Opposites - Warm
38 by 25 cm
Mixed media on illustration board
November 2020
This piece shows a bare chested woman arched with her head tilted back. The inspiration is Francesca Woodman's On Being An Angel #1 and using a warm color scheme it brings forth warm and blissful emotions. When compared to the photograph by Woodman as well as Opposites - Cool a nearly opposite scheme of emotions comes forth.
38 by 25 cm
Mixed media on illustration board
November 2020
This piece shows a bare chested woman arched with her head tilted back. The inspiration is Francesca Woodman's On Being An Angel #1 and using a warm color scheme it brings forth warm and blissful emotions. When compared to the photograph by Woodman as well as Opposites - Cool a nearly opposite scheme of emotions comes forth.
Inspiration
Francesca Woodman was an American photographer who was known for blurred photographs and nude women. She died of suicide at the young age of 22 but her work has impacted many people, and explores identity, sexuality, and testing limits. For this project, I wanted to bring in a new physical piece to Woodman's work and connect it to a metaphorical concept she portrayed.
Self Portrait by Woodman
On Being An Angel #1 by Woodman
There are many admirable aspects of On Being An Angel #1. Like many of Woodman's works, it is a black and white photograph, with deep contrast and strong highlights and shadows. Woodman is looking right into the camera, and there is a focus on her face and body rather than the space around her. Some would say the meaning of this portrait is something erotic, but I think it goes deeper than that. To achieve this angle, Woodman laid on a table and tipped her head back. The camera was upside down, so it gives the illusion that she is looking or moving upward. This photo introduces us to Woodman's want to be an angel. She used angles and illusion to show emotion.
With Opposites - Warm I wanted to be able to manipulate the emotion shown in this photo and make it more positive. When you cut off a part of the photo, a part of the emotional intent is cut off as well. From looking at just her arched body one might argue she is feeling pleasured or confident, but her expression and the way that shadows take over her face perhaps tell a different story.
With Opposites - Warm I wanted to be able to manipulate the emotion shown in this photo and make it more positive. When you cut off a part of the photo, a part of the emotional intent is cut off as well. From looking at just her arched body one might argue she is feeling pleasured or confident, but her expression and the way that shadows take over her face perhaps tell a different story.
Planning
From the start I knew I wanted to have color contrast be significant in my work. I wasn't sure how I wanted this incorporated yet, and I listed several different ideas. I sketched out the photograph and searched for ideas. Taking a photograph and turning it into a drawing is something I have always liked doing, and it's how I do most of my art. I tried to look at the opposites project as something similar to my usual art.
Sketchbook page 1
My first idea, shown below, was to incorporate both warm and cool colors into each piece. I was almost certain that this would be my final idea, so much so that I sketched it out on two face shapes. However I came to realize that I couldn't use this method to show the emotion I was trying to express, the pieces would be too similar.
Sketchbook page 2
My final idea (above) was to divide the photograph and incorporate different emotions in each one using different color schemes.
Sketchbook page 3 (taken from 1)
Process/Experimentation
This piece's main color was yellow. Every highlight was yellow, and even the shadows were colored over with yellow. The point of this piece was to make it look light and blissful. Yellow is a color generally associated with happiness, so I decided to make use of it. The shadows were done in orange, red, and light brown. I started right away with the outline, outlining in dark orange, because pencil would show through too much, even after being erased. Then I did light shadows which I went over with yellow. After that I went over the shadows again, and then went in again with the yellow. overall this piece had a lot of layers.
Drawing hair is not my strong suit, but I enjoyed it with this project very much. I outlined the pieces that went into the strands of hair with dark colors, and colored in shadows. Then I went in and drew individual thin lines in various colors. I only used yellow at the end; to go over it all. It turned out to look like the piece was covered in a yellow filter.
The final touch to this piece was the watercolor paint. I used watercolors to smooth out the appearance of the work and to give it more of a color pop. I went over the body in yellow watercolor and the background in pinkish red watercolor. This was to clearly distinguish the background from the figure. The pinkish red background was intended to make the piece look light and blissful however I think it only made it look more fiery and menacing, which was okay, because it still didn't have an angry or somber feeling to it, and the emotions in my work are still strikingly different from the emotion portrayed in the inspiration piece. I used some orange watercolor to provide further blending and layers, as seen in the photo to the left.
Critique
On Being An Angel, Francesca Woodman
Similarities:
Form/Pose - Both have figure with the same/similar pose Shadow - The shadows and highlights are in the same relative places on both figures; the left side is darker than the light Movement - Similarly to the pose, the movement in the piece is also similar. Both figures appear to be thrusting upward |
Opposites - Warm
Differences:
Color - Woodman's piece is in black and white, mine is in color, specifically warm colors Medium - Woodman's piece is a photograph, mine is mixed media (colored pencil and watercolors) on illustration board Value - My piece has a light value, Woodman's is darker and more contrasted Mood - Woodman's piece has a more somber mood as evidence by the shadowy face and stern expression, mine is light and blissful as evidence by color Contrast - Woodman's piece has high contrast of black and white, mine has less contrast due to use of color (light color scheme produces less contrast) |
ACT Questions
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Because I used color to show emotion, there was less contrast in the work. In Woodman's piece, the contrast is what brings forth the emotion.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author has a neutral approach on Woodman's work and life.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Woodman's work often focused on exposed female bodies. It can be assumed that this was something considered abnormal or even disgraceful at the time.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to find someone passionate or interested in something that also interested me, so I could relate to the artist. Woodman's exploration of identity and normalization of the female body was inspirational to me.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Because Woodman's life ended due to suicide, I implied that her work was inspired from some of the struggles that could have led up to this tragic ending of her life, making it all the more impactful.
Because I used color to show emotion, there was less contrast in the work. In Woodman's piece, the contrast is what brings forth the emotion.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author has a neutral approach on Woodman's work and life.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Woodman's work often focused on exposed female bodies. It can be assumed that this was something considered abnormal or even disgraceful at the time.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to find someone passionate or interested in something that also interested me, so I could relate to the artist. Woodman's exploration of identity and normalization of the female body was inspirational to me.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Because Woodman's life ended due to suicide, I implied that her work was inspired from some of the struggles that could have led up to this tragic ending of her life, making it all the more impactful.
Bibliography
“Francesca Woodman Artworks & Famous Photography.” The Art Story, 2020, www.theartstory.org/artist/woodman-francesca/artworks/.
Tate. “Finding Francesca – Look Closer.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francesca-woodman-10512/finding-francesca.
Tate. “Finding Francesca – Look Closer.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francesca-woodman-10512/finding-francesca.