Block Print
Underdressed
Block Print 30cm x 23cm September 2019 Exhibition Text Underdressed is a block print on linoleum, and was inspired by the Victorian painter John Simmons, and the Studio Ghibli film, "Secret World of Arrietty". It showcases the struggles of women in the 19th century and the toll it took for women to constantly succumb to societal pressures. The fairies represent an innocence usually lost through time and appreciation of raw humanness. |
Planning
InspirationMy inspiration for this piece came from two sources: one being the British Victorian painter John Simmons, and the other being the film "The Secret World of Arrietty". Simmons is known for his watercolor paintings of Shakespearean plays and other mythological settings, and Arrietty was produced by the popular Japanese film company, Studio Ghibli. When I was younger, I always loved watching The Secret World of Arrietty because it told the story from a point of view I had never really seen before, and my imagination ran wild at the thought of being a person the size of a blade of grass. John Simmons had a similar idea of perspective with the different kinds of mythological creatures in his paintings, such as fairies and spirits. I was drawn to this Victorian style of mythical painting because the techniques Simmons used made each scene he painted seem very dream like, and this was the starting point of planning for me. I wanted my piece to have something to do with an inside perspective on something otherwise unseen.
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Planning SketchesFor my piece, I know I wanted something to do with fairies. I really enjoy the idea of small people who can fly, and in my childhood I remember owning an array of different kinds of fairy merchandise.
Next, I wanted to think about the perspective I was going to take in my piece. As a woman, I experience a lot of societal pressures enforced upon me due to historical sexism. Since one of my inspirations is John Simmons, who is a Victorian painter, I wanted to learn more about the hardships women went through during that time period and imagine the types of standards they were held to. A main way of controlling women was the way that they needed to dress, and so I practiced drawing the attire for a 19th century woman. Next I practiced drawing in the style of the Ghibli film, The Secret World of Arrietty. I wanted to get into the habit of drawing from the perspective of someone/something the size of a bug. It was a bit of a challenge to draw in this style, but it encouraged me to simplify my design a bit from what I was originally planning on. At first, I was planning on the scene in my block print mainly set outside, with the woman inside a room. I started with wanting my print being nature centered, but I wasn't sure how I wanted it to look. This is my second attempt at drawing a scene centered around nature, but I struggled with making the design less detailed. I enjoyed this as a sketch, but I knew it would be hard to transfer the detail onto the linoleum and have it show up. I also felt that the design lacked some contrast, and so I decided to come up with a different concept. This was one of the final sketches that looks the most like the final project. Instead of being mostly outside, like I originally planned, The woman is seated inside with the fairies peeking in through her window, and even hiding inside her room. This also had less detail in it than previous sketches, but it still lacked the contrast that I was searching for though, so I made a few minor details in the final sketch on the linoleum. |
Process
Experimentation
I used about four different carving tools before finding which some I was comfortable with; I ended up using a wider and shallow scoop shape tool for the majority of the piece, going in with a v-shaped tool for the detail. It was a bit difficult In total, I made four different prints. the left side are my first attempt (top) and second attempt (bottom), and the right side is my third (top) an fourth (bottom). I experimented with the amount of pressure needed in order to ensure all of the ink would transfer from the linoleum to the paper. I tried using both types of baren for transferring ink, but ended up using the red plastic one in order to get a deeper black onto the paper during the last two prints, and this is why they seem more saturated.
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Process
Next, I began to carve away my design. I used two types of tools during this project, one for the larger spaces and the other for small details. At first I wasn't sure how to decide which tool would work best, but I learned after some experimentation with other tools that a wider scoop tool and a small, v-shaped tool were the most efficient.
Finally, I was ready to make my prints. I set my carved piece down onto a sheet of newsprint and prepped an ink tray. After applying the ink onto the linoleum, I carefully set it onto a clean sheet of newsprint, with a piece of white paper on top. I then used a baren and heavy pressure to transfer the ink from the linoleum onto the sheet of paper, and then set the print on a rack to dry. |
Compare and Contrast
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Compare:
- mythological creatures as subjects; Simmons' piece and mine both feature mythological creatures, such as fairies. In both pieces, the fairies transport the setting of a piece into a different kind of world, and represent a form of innocence (whether in their existence itself, or representative in the character of the main subjects of the piece.)
- women are featured in each respective piece as well. Historically, women have been seen as creatures of beauty and set to inhuman standards in order to maintain that false image (women cannot be that way all of the time, because they are human). Since the piece by Simmons is based upon a scene in the Shakespearean play, I can infer that this was the purpose of female representation- it is the same in my piece, but I am instead challenging that notion of women being "beautiful creatures"
Contrast:
- differences in level of detail; Simmons' piece is a miniature watercolor piece with extreme details to enforce the tone of the scene from a "Midsummer Night's Dream". My piece is a block print, where there is not the same possibility for high detail. I instead rely on some forms of symbolism (fairies and innocence) and contrasting of black and white to create my piece.
- using composition, my piece uses body language for the woman in my piece to convey her being worn down/expressing a negative feeling. Simmons' piece has more light and fluid body language and a busy composition to express the busy-ness of the scene and the light emotions of the characters.
