American Dream
Size: 12 in x 16 in.
Medium: Colored pencil on paper
"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. I began transferring my decided sketch over to my paper
2. I sketched the subjects of the piece very lightly |
3. Then I began to start shading in the base color of the portrait, I worked with the face first
4. After shading in the color in, I began going over it with another color (especially in the face and sky) |
5. Then I just began filling the spaces that need only bold color only in
6. I made sure to go over it twice especially on the house as I want it to look opaque and smooth |
Experimentation:
For this project the main experimentation that I did was definitely exploring the medium of color pencils and how to blend and use it in a way that would illustrate the idea in the way I want it to be. I used Prismacolor colored pencils, which were much more easy to blend and contour compared to normal colored pencils. I had difficulty deciding which color to mix together so that they match the color scheme and help highlight/blend into each other without making it look weird. I also messed around with how much I put pressure onto the pencil, as in my hairs for the subject I only use one color but I differentiate the strokes by how strong I press down on the pencil and how soft I want it to look.
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Reflection
Critique
As a whole I really enjoyed the project as the color pencil coloring helped me ¨de-stressed¨ a lot, I think i did a great job in blending the skin tones and the wrinkles of the however I can´t say that this was one of my better products as I made a lot of mistakes on this. I got the measurements wrong and used the wrong material for the paper along with my coloring on the background, since through the scan I can see how uneven my coloring was, especially in the darker areas. I felt like I could have had express my theme more expressively but however failed. My inspiration from Parasite can be seen however from ¨American Gothic¨ is a different question. I get how it might not look like it is based on the painting because of the colored pencil medium but I felt like I should have connect more to the painting as the instructor Katie told me. In addition, I felt like the theme I wanted to display to viewers can not be seen the way I want it to. Some revisions will definitely be made for my piece next semester.
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.