Conclusion

I have enjoyed this project and have been glad of the opportunity to learn some new art and photoshop skills.

I think that I could have created a fourth final piece but the way I managed my time only allowed me to spend so much time a week on this assignment. I have spent a lot of time working on other assignments so haven't had quite the time I think I needed to complete this project to my satisfaction.

I have tried to keep the project interesting however and made sure I partook in some real research.
I must admit, I got lucky by being in the right place at the right time to get some real 1st party references.
The Stokes Croft Riots were an interesting one but unfortunately I didn't have enough time to work them into a piece of work. I am glad I could bring my interest and love of Banksy's work into a project.

The quote I chose allowed me to express my interest in Science and also one of my favourite games.

I am most pleased with the third image I created. This is because I learnt a lot while creating it. It was a great challenge for me as I had never done anything like it before and I am happy with the result I got. I enjoyed the more technical aspects too such as trying to create realistic looking stencil work and again Custom brushes.

Unfortunately, this project got kind of swamped by the other assignments we have to do but I think I have learnt from it, which is a good thing.

Final Image 3

Here is my third final image.

I have added a 'swarm' of the space invaders. I decided to make it look like the scientist is playing space invaders in real life.

The space invaders were added using a similar method to the other stencil work I have done on the project.

The background has been used to 'radiate good' from the character. She has light colours around here, meaning that she is the first thing the viewer is drawn to. It gets darker towards the edge and eventually becomes black to fit the white space invaders as it makes them look like the original arcade game.

The interpretation of the quote here is basically flipping it on it's head. The scientist seemingly has immunity against being fired upon, yet has the ability to fight back.

Colour finished

I have finished colouring the image. I feel however it needs something extra to make it more Banksy and to make it fit more with the theme of the other two images.

I plan to add the space invader to the image somewhere. I will experiment.

Some progress

Here is a quick update on my progress with the digital painting.
I am quite enjoying working like this. It is new to me and I am learning slowly but getting there.

I have tried to keep the brush strokes big to get a slightly over exaggerated look.

A different approach.

For my third Image I have decided to move away from the famous scientists idea and try to use digital painting to create a character. I want to create a sexy female Scientist holding a laser gun.

I have finished the basic rough outline to begin painting.

As I have never done digital painting before, this is an experiment to try to see what kind of results I can achieve and also to test myself.

What did I tell you? Banksy has created a 'souvenir' of the riots over the opening of a new Tesco store in stokes croft. Apparently the proceeds of the sales will go to the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft. Good news!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13278458

The style is odd on this image, larger paint strokes, more like a deigital piece. It is marktly different from the stencil work he is most famous for.

I am inspired to try to create something using digital painting. This will be a new area for me having not looked into digital painting other than texture work.

Last night, a week after the first trouble happened in stokes croft a second bout of violence broke out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13236264

Also, while the Royal Wedding is on and everyone's backs are turned, the Police have taken the opportunity to evict the Squatters that live across the road from the Tesco store on the premise that they are responsible for the violence. It seems that they are not the only people being targeted, people are being arrested for involvement in any recent protests, including the student protests and anti cuts protests.

Nice one...

Riot under the watchful eye

So there I was on my way home with my brother in bristol when we see around 30 police riot vans speed past us in broadmead. I checked twitter and found out that there was currently a protest going on outside a new tesco express store in Stokes croft, right next to my favourite banksy piece, 'the Mild Mild west'.

The community has been opposed to the opening of this new store with some 95% of people in the area opposed to it's opening. The reason? Stokes Croft high street is widely considered to be the last true independent high street in the UK. It is also a hub of culture, with almost every building covered in street art, gig venues and homely bars and pubs. It has always had a bad reputation due to 'undesirables' such as squatters, homeless people and drug trade in the area. I have however always found it to be a very welcoming place, full of independent artists, musicians and great nights out!

We decided to investigate and so walked up towards the area.

It was apparent immediately that this was more than a protest. Police vans lined the streets and there were bins and trash on fire. The police helicopter circled above as lines of Police advised people to stay away. I got some images but unfortunately I only had my phone on me, so the quality isn't great.

This riot reminds me of the riots which famously gave the area its bad name. The St Paul's Riots of 1980 happened when racial tension between the Minority community and the local police force escalated.

