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.