Project 2
Comfort in ChaosAcrylic on canvas
30.4 x 40.6 cm September - October 2020 Exhibition TextComfort in Chaos is a painting that is dedicated to the Japanese comfort women who suffered during World War 2. It was inspired by Raphael's The Sistine Madonna and Pablo Picasso's The Old Guitarist. Despite outside appearances, intense emotions are hidden within us and this was never more evident than in these comfort women.
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Planning
Inspiration
During World War 2, between 80,000 to 200,000 “comfort women" from Korea, Taiwan, China, and Southeast Asia were forced into prostitution by the Japanese army. These women faces horrid conditions everyday. I learned about them in History class and I feel immense sympathy and sadness for their plights. It is a intense subject that Japan refuses to acknowledge to this day and I feel that their stories should not be hidden or disrespected. Their experiences left them with lifelong scars, both physically and mentally. Although I can never know exactly what they felt and experienced, I hope to tell even a small portion of their story and raise awareness for these women. I based a lot of the figure in my piece on the woman in the middle with the headband. |
I admire the Renaissance because it was the rediscovery of so many of the fundamentals of art. The Sistine Madonna perfectly embodies the Renaissance period with flowing fabric, artistic poses, and religious tones. The figures are graceful and detailed, especially the robes they wear. The composition of the Madonna is portraitlike because she is looking at the viewer with a dignified look. The poses of other figures create an upwards triangular movement that pulls the attention to Jesus and Madonna. The subtle glowing halos over the Madonna and baby gives an ethereal tone. In my piece, I will pose my figures artistically and challenge myself to paint fabric as Raphael does, with lots of value and shadow. I will also use the portrait-like composition in that my figure will look almost as if they are posing. Raphael's work is very focused on the aesthetic details, so I will include this is my work while adding my own subject matter.
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As a fan of Picasso's early work and blue period, I have been looking forward to using this piece as inspiration for a while. The Old Guitarist is a mixture of Modernism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism styles. The overwhelming use of the color blue, especially dull hues, is symbolistic of the figure's somber mood. I am including blue tones my work to portray the intense sadness and desperation that the comfort women felt to evoke the same feelings Picasso did. Picasso created the melancholic pose and facial expression of the guitarist to evoke strong feelings of sympathy in onlookers and bring attention to the suffering those in poverty face. Similarly, my piece will bring attention to the suffering of the comfort women no matter how uncomfortable the subject is. I want my piece to make viewers think of what the comfort women experienced at the hands of their oppressors. I will have to create a figure who has a haunting facial expression, perhaps screaming or crying. Overall, The Old Guitarist has a very human approach that I wish to recreate.
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Sketches
Experimentation
This was my first time creating an acrylic wash. I mixed Brilliant Blue with a bit of Titanium white and diluted the paint with lots of water; this gave the appearance of using watercolor. I found that it was a fast and efficient way to get a base color on my canvas that looked solid, but also allowed me to paint over it easily. It also made sketching easy to see. It's definitely something I will be using more in future pieces. |
The hardest part of this piece was my attempt at fabric. I was a bit short on time, so I could not go as detailed as I would have liked but overall it turned out well. I used 4 different hues with slightly different amounts of burnt sienna, and I think this created good shadow and highlight areas. I will have to practice this more in the future. It adds a nice touch of realism to any piece. |
Process
As an allusion to Japan, I painted Mount Fuji, However, I later took it out because I felt it was a bit too direct since I don't want this piece to be criticism towards the country and take away the main focus of the piece: the figure. Then, I went over the lines of my sketch very quickly with a darker blue. This color didn't matter much since I was going to paint over it. I focused on getting proportions and placement of body parts correct before anything since this would be the foundation for the rest of my process. |
I wanted the skin tone to be blue, but not an oversaturated blue to the point that it was indistinguishable from the other hues of blue. So I started by mixing titanium white, spectal yellow, and burnt sienna to make a base skin tone. I then added just a bit of brilliant blue. I added a bit more white before finally reaching my desired hue. |
For the shadows in the fabric, I sketched the lines to guide my shadows where I thought necessary. During my research on how to create shadows, I discovered a technique where one uses complimentary colors shadows. So to compliment the purple, I added green to the same purple hue. I created three hues of green and put them on a gradient of sorts. |
At this point, I painted over Mount Fuji and left the background empty. I wanted the main focus to be the figure without anything drawing attention away. I had a lot of the base colors down, but this was the stage at which I added most of my highlights and shadows on the face. I also created the faric and added smaller details such as buttons and the hair. On the left are the colors and hues I used in this work. As I planned, I used majority of blues. |
Reflection
This piece is meaningful to me. The subject matter is a bit sensitive, so I tried my best to remain respectful of the experiences the comfort women went through. Rather than focusing on any specific event, I chose to focus solely on the emotions they would have felt, even if it is just a fraction. My biggest challenge was the skin tone; since it is blue it's a bit more difficult than regular skin. This being only my second work where I painted a face, I already feel myself improving. I'm getting a better grasp on the placement of shadows and highlight. My favorite part was painting the fabric. Although I want to improve much more, I found in enjoyable to simply experiment with the placement of color and hue to create the look of fabric. Through this piece, I hope that whoever views and understands the inspiration will consider the experiences that people of the past had and learn from them so that comfort women will never have to exist again. It is important we do not forget history and let it repeat.
