Project II: Panel II
Inspiration
Growing up, I have always loved books. Every single night, I'd fantasize being in those worlds, as a character I made up over the years (her past developed over the course of a few years). I'd give anything and everything to just be in those worlds. So I thought, why not make a project that reverses reality and fiction? This is one of the "panels" of the story. This is where I made the young girl drawing the fictional world in her room, with sketches on the walls. This plays a part in later panels.
For this idea in particular, I wanted to see how other artists did something similar, reversing ideas, or used specific setups to obtain their goals. I particularly liked some of what I found.
However, going more into not just films or simple reversal of fiction and reality, but isolation as well, I found many artists who focus on isolation. Choosing a single artist was near impossible.
In this entire overarching project, the intention is also the idea of "running in a crowd in a faceless town" (Yu Yu Hakusho opening, first lyric). This is a very familiar feeling for me, and it has been something that Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch have used themselves, when they have used in their work, producing the work in series. This is something I intend to implement into every "panel" if this overarching project, creating the solitude and isolation in a series of figures, similar to how Gogh and Munch used series of paintings.
For this idea in particular, I wanted to see how other artists did something similar, reversing ideas, or used specific setups to obtain their goals. I particularly liked some of what I found.
However, going more into not just films or simple reversal of fiction and reality, but isolation as well, I found many artists who focus on isolation. Choosing a single artist was near impossible.
In this entire overarching project, the intention is also the idea of "running in a crowd in a faceless town" (Yu Yu Hakusho opening, first lyric). This is a very familiar feeling for me, and it has been something that Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch have used themselves, when they have used in their work, producing the work in series. This is something I intend to implement into every "panel" if this overarching project, creating the solitude and isolation in a series of figures, similar to how Gogh and Munch used series of paintings.
“Isolation/Alienation.” Artsy, www.artsy.net/gene/isolation-slash-alienation.
This was my biggest inspiration, an artifact from a 90's anime series I grew up with, a series known as Yu Yu Hakusho (in English, "Ghost Files" or "Poltergeist Reports"). The artifact is a mirror of darkness called the Forlorn Hope. The mirror shows one's deepest desire, and will ask if that is your deepest desire. For example, the character who used it desired his human mother's health and happiness, as she was going to die of illness in less than a day. In exchange for the person's desire being granted, it takes their life. They die in exchange for their wish.
i used this idea in my project as well. Abandoning one's life in exchange for their desire. In my case, I used the abandonment of life, but without using death. Since this wish was to abandon the world that abandoned the girl in my project, I instead took away the girl's life, the one she had before. I erased it. She was never born in the real world, but now instead she is in the fictional world. The abandonment felt by this world is where the "Forlorn" definition comes into play. That is the idea of "Forlorn Solitude" on its own, but its title and most important aspects are based on the Forlorn Hope.
Research
It was challenging to find specific artists that describe fiction and reality in their work. However, while researching, I have found that authors and film makers tend to use these topics. Maria Popova (first image website's author) write a webpage filled with quotes from different artists of other forms. They also describe fiction versus reality. What's intriguing is how rare it is for visual artists to compare fiction and reality versus focusing or manipulating one or the other, but how common it is for authors and film makers to do that topic.
This was where I had looked into visual artists who use isolation and alienation in their work, and there was a rather long list. Actually, i also agreed with the statement that it is our fate to be alone, isolated. Most artists today are introverted, or in cases like mine, ambiverted. Ambiverts are in the middle of extrovert and introvert. They like people and some social events, but it has an expiration date, as they now need alone time to completely recharge. They share both introverted and extroverted traits (after taking a test, my results showed that I am about 60% introvert and 40% extrovert). I became even more of an artist after seclusion against my will, and then just preferred solitude. This also had followed the fate of an artist. This idea also drew me into over-analyzing artworks (even though I don't speak most of the analysis). During the research, I was very surprised to see the list of artists who use isolation and alienation in their collection of artworks. Hundreds of artists were listed, thousands of works in quite a few of them. It became more and more difficult to choose a single artist, so I settled on the theme itself for an inspiration. I was also surprised just how much Van Gogh used isolation. I had found his work calming in colors, but arousing in its style and movement. His work is hard to mimic, despite appearances. I actually hadn't gone too in-depth on the source of his work, but it was apparently based on isolation.
Planning (Physical Sketchbook)
Experimentation (Physical Sketchbook)
This was where things got.....fun. I was so frustrated that the first thing I tried was not working, so I basically said "screw this" and wrapped my leg in plastic wrap, cast on a layer of paper, then another layer of plastic wrap, cut it down the middle to remove it, tapes it back in shape, stuffed it with soda cans, and realized this totally worked. And I did this with all the limbs and the torso. Just more calmly this time.
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Process
This process was going to be tricky. I knew that from the beginning. With the financial situation making a turn for the worst now, I could not make purchases. I had to use materials from around the house. I experimented with string, stuffed animals, cardboard, bottles, cans, any cloth I could find, glue, paper Mache, and tape. Slowly, bit by bit, the limbs came together.
I first glued 2 soda bottles inside of a piece of rolled up cardboard to shape the basic torso. I lined it with cloth on the ends.