-Simmons is able to use color to further strengthen the tone of the piece; light and soft colors make the piece seem peaceful and dream-like, whereas my piece is only in black and white, which made me focus more on composition and balance to convey the negative emotion of my piece.
- mythological creatures as subjects; Simmons' piece and mine both feature mythological creatures, such as fairies. In both pieces, the fairies transport the setting of a piece into a different kind of world, and represent a form of innocence (whether in their existence itself, or representative in the character of the main subjects of the piece.)
- women are featured in each respective piece as well. Historically, women have been seen as creatures of beauty and set to inhuman standards in order to maintain that false image (women cannot be that way all of the time, because they are human). Since the piece by Simmons is based upon a scene in the Shakespearean play, I can infer that this was the purpose of female representation- it is the same in my piece, but I am instead challenging that notion of women being "beautiful creatures"
Contrast:
- differences in level of detail; Simmons' piece is a miniature watercolor piece with extreme details to enforce the tone of the scene from a "Midsummer Night's Dream". My piece is a block print, where there is not the same possibility for high detail. I instead rely on some forms of symbolism (fairies and innocence) and contrasting of black and white to create my piece.
- using composition, my piece uses body language for the woman in my piece to convey her being worn down/expressing a negative feeling. Simmons' piece has more light and fluid body language and a busy composition to express the busy-ness of the scene and the light emotions of the characters.
-Simmons is able to use color to further strengthen the tone of the piece; light and soft colors make the piece seem peaceful and dream-like, whereas my piece is only in black and white, which made me focus more on composition and balance to convey the negative emotion of my piece.
Reflection
For the most part, I feel I succeeded in this project. I was able to develop my own technique for carving and learned how to use a baren to transfer ink from linoleum to the paper. I think that after a few attempts, I was able to make a solid print and maintain an even pressure when transferring the print. I think the main thing I could improve on was the detail of the print, as well as adding more contrast into my design. It was my first time using carving tools and making a print on linoleum, so developing a technique was something that was a bit difficult to do at first. If I were to do this project again, I would try to be less nervous about the outcome, because it was a bunch of trial and error. My design was the product of many different rough sketches, and throughout this project I realized how important it is to try out multiple designs before settling on one.
I think that my project had a good balance of inspiration, and it was really interesting to learn about John Simmons. He isn't as well known as other artists during his time, but his work is unique in the way he makes every painting very dream-like. I also enjoyed using The Secret World of Arrietty as one of my inspirations because it was a great source of nostalgia for me. The story is so interesting and I haven't really seen any other stories told from the perspective that the movie does.
I think that my project had a good balance of inspiration, and it was really interesting to learn about John Simmons. He isn't as well known as other artists during his time, but his work is unique in the way he makes every painting very dream-like. I also enjoyed using The Secret World of Arrietty as one of my inspirations because it was a great source of nostalgia for me. The story is so interesting and I haven't really seen any other stories told from the perspective that the movie does.
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The mythological creatures in the Victorian era art by John Simmons represent the lost innocence of women during the era, and portrays them in a way that contrasts the societal expectations during the 1900s.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The Victorian artist strived to create a dream-like scene or often Shakespearean paintings, using light colors and mythological creatures. The Japanese animated movie uses perspective to make the film unique to others.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
John Simmons' work often used women as a prop to drive his dreamy state deeper into a fantasy, and this was largely due to the objectification women faced during the Victorian Era.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was using a different perspective to showcase a woman as a human, rather than an object.
5. What References did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that during the era that John Simmons, women were constant victims of rampant sexism, from the prominence of the patriarchy during the early and mid 1900s Europe.
The mythological creatures in the Victorian era art by John Simmons represent the lost innocence of women during the era, and portrays them in a way that contrasts the societal expectations during the 1900s.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The Victorian artist strived to create a dream-like scene or often Shakespearean paintings, using light colors and mythological creatures. The Japanese animated movie uses perspective to make the film unique to others.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
John Simmons' work often used women as a prop to drive his dreamy state deeper into a fantasy, and this was largely due to the objectification women faced during the Victorian Era.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was using a different perspective to showcase a woman as a human, rather than an object.
5. What References did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that during the era that John Simmons, women were constant victims of rampant sexism, from the prominence of the patriarchy during the early and mid 1900s Europe.
Bibliography
- “The Secret World of Arrietty.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 8 Oct. 2018, https://www.cinemablend.com/Secret-World-Arrietty-5531.html.
- “JOHN SIMMONS (1823-1876).” Peter Nahum At The Leicester Galleries, Leicester Galleries, http://www.leicestergalleries.com/19th-20th-century-paintings/d/john-simmons/13779.
- “John Simmons.” British Newspaper Archive, British Newspaper Archive, - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/18761118/018/0003.
- “JOHN SIMMONS (1823-1876).” Peter Nahum At The Leicester Galleries, Leicester Galleries, http://www.leicestergalleries.com/19th-20th-century-paintings/d/john-simmons/13779.
- “John Simmons.” British Newspaper Archive, British Newspaper Archive, - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/18761118/018/0003.