Title: Medusa
Size: 30.5 cm by 40.5 cm
Medium: Colored pencils and paper on illustration board
Date: September 2018
Medusa is an illustration and collage heavily inspired by Caravaggio's own Medusa and the colorful and intricate patterns in Wiley's Portrait of John and George Soane. The work is meant to illustrate the anguish and possible despair that is stirred within me in my journey to create myself. The newspaper represents the things given to me while the snakes represent what I have created myself.
Inspiration
It is obvious at first glance that I have taken few liberties when taking inspiration from Caravaggio's Medusa. When first starting this work and searching for inspiration I kept on coming back to this piece. I believe that my return was due to the piece's visceral illustrative qualities. While I didn't intend for my work's main focus to be the shocking decapitation I did admire how clearly Caravaggio had captured a moment and expression. Her faces says it all, just killed, a moment of recognition and self-realization, as if it were a still in a movie and I was aiming and yearning for a similar effect. Other than the manner in which Caravaggio was able to capture expression the composition of the piece fascinated me greatly. I have grown bored of painting on canvases which seem to cut off the flow of the work and looking at this work specifically re-ignited my desire to play with other forms and types of canvas.
When I first lay eyes on Wiley's Portrait of John and George Soane I couldn't concentrate on one thing. The patterns and the colors in the work were so intimidating at first glance that I didn't dare wave them off as frivolous decor, they themselves were a subject unto their own. The intensity of the patterns could only be compared to the intensity and contrast in the beautifully rendered portraits. Wiley in this work has a way of blending to very intensely bright subjects and creating harmonious balance through sheer volume. Every color in this piece screams and that is what I wanted in my own work. When I looked at this work I saw the potential to make a pattern, not just a background but a main subject and vehicle for my own interpretation.
When I first lay eyes on Wiley's Portrait of John and George Soane I couldn't concentrate on one thing. The patterns and the colors in the work were so intimidating at first glance that I didn't dare wave them off as frivolous decor, they themselves were a subject unto their own. The intensity of the patterns could only be compared to the intensity and contrast in the beautifully rendered portraits. Wiley in this work has a way of blending to very intensely bright subjects and creating harmonious balance through sheer volume. Every color in this piece screams and that is what I wanted in my own work. When I looked at this work I saw the potential to make a pattern, not just a background but a main subject and vehicle for my own interpretation.
Planning & Sketches
This is the photograph I chose to attempt to replicate. I wanted to show some expression of despair but I fear it came across as if I were bored. I chose to try and replicate this one particularly because I believed I could cut it off at the palms and still have the movement I wanted and an added sense of expression.
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In this first sketch, I was playing with ways to incorporate the collage I so desperately wanted in my piece. I didn't want the collage and the illustration to appear as if they were just stacked on top of the other. Like in Wiley's work I wanted the patterns to be part of both the foreground and background. To make the illustration and collage interact with each other I had planned to draw the hair swirling into the collage. While initially, I loved this idea it fell apart when I began to question how I would execute it. Would the hair have to be painted or drawn? how would I make the hair look like part of the illustration and collage if both of those are themselves being pasted to a third board? Questions like these are the why I decided that the overall effect would be too underwhelming to go through all the trouble.
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Given the frustration, I was having in the first sketch with how to incorporate the hair in the piece in this sketch I played with the idea of forgetting the hair altogether. Not incorporating hair I knew I would have to apply the images in a certain order in order for my work to have the same movement that is present in Caravaggio's Medusa. To achieve the movement in his piece produced by the composition of the snakes I thought I could cut the pieces in my collage to circle my face. Although I was satisfied with this solution it did not solve the problem that was not prevalent in my first sketch. In this work, there is a very clear distinction between the collage and the illustration, the foreground and the background. As that criteria was a central piece of what inspired me from Wiley's work I decided to leave this sketch and start brainstorming again.
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Before I began this last sketch I looked at the aspects I wanted from both pieces and asked myself why I couldn't just simply take them and combine them to fit my needs. In this last sketch, I have taken the snakes in Caravaggio's work which provided the movement I so desired and made those themselves the collage. This meant that I would both have the movement I wanted in the piece and the interaction between illustration and collage.
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Process
To start the project off I began by making the illustration component. I drew this on a thick piece of Bristol drawing the paper. To draw myself the paper I simply pulled the reference picture up on my phone and began to freehand draw. This time around I was very satisfied with how the drawing came out however I felt the nails could have been improved upon. The nails were a bit rougher to draw as they were going into flesh and I could not quite see them clearly. This was the only problem I encountered in the first step for this piece.
After the basic sketch was completed on the Bristol board I then moved on to coloring it. To color this work I used the Windsor and Newton oil-based colored pencils. These pencils allowed me to add more layers of color to the piece than if I had used wax based color pencils. As I was able to add more layers I colored this in as I would paint a painting. I first laid down a base coat and an outline of where the shadows were in the work. after I had outlined the shadows with a shade close to the base I began intensifying them and adding white to highlights. In order for the intensity of the patterns to be matched by the intensity of the work I look at Wiley's work and his strong use of contrast. To illustrate myself accurately I had a picture of the photograph I was attempting to illustrate as well as Wiley's work.