At first, I tried paper Mache, but it didn't go well because the only type the store near me had was a spray kind of liquid starch, and it did NOT want to work with me, so I had to try something else. |
As the arms and legs dried, I continued work on the torso. I made the lower torso out of water bottles as a start. I lined the back in some of this wood-cardboard stuff from a project last year. I am not one to waste leftover materials, so this was my chance to use it. The support on the back helps prevent it from "slouching", thereby throwing it off balance. I then once again wrapped everything in cloth. There are 2 things this does. One, it helps keep things from falling apart or off so easily inside. Two, it makes the "skin" softer and easier to attach things to.
After a while, it became clear what I was doing was overcomplicated, when there was something more simple. I wrapped my body in plastic wrap (one limb at a time), then layered on paper, then another layer of plastic wrap, cut it down the middle to remove it from my body, taped the cut back together, and stuffed it with soda cans and/or bottles to make it keep its shape.
It was now on to attaching all the parts.This is where everything got a bit tricky. I had never done this before, so Forlorn Solitude, in itself, was an experiment to try my hand at different techniques and skills.
I tried a few different methods, which had taught me plenty about putting this together, something I can use for the next "panels" of the story.
The first method I tried was a failure, using a pile of random materials and comparing it to my body, hoping for accuracy. That was a poorly chosen method. The next method was plastic and paper. This worked rather well, although this was experimental. What I could do next time is tighten the plastic and paper, and leave the cut-off limbs hallow, easier to manipulate, and only fill the joints, which have to be attached. This will support the joints, and of the cans or bottles are empty, weight will not be an issue. Adding weight at the base of the person works as well. It will pull the weight to the ground, preventing the figure from falling over. These are developing techniques for the next projects. I can pull the plastic tighter, use less paper, keep weight light, the figure hallow, weight on the bottom.
The head was the main development when it comes to techniques, since I couldn't wrap my head in plastic and paper, I had to compare and guess, and the head ended up heavy, and much of it too rounded and not defined enough. I figured out why, however. I used too much paper and tape trying to shape the head, weighing it down and decreasing my ability to properly shape it.
I was hoping from the beginning I could pull off the same feeling of abandonment. As the project went on, I was realizing just how difficult that can be to pull off. The Forlorn Hope is something used by those with a deep desire they are willing to sacrifice everything for. In the case of the one who used it in the series, his eyes were sad. Someone he loved was going to die. He wished to sacrifice his life for her. I couldn't pull this off too well. To place in the expression someone who would use the Forlorn Hope, I would have to create intricate details, which was not going well. On top of that, because this project was experimental and unfamiliar, I had a hard time creating the feeling of solitude and isolation that so many other artists pulled off perfectly. Because of their isolation and/or alienation, they would be familiar with expressing it in their work, intentionally or not. They get the feeling across to the audience, making their work more valuable for those familiar with this feeling. It's easy to relate to when it's such a familiar feeling. Adding this aspect to my work has been exceedingly difficult, as I am not using any special colors on my figure, nor am I using an unusual technique for colors. Just painting a basic skin tone later on. As such, it becomes difficult to create the same feeling other artists did, especially the ones who painted rather than sculpted like I am doing.
I tried a few different methods, which had taught me plenty about putting this together, something I can use for the next "panels" of the story.
The first method I tried was a failure, using a pile of random materials and comparing it to my body, hoping for accuracy. That was a poorly chosen method. The next method was plastic and paper. This worked rather well, although this was experimental. What I could do next time is tighten the plastic and paper, and leave the cut-off limbs hallow, easier to manipulate, and only fill the joints, which have to be attached. This will support the joints, and of the cans or bottles are empty, weight will not be an issue. Adding weight at the base of the person works as well. It will pull the weight to the ground, preventing the figure from falling over. These are developing techniques for the next projects. I can pull the plastic tighter, use less paper, keep weight light, the figure hallow, weight on the bottom.
The head was the main development when it comes to techniques, since I couldn't wrap my head in plastic and paper, I had to compare and guess, and the head ended up heavy, and much of it too rounded and not defined enough. I figured out why, however. I used too much paper and tape trying to shape the head, weighing it down and decreasing my ability to properly shape it.
I was hoping from the beginning I could pull off the same feeling of abandonment. As the project went on, I was realizing just how difficult that can be to pull off. The Forlorn Hope is something used by those with a deep desire they are willing to sacrifice everything for. In the case of the one who used it in the series, his eyes were sad. Someone he loved was going to die. He wished to sacrifice his life for her. I couldn't pull this off too well. To place in the expression someone who would use the Forlorn Hope, I would have to create intricate details, which was not going well. On top of that, because this project was experimental and unfamiliar, I had a hard time creating the feeling of solitude and isolation that so many other artists pulled off perfectly. Because of their isolation and/or alienation, they would be familiar with expressing it in their work, intentionally or not. They get the feeling across to the audience, making their work more valuable for those familiar with this feeling. It's easy to relate to when it's such a familiar feeling. Adding this aspect to my work has been exceedingly difficult, as I am not using any special colors on my figure, nor am I using an unusual technique for colors. Just painting a basic skin tone later on. As such, it becomes difficult to create the same feeling other artists did, especially the ones who painted rather than sculpted like I am doing.