It is my belief that the community are right to be angry. Why should a company such as Tesco feel free to impose themselves where the residents do not want them? There are two other Tesco stores already in the nearby area and a sainsburys just up the road. Whatever the outcome the group who call themselves 'The People's Republic of Stokes Croft' are not to be messed with!

So why did I make this post? I feel it is important to understand a community where street art is so significant and is welcomed. 

I also have a sneaking suspicion that Banksy may create something related to this. He has been outspoken in his views on Tesco before.

I will be interested to see. 

Final Image 2

I have worked hard to make this piece look like a spray paint image. I have used the spray paint brushes I downloaded for photoshop.

I used a similar method to the last image but have literally used the spray brushes to create a digital version of spray paint. This has given the image a cool effect as it has left some areas slightly unpainted and more realistic of stencilling.

The word Eureka has been used as it is famous for meaning "That's it!" or "I've done it!" In this case it is used in celebration of creating a deadly weapon.

I have used Einstein instead of Oppenheimer because he is more easily recognised. Oppenheimer isn't as much of a household name and so the joke would be lost on most people.

I have used an image of Manhattan for the thought bubble as the nuclear project was called the 'Manhattan project' It is also ironic that the bomb is landing on the US when the target was Japan.

Finally, after being inspired by Invader's work, I have used the image of a space invader monster. The idea is that the invader is influencing decisions and creating chaos. Wherever there is an Invader, bad things will happen.

Following this, I decided to go back and add an invader to my previous image to make the two follow a similar theme.

Holiday snaps

I took my Girlfirend to the south of France for her Birthday for a few days. While visiting cannes we stumbled accross these pieces of street art. I remembered seeing them in Banksy's film 'Exit through the gift shop'

I had to have a quick look online to remember the story behind them.

Basically they are done by the cousin of Thierry Guetta (Mr Brianwash) He calls himself 'Invader' and is known for tiled installations of pixel art, specifically space invaders and pac man. Check out his website here!

I like it!

New brushes!

I have been playing around with a graffiti brush pack I found online.

I plan to use these along with the splatter brush set I created myself for the last Visual studies assignment to create some more spray paint like work.

Easter break!

So the Easter Break is here.

I am again finding myself under a mountain of work. This time I am concentrating on my level design project more than anything else.

I have had a chance to look at some of Banksy's printed work.

This is the classic, iconic Banksy work. It is mainly a very simple single colour stencil but features a much more detailed bunch of flowers.

The piece looks very digital. The crisp lines around the outside make it seem as if it was done simply on a design package like photoshop.

I like this piece a lot. Banksy has used his more typical spray paint style to create the image. Most of his stencil work tends to work well on a block colour background and this is no exception. The splatter paint detail on the floor is nice and I particularly like the way this is more of a traditional graffiti piece with less defined edges and more colour blending to mask the stencil work.

Final Image 1

Here is my first final image. I have used the cartoon strip idea I designed before but have added some slight differences. Firstly, I wanted to give the image a slightly sillier look to it so have made it look like the bomb lands on Einstein's head. I found this amusing. I have also scribbled out their faces as if another graffiti artist has come along and scribbled over the work. Or scribbled their lives out.

I like this image as it fits the silly side to the Banksy style.
I did not want to get overtly political and so have tried to avoid accusations and inflammatory statements. I have also opted to let the image speak for its self without adding text to it.

I have designed this piece with the idea of it being posted up as a poster rather than being sprayed directly to a wall. More like the work of Shepard Farley.

I created the image by taking images, some drawn some acquired and selecting a colour range to create a selection marquee. I then filled it on a new layer to create each block of colour. These were then put together on top of each other to layer up the stencil.

Design idea

Here is my design idea for my first piece. It is a cartoon strip featuring Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer. It will use the stencilling technique I experimented with yesterday. Some of the aspects will be in colour such as the explosion and the bomber. The people will be 3 colour stencils.

The idea behind it is that the aeroplane accidentally drops the bomb on the wrong city and kills it's creators.
I may add a speech bubble to the plane with something silly like "OOPS!" I feel this will help it fit the Banksy style by adding comedy to the image.

Experimentation

Ok, one day later than I said I would do it, but I am finding it hard to spend lots of time on this project with our group project kind of taking over everything!

I have created a stencil style image using an image of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Nuclear bomb.

The style is fairly easy to re-create digitally however I am interested in making it look more authentic. I plan to experiment with using masks in photoshop and using custom brushes to literally paint as if the mask was a stencil.