Once the illustration was complete I cut it out and set aside for later reference. The next piece I completed were the snakes. The snakes were done in three parts, First I drew varying sizes and form on a piece of Bristol paper before cutting them out.Once this was done I began to place them around the finished head in order to get some sense of the order and composition for the snakes. When I liked the rough composition I took a red pencil and drew a small circle to indicate what side the printed paper should be attached. Using mod podge I then adhered the printed paper on each snake. Before I could see the finished results of each snake I had to wait until the glue had dried and I was able to cut them out. Waiting till the glue was dry prevented the very thin and delicate paper from tearing while wet with glue. Once this process was complete I then began to replace them onto the head making adjusting their compositions from the previous one so that no one pattern was too prevalent. When I was satisfied with the outcome I then used tape to hold down the position while I was able to use extra strength glue to permanently adhere the snakes on.
The last step in this piece was creating the shield. The shield was created from repurposed Illustration board. I first cut out all the words from an old newspaper and then glued them on. After this was done coated the whole thing with another coat of mod podge for protection before using liquid gold paint to add a border that would mark the circle I would later cut. After the paint was done drying I was able to just cut the circle out and paste the head on to it. The last step was to this work was adding a bit of gold throughout the work to highlight certain areas and help tie back to the snakes which were covered in shinier origami paper.
Experimentation
In this project, I was able to experiment with using a wide variety of paper and glue. My original intentions were to create all the patterns I would collage myself but that became very unrealistic when I reflected on the time I had to complete the project. The origami paper was, however, the perfect substitute for my intentions, it came in a wide variety of colors and pattern. Despite its wide range of appearance I had not expected the thickness of the paper to vary as well. The more patterned and intricate paper made it very difficult to apply the mod podge because it already had a bit of a coating while the more simpler designs were thicker and better absorbers of the mod podge. It was due to this reason why I had to switch between a regular collage mod podge and a fabric mod podge which would better hold the origami paper to the bristol paper. Throughout this process I learned how to improvise solutions, whether it be not having enough paper to cover a whole snake or an unyielding snake, I was able to use a variety of tools in order to hide my mistakes.
Reflection
Overall I was very content with the outcome of this work. While at several steps along the way I struggled with my vision or the materials I was able to finish the project. Among the few things in this work I am proud of the biggest is the likeness I was able to capture. Within every self-portrait, I struggle with the execution of and though often my technique is adequate the end result does not resemble me. In this project not only was I able to practice techniques but I believe that the manner in which I attempted to emulate Wiley’s painting and Caravaggio’s movement and composition was quite satisfactory. Despite this, I do believe I could work on how I collage items and the harmony of the patterns involved. Although Wiley’s patterns may be loud there is a uniformity to them that does not exist in my own piece.
Overall I was very content with the outcome of this work. While at several steps along the way I struggled with my vision or the materials I was able to finish the project. Among the few things in this work I am proud of the biggest is the likeness I was able to capture. Within every self-portrait, I struggle with the execution of and though often my technique is adequate the end result does not resemble me. In this project not only was I able to practice techniques but I believe that the manner in which I attempted to emulate Wiley’s painting and Caravaggio’s movement and composition was quite satisfactory. Despite this, I do believe I could work on how I collage items and the harmony of the patterns involved. Although Wiley’s patterns may be loud there is a uniformity to them that does not exist in my own piece.
Act Questions
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work?
The cause of my inspiration was my examination of Kehinde Wiley's work. Looking at Wiley's work and how he implements textiles and patterns in his work.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I read was very focused on investigating how each artist created such a distinct and iconic look. Since I wanted to know how they created their work I either examined their work directly or watched videos of their process. Their overall approach emphasized the meaning and significance of a completed piece and not its parts.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I was able to generalize the significance of nonverbal communication. Though Wiley only uses pattern and textiles for their decorative patterns for some cultures and people these patterns tell stories and history.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea for my research was understanding the ways in which I could convert aspects that I had not created or conceptualized to be my own.
The oragami paper and, the styles of the paintings are not mine but through my work I wanted to make them serve my purpose and message.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While conducting research I came to the conclusion that although some aspects of society and art are seen as purely decorative they take root in serving a purpose for the people they originated from.
The cause of my inspiration was my examination of Kehinde Wiley's work. Looking at Wiley's work and how he implements textiles and patterns in his work.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I read was very focused on investigating how each artist created such a distinct and iconic look. Since I wanted to know how they created their work I either examined their work directly or watched videos of their process. Their overall approach emphasized the meaning and significance of a completed piece and not its parts.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I was able to generalize the significance of nonverbal communication. Though Wiley only uses pattern and textiles for their decorative patterns for some cultures and people these patterns tell stories and history.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea for my research was understanding the ways in which I could convert aspects that I had not created or conceptualized to be my own.
The oragami paper and, the styles of the paintings are not mine but through my work I wanted to make them serve my purpose and message.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While conducting research I came to the conclusion that although some aspects of society and art are seen as purely decorative they take root in serving a purpose for the people they originated from.
Citations
Caravaggio. Medusa. 1598, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
“Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: Medusa (1597/1598); Galleria Uffizi, Florence.” The World According to Art, rijksmuseumamsterdam.blogspot.com/2012/03/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio.html.
Wiley, Kehinde. “Portrait of John and George Soane.” Kehinde Wiley, 2013, www.kehindewiley.com/jamaica_pages/Portrait_of_John_and_George_Soane.html.
“Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: Medusa (1597/1598); Galleria Uffizi, Florence.” The World According to Art, rijksmuseumamsterdam.blogspot.com/2012/03/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio.html.
Wiley, Kehinde. “Portrait of John and George Soane.” Kehinde Wiley, 2013, www.kehindewiley.com/jamaica_pages/Portrait_of_John_and_George_Soane.html.