American Dream
Size: 12 in x 16 in.
Medium: Gouache
"American Dream" is a diptych illustration showcasing the difference between two social class. Inspired by the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood and the 2019 movie Parasite, the illustrations depicts the gap between the rich and the poor. Highlighting how the rich only gets richer while the poor only survive because of the upperclass even though both class depends on each other to exist.
Planning
Inspiration:
My idea came from the movie Parasite, a 2019 thriller and suspense movie that talks about the difference of social class in society and how even though the classes depends on each other to survive, one class gets better priveledges compared to the other. I really liked how the lighting was used in the movie as the director Bong Joon-Ho uses the imagery of stairs, lighting and water to highlight such class divisions. Bong uses sunshine lighting to reflect on the gap between the rich and poor, in the movie the upperclass family's house were at a rich area in a highland with abundant amount of lighting; while the poor family who lived in a semi-basement in the lowland have only specks of sunshine that shine through their window (Desowitz 2019)
My other inspiration was "American Gothic" by Grant Wood, a painting that I saw during my trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. Painted by Wood in 1930, the painting is a classic example of Regionalism Art; an art movement that defied the European abstract art at the time. I was drawn by the contrasting elements of the piece, as the subjects of the painting are both painted very solemnly and have their faces elongated on purpose. Even though there is an obvious serious mood in the subjects of the painting, the background behind depicts such contrast as they are outside on a bright sunny day in front of a white building. (Fiisun 2017)
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Sketches:
My first sketch was one inspired by the Arnolfini portrait, and I wanted it to depict the opposites between two genders and the difference in power dynamic that they have. I wanted to depict it in a way that shows how patriarchy power and beliefs oppresses women. I was inspired by the posture of the couple in the original portrait, but in the end this was not chosen as I could not elaborated on the message of the sketch and I was more intrigued in the ideas behind my other sketches.
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In my second sketch, I was inspired by the movie Parasite and the painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. In this sketch, I used the composition of the two figures and the house in the back in my sketch. In this sketch, I wanted to highlight the topic of class division and I wanted showcase such topic through the unity of the whole drawing but viewers can still see the difference between the two class.
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My third sketch was inspired by the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. I wanted to depict the same theme of rich and poor opposites between the two once again. I wanted to use the posture in the iconic painting to depicts such gap, but in the end it was not chosen as the final piece.
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Process
1.) First, I started off by transferring the main figures from my colored pencil illustration onto my board.
2.) I then started to paint the human figures first. 3.) For figures, I began with adding a light layer of skin and contour before using a general skin color to go over it. 4) Then I went and color their clothing with the base color, than put shading by mixing the base color with white 5) After finishing the foreground I moved on to painting the house behind the two figures, which was a lot of blending. Afterwards I began outlining the windows and rooftop 6) Then I went on to do the background of both boards, the background was different on both side but I still need the sky to go from a dark gradient to a light one 7.) Lastly, I worked on the trees on both side and contoured the tree barks and leaves |
Experimentation:
This was my first time using gouache so I had a lot of difficulty finding a method of blending as although it's similar to acrylics and watercolor, the blending component of the medium is quite different. I had to come up with different types of blending in order to have the gouache turn out as close as I had in mind. For skin tones and fabric I used the classic Baroque style blending to get a more dramatic shading on the skin, cloth and house. While for the background, I used the stippling of dots to create the shading and texture for the trees and leaves.
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Reflection
Critique
Overall, I am quite neutral about this project as I am neither enjoyed or am unhappy with this project. I think there are both thing that I am both unhappy and enjoyed about. I did not entirely enjoy using gouache as they were a bit difficult to use as the paint was more lumpy and it was hard to mix the colors into the specific color I had in mind. I was quite upset with with the outcome of the house as I was planning to make it more similar to the house in "American Gothic" but was stop by my shortage of paint. I am glad that I was able to learn new skills from a new medium like gouache though. However I did like the overall outcome of the piece as I think I really strengthened the theme of class division can be seen more clearly compared to the rough draft. Although the theme conveyed is not perfect but it can still be decipher, while the inspiration of "American Gothic" can be seen as well as the color scheme from Parasite.
Compare and Contrast
Contrast
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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:
Bong Joon-ho´s ¨Parasite¨ discuss about the theme of class division in society through cinematography, which sparked my creation of ¨American Dream¨ that was also inspired by ¨American Gothic¨ by Grant Wood.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Bong Joon-ho was trying to convey the gap between the rich and the poor through symbolism and use of cinematography, so a lot of information is about the use of camera in the film.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
For Parasite, I was able to be more informed about the difference about the different social classes and for ¨American Gothic¨ I was able to learn why this painting is so famous and the analytical aspect of it.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my piece is about the social stratification in society and how to depict it.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While researching I inferred that the class division that I want to depict can represent the class division around the world.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
Bong Joon-ho´s ¨Parasite¨ discuss about the theme of class division in society through cinematography, which sparked my creation of ¨American Dream¨ that was also inspired by ¨American Gothic¨ by Grant Wood.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Bong Joon-ho was trying to convey the gap between the rich and the poor through symbolism and use of cinematography, so a lot of information is about the use of camera in the film.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
For Parasite, I was able to be more informed about the difference about the different social classes and for ¨American Gothic¨ I was able to learn why this painting is so famous and the analytical aspect of it.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my piece is about the social stratification in society and how to depict it.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While researching I inferred that the class division that I want to depict can represent the class division around the world.
bibliography
Desowitz, Bill. “'Parasite': Shooting Bong Joon Ho's Social Thriller Through the Lens of Class Divide.” IndieWire, 26 Nov. 2019, www.indiewire.com/2019/11/parasite-cinematographer-hong-kyung-pyo-1202189824/.
Güner, Fisun. “Culture - How American Gothic Became an Icon.” BBC, BBC, 8 Feb. 2017, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170208-how-american-gothic-became-an-icon.
Güner, Fisun. “Culture - How American Gothic Became an Icon.” BBC, BBC, 8 Feb. 2017, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170208-how-american-gothic-became-an-icon.