Analysing Banksy's style

This is an example of Banksy's stencil work.
The defining feature of the style is the use of only usually a maximum of 3 or 4 colours. This allows the piece to be completed quickly and simply. In this image he has used a base colour of black to get the main shape. Grey has then been used to add  highlight to define the image. This image also uses a skin tone to enhance the image along with a brown, used for the paper bag.

This style is effective as it creates visually striking work quickly.

The real work is in making the stencil. They would have to be huge for an image of this size. This is part of the magic behind street art. How is Banksy still anonymous considering he creates such huge art works!

Tomorrow I will experiment in photoshop to see if I cant create a similar effect.

The men behind the weapons

I have decided to continue with my idea of using scientists famous for inventing weapons.

J. Robert Oppenheimer is famous for being the Director behind the Manhattan Project. He is also known as 'The father of the Atomic bomb'.

Also involved with the project was Albert Einstein.

After the first Atomic Bomb was detonated he was quoted saying, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds"

I would like to use his image in one of my works because he was involved with creating perhaps the most deadly weapon known to man.

"Don't shoot, I'm with the Science team. We're working hard on a new way to kill people."

The other scientist I may focus on is Alfred Nobel, Lord of Dynamite!

To some he was known as 'the merchant of death'

After reading this, Nobel was concerned about how he would be remembered. He left his fortune to the creation of the Nobel prize to celebrate science.

Banksy Flick

I watched Banksy's film today 'Exit through the gift shop. I was confused at first. The film is effectively about someone else.

Mr Brinwash is a french graffiti artist who began by filming famous street artists. Eventually he decides to learn how to do it himself.

My inital thought was that he was a fictional character created to try to trick people, but it turns out that he is a real artist, probably helped by the success of the film, but a real artist none the less.

The film gave an interesting insight into the new 'professional street art' scene. Famous street artists set up studios and produce art rather than doing it on the fly.

Srange.

  

"Don't shoot! I'm with the science team!"

The quote I have chosen comes from the hit Valve title 'Half Life' released in 1998.

You play as Gordon Freeman, a well known theoretical physicist  who happens to be pretty handy with a gun!

When an experiment goes wrong and a portal is opened up to an alien world, allowing unknown numbers of alien life to enter the world, Gordon is forced to fight his way out of the Science lab.

The quote comes from the non-player characters in the game. The lab is populated with scientists who all say different humorous quotes. One of the reasons Half life did so well was its light hearted nature. The scientists run away scared. Some scream, some say, "Thanks god you're here Gordon" and other say the line, "Don't shoot! I'm with the science team!" I have also noticed that they look quite a bit like Albert Einstein.

My initial idea is to use the quote in either a satirical way by having famous scientists who are known for designing weapons saying it, or to use it to create a new science super hero, similar to gordon freeman.

My favourite Banksy pieces

In order to get a feel of the piece I want to create, I thought i'd put together a collection of my favourite Banksy pieces.

This work adds flair and art to an otherwise run-down looking wall. It creates enjoyment where there would have been negativity.

Funny and quick, on-the fly artwork. Temporary work seems to interest me more, a Banksy piece is of obvious value but by creating a work on such a temporary canvas it immediately makes it worthless to a buyer, which in a way makes it all the more valuable while it is still there.

Clever and funny, it personifies everyday objects and creates characters out of nothing.

Simple, funny and clever

I love the simplicity of this. The quick witted approach is akin to a caption on an everyday scene. It adds a kind of commentary to a real life situation.

Finally, this is a great image of Banksy having his portrait drawn by a street artist.  I like the contradiction that someone so secretive is being so publicly portrayed, but also by wearing the balaclava, he is almost admitting to people who he is. In effect making it much more obvious who he is.

Gathering reference work

I took the opportunity to head home to Bristol to immerse myself in the culture, the sights and the sounds. My Brother's band, who are from Leeds, played a gig at 'the Croft' a well known venue in Stokes Croft that sits right underneath one of Banksy's most well known works, 'the Mild Mild West'.

We went for a day out around Bristol and toured the Banksy works that I knew of and listened to the opinions of others who had not seen them before. Growing up in Bristol and seeing his work daily, it was interesting to take a proper look at what was around. It was also fascinating to me to see the reactions of others who had not seen them before.

