.