"Speaking into Space"
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Inspiration & Research
For Speaking into Space, I had two major inspirations.
One was Marjane Satrapi, and the last page of chapter 9 in her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis. In this part of the story, Marjane is overcome with grief over the death of her uncle and loses her faith in God. She is small, and feels trapped in the infinity of space. I took an aesthetic inspiration from this page, with the feeling of an infinite blackness and the little planets and stars to communicate the fact that it was outerspace.
My other inspiration was a Russian constructivist style advertisement by Alexander Rodchenko. The piece is an advertisement for a publishing house named Gosizdat. The woman is shouting “books” in Russian, with the words stylized to appear to be coming out of her mouth, which was inspiration for my motif of a mouth.
One was Marjane Satrapi, and the last page of chapter 9 in her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis. In this part of the story, Marjane is overcome with grief over the death of her uncle and loses her faith in God. She is small, and feels trapped in the infinity of space. I took an aesthetic inspiration from this page, with the feeling of an infinite blackness and the little planets and stars to communicate the fact that it was outerspace.
My other inspiration was a Russian constructivist style advertisement by Alexander Rodchenko. The piece is an advertisement for a publishing house named Gosizdat. The woman is shouting “books” in Russian, with the words stylized to appear to be coming out of her mouth, which was inspiration for my motif of a mouth.
Planning
This was the first sketch I put together. The piece was going to be about body insecurity, and wanting to break out of beauty standards. I still like this design now, but I felt that I wasn't sure of how to go about a background. It just felt overwhelming and I scrapped it.
This is another pen sketch I started. I knew I wanted to do something with an outerspace element to it. This piece is a direct reference to "Sea of Teeth" by Sparklehorse, and the line "Can you feel the rings of Saturn on your fingers?". It stands out, as the line was used again by a friend of his in an obituary for him after his suicide. I also liked this piece quite a lot, but I was worried that I was expecting too much detail out of a block print and I scrapped it. This is the planning sketch for my final piece. As you can see, the piece was meant to have sharper elements in the stars. |
Process
Then I carved out the design from the plate.
Next was the printing process.
Next was the printing process.
Experimentation
I had a lot of trouble getting the prints to come out as clean as I wanted. The whole process was new to me, so I had no clue what would be enough, but not overboard. I used different amounts of ink, different amounts of force, and applying force with and without newsprint on top of the paper being printed on. Also at one point, a part of my plate had to be carved deerper.
Much of my experimentation on this project also came with the planning. I had a lot of trouble coming up with an idea that I liked and felt confident in doing for this project.
Reflection
Overall, I'm pretty okay with how the print came out. It could've been cleaner, the planets and stars could've been cut better, and I could've done a better job planning. The contrast came out well in most parts of the final print, but I should have decided whether some parts would be solid or textured. I also was a bit rushed on this project, which made some of my cuts a bit messy and upset me. If I could start over, I'd take it slow and plan it out carefully, and carve less frantically.
Rodchenko's piece gave me inspiration to make a mouth an element of my piece. However, his piece isn't terribly similar in any other way. His poster has colors, and a photo incorporated, and the mouth also has a hand to it. In comparison to Satrapi's page, my stars and planets aren't as clean or nice. She also used the motif of outer space in the sense that it is large and barren, but my outer space is representative of beauty and wonder.
Rodchenko's piece gave me inspiration to make a mouth an element of my piece. However, his piece isn't terribly similar in any other way. His poster has colors, and a photo incorporated, and the mouth also has a hand to it. In comparison to Satrapi's page, my stars and planets aren't as clean or nice. She also used the motif of outer space in the sense that it is large and barren, but my outer space is representative of beauty and wonder.
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect on upon your artwork.
Rodchenko inspired the mouth and face usage, and Satrapi inspired the way my planets and stars would look.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
When Satrapi was interviewed about Persepolis, she actually talked about her goal of informing the world about the Iranian Revolution and breaking down Muslim stereotypes.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc while you researched your inspiration?
That people like to sell prints of historical work and make it difficult to find actual information about pieces.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My main theme was how solid shapes are use to show drama and make things stand out.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
That Rodchenko may have lived a chunk of his life in danger, because of the beginning of Soviet Russia, a government who liked to censor Russian artists.
Rodchenko inspired the mouth and face usage, and Satrapi inspired the way my planets and stars would look.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
When Satrapi was interviewed about Persepolis, she actually talked about her goal of informing the world about the Iranian Revolution and breaking down Muslim stereotypes.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc while you researched your inspiration?
That people like to sell prints of historical work and make it difficult to find actual information about pieces.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My main theme was how solid shapes are use to show drama and make things stand out.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
That Rodchenko may have lived a chunk of his life in danger, because of the beginning of Soviet Russia, a government who liked to censor Russian artists.
Sources
Flask, Dominic. "Aleksander Rodchenko : Design Is History." Aleksander Rodchenko : Design Is History. N.p., n.d. Web.
Zeltserman, Lea. "Alexander Rodchenko and Constructivism." Alexander Rodchenko. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web.
Tully, Annie. "An Interview with Marjane Satrapi." Bookslut | An Interview with Marjane Satrapi. N.p., Oct. 2004. Web.
"Marjane Satrapi | Penguin Random House." PenguinRandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House, n.d. Web.
Zeltserman, Lea. "Alexander Rodchenko and Constructivism." Alexander Rodchenko. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web.
Tully, Annie. "An Interview with Marjane Satrapi." Bookslut | An Interview with Marjane Satrapi. N.p., Oct. 2004. Web.
"Marjane Satrapi | Penguin Random House." PenguinRandomhouse.com. Penguin Random House, n.d. Web.