Banksy steals the show

After discussing my findings with John Hill in lesson today I have decided to study the works of Banksy. Where I found Levine's works interesting, I felt I couldn't connect with them in the same way I can with Banksy's.

I have also chosen to use banksy as my subject because of the easy access I have to his works. I am heading home for the weekend and so will have a chance to collect some great first hand references of his work.

My initial thoughts are to use my interest in science to create an interesting idea.

I am thinking along the lines of famous scientists noted for their discovery of weapons such as Alfred Nobel, discoverer of Dynamite.

I like the idea of the contradiction. "Don't shoot, I'm a scientist", but also, "I've just invented a deadly weapon!"

More on this later

More on Sherrie

I have found some interesting information regarding the pieces I posted yesterday.

During the early 1980s, Sherrie Levine gained recognition for her re-creations of famous works of art, typically by men, through which she questions the ideals of high modernism and confronts issues of authorship, repetition, and authenticity. Rephotographing 18 self-portraits by Egon Schiele from bookplates, Levine altered the original images, interrupting the viewing experience with a series of implied contradictions. The finished piece is simultaneously Levine’s self-portrait and Schiele’s; it is the work of a woman and a man, a reproduction and an original. Commenting on why she chose to manipulate these works by Schiele, Levine explained, “There is something in his eroticism that strikes a chord. Partly it’s the self-conscious representation of his own narcissism.”   
(source - http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/185076?search_id=1)

This description is of a similar collection of work and helps add context to the piece.

I guess that it would make for an interesting project. Imitating an artist's work who herself imitated someone else. It may be hard to create an image to fit my chosen theme however if I decided to imitate one of her works as I would have to stick to the same subject she chose.

The other work she was famous for was her sculpture work.

I am particularly intrigued by this piece

"I try to make art which celebrates doubt and uncertainty. Which provokes answers but doesn't give them."
Sherry Levine, source - dallas museum of art

This piece is interesting because it is a reproduction of  a surrealist piece by american artist Man Ray.

What is interesting about it is the fact that it has almost 'un-surrealised' the work. Bringing it back to normality.

The balls are in the same position as in the original painting, the legs and table look the same but the proportions and setting have been changed back to something more normal.

Here is the original.

You can see that in Sherrie's piece, the surrealist aspect has gone. However there is still something wrong with the pool table. It is too low down and is also missing pockets.

Here is a quote about the piece
 Levine's table refers to a moment in art history (surrealism) that saw the revolutionary power of art give voice to the unconscious and the irrational, yet here the object seems mute and even resistant to any real meanings or associations. - dallas museum of art

I like the idea that it has some meaning which is unknown to the viewer, however it's implementation seems odd and i do't fully understand it.

Sherrie Levine

I have done some research into the works of Sherrie Levine in order to get a better idea of what she does.

(Source - http://www.aftersherrielevine.com/)

I do not believe these images really sum up Sherrie Levine's work. They seem too simple and not particularly inspiring.

I also seems difficult to find lots of information on her pieces.
I will keep looking into it as I am eager to find some work which inspires to me to use her as my Artist study. So far it is not what I am looking for.

A new project

This is the first time I have kept a blog and so am quite keen to see how it works.

The project I have been set requires me to study the works of a chosen artist and create a piece or pieces of work in the style of them using a quote from a video game as inspiration for the work.

The first quote that stuck in my mind from the selection we have been is this one.

"Don't shoot, I'm with the science team!" - Half Life

I have an interest in science and I particularly like the game the quote comes from so feel that this is the best choice for me.

I am torn between which artist to choose.

I have grown up with the works of Banksy. Living in Bristol I regularly see his works around and last year visited the Banksy exhibition at Bristol Museum. I am also interested in his works as my interest in political events has become apparent  following recent political events such as the protests against the rise in tuition fees and the public spending cuts. These issues have all affected me and the people around me and so if possible I would like to try to fit in some of that into my project. From an art point of view, I am also motivated to get to know how he creates his works and also explore the 'copycat' movement that has come with his rise to fame. When does graffiti become art, why is his work more valued than other perhaps more talented artists?

The other artist I am interested to look at is Sherrie Levine. I have an interest in photography and some of the works I have briefly looked into seem to be of interest to me. Not knowing anything about the artist may be a hindrance to the project however and I would like to conduct more research into her work before I make a decision.