Compare & ContrastSimilarities:
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Raphael's masterful use of shadows and realism inspired the style and composition of the central figure of the comfort woman; Picasso's choice of color inspired the extensive utilization of blue in my pieces, which led to a more melancholy tone.
What is the overall approach (POV) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors' approach to Picasso and Raphael's works are educational, yet full of praise; the articles on The Sistine Madonna in particular are full of immense acclaim and admiration for Raphael's unique and unmatched work.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I have concluded that people often find art about the poor, sick, and unfortunate undesirable; Picasso's choice to have a blind, homeless man as the central figure of The Old Guitarist was not a common one since it is widely believed art is supposed to be beautiful and pleasing all the time.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was the comfort women and the intense emotions they most likely felt; even before I began my research I knew I needed inspirations that had intensity while also having a pleasing look to show juxtaposition between the composition and subject matter of my piece.
What kinds of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Picasso cared about the pain that lower class people experienced because he wasn't afraid to show their suffering without censorship; contrastingly, Raphael's Biblical subject matter, while beautiful, did not push boundaries or attempt to portray anything controversial.
Raphael's masterful use of shadows and realism inspired the style and composition of the central figure of the comfort woman; Picasso's choice of color inspired the extensive utilization of blue in my pieces, which led to a more melancholy tone.
What is the overall approach (POV) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors' approach to Picasso and Raphael's works are educational, yet full of praise; the articles on The Sistine Madonna in particular are full of immense acclaim and admiration for Raphael's unique and unmatched work.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I have concluded that people often find art about the poor, sick, and unfortunate undesirable; Picasso's choice to have a blind, homeless man as the central figure of The Old Guitarist was not a common one since it is widely believed art is supposed to be beautiful and pleasing all the time.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was the comfort women and the intense emotions they most likely felt; even before I began my research I knew I needed inspirations that had intensity while also having a pleasing look to show juxtaposition between the composition and subject matter of my piece.
What kinds of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Picasso cared about the pain that lower class people experienced because he wasn't afraid to show their suffering without censorship; contrastingly, Raphael's Biblical subject matter, while beautiful, did not push boundaries or attempt to portray anything controversial.
Bibliography
Blakemore, E. (2018, February 20). The Brutal History of Japan's 'Comfort Women'. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/comfort-women-japan-military-brothels-korea
Finnan, V. (2008). Sistine Madonna is one of Raphael's most famous works. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Sistine-Madonna.html
Gruyer, F. (2020, July 27). Raphael, Sistine Madonna. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://colourlex.com/project/raphael-sistine-madonna/
Pablo Picasso's Old Guitarist - Everything you need to know. (2020, May 07). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://publicdelivery.org/pablo-picasso-the-old-guitarist/
Picasso, P. (2018). The Old Guitarist. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.artic.edu/artworks/28067/the-old-guitarist
Finnan, V. (2008). Sistine Madonna is one of Raphael's most famous works. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Sistine-Madonna.html
Gruyer, F. (2020, July 27). Raphael, Sistine Madonna. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://colourlex.com/project/raphael-sistine-madonna/
Pablo Picasso's Old Guitarist - Everything you need to know. (2020, May 07). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://publicdelivery.org/pablo-picasso-the-old-guitarist/
Picasso, P. (2018). The Old Guitarist. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.artic.edu/artworks/28067/the-old-guitarist