1 – SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is described as the ability to keep something maintained at a consistent or higher rate. In terms of art, artists use the concept of sustainability to showcase ways to improve and to show off the negative impact that’s happening to the environment. They can convey this through various means such as making pieces of art that try to comment on the state of the environment and what we can do to improve it. An example of a piece commenting on the environment is this satirical postcard made by Martin Anderson (under the alias “Cynicus”, 1854-1932) entitled Beautiful Belfast.
Another way that artists utilize sustainability in their work is through the actual creation of the piece. There are a multitude of companies and websites that offer postcards that are made from recycled paper, boards and biodegradable material, that allow you add your own custom image on to a postcard. The company Eco Postcard ( Eco postcard: Eco friendly postcards with seeds (eco-postcard.com) ) make their postcards with a small opening in the card that contains a couple of seeds that allow you to form a seedling in the middle of the card. That can be an example of how to convey a message of sustainability through one’s work.
2 – IDENTITY
The theme of identity can be portrayed in many ways through a multitude of art forms whether it be through the artist’s view such as their mindset during the creation of the art, how the art was created, the look of the finished art and the unused concepts thought up while it was being created or through outside sources such as the branding, the audience the art appeals to and their reaction to it.
An example of artists showing their identity through their work is with comic artists. Depending on the creator, a comic artist might have a visualization of themselves within the comic through various means, whether it be a small cameo, having themselves as a character in the story or to give insight into their mindstate when making the comic.
Osamu Tezuka is known to appear as himself in his series ‘Astro Boy’ to speak on various subjects like what he was inspired by when designing his comic, his audience’s reactions to stories, controversies regarding the violence in his series, etc.
Another example of someone inserting himself into comics is Harvey Pekar, writer of ‘American Splendor’, an autobiographical comic. In the comic, it follows him retelling stories from his life and him giving his thoughts on various topics.
Self portraits:
Looking at a mirror from the side, pencil
Same, but from a different angle
Looking towards the mirror, sharpie
More caricatured sketch
3 – INNOVATION
I define innovation as the progression of an idea being realized. In art, innovation came from trying new tools and techniques for creating works. The same can be said for the formative years of the animation industry. An technique that was considered innovative was “Rotoscoping”. Portraying movement in animation is mostly done through references of movement, but rotoscoping allowed animators to trace over film to animate movements, in order to get more accurate. It’s done through computers now, but when it was created by Max Fleischer, he used a transparent easel to trace over the film projector. While it was originally meant as a way to save time animating, it was actually more time consuming than animating traditionally.
Films like Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, American Pop and Fire & Ice and Richard Linklater’s Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly were animated fully with rotoscoped, while films like Disney’s Snow White and Heavy Metal have rotoscoped segments.
(scene from A-ha’s Take On Me music video)
4 – COMMUNICATION
Communication is the expression of thought or idea through speech, writing, action, creation, etc. One example of communication as an action would be through the creation of art. Communication through art can be used as an expression of thought, a way to exchange ideas and as a way to spark conversation through the meaning of the art piece and the reception surrounding it.
In art, you can also communicate without using any words at all. You can communicate a feeling or atmosphere in a piece of art, whether be through the colors (or lack thereof) in the piece, the mark making techniques, how something is presented (ex, something large being shown as imposing through it being drawn at a low angle, giving off a feeling of dread as it towers over everything else).
This was the idea I had for the logo. It would be either a comics or animation studio. The logo shows a hand drawing out the logo. I named it ‘Intricate’ cuz it was a detailed hand drawing out the logo with no mistakes.
5 – GENDER
Femininity and Masculinity are both sets of qualities, attributes and behaviors based on various factors like gender, sexuality, personality, roles in life, etc. Both Feminine and Masculine ideals and views are vastly different in terms of what is found to be appealing in terms of taste, including art, for either set of attributes. While obviously not 100% the case, both attributes have their own views of creating the art they want to create. Some of the traits of femininity are sensitivity and empathy, while masculinity is more known for being assertive and strong. Some of these traits can be shown off in the art a person of either attribute, especially been evident when going for a more stylized form of art like cartooning or comics.
The manga “Rose of Versailes” by Riyoko Ikeda has a very feminine sense of style with it’s enthesis on softer facial features and a focus on more emotive story telling shown through the paneling.
While the “Sin City” comic goes for a more masculine style through it’s more gritty visuals and more literal and action based storytelling.
Some works can strike a balance in terms of art. The manga “Dorohedoro” by Q Hayashida shows this through having characters have softer facial features, but contrasted with a very rough style of linework.
6 – PLACE
When it comes to displaying art through galleries, the galleries are big rooms with plain white walls. This is because the art is the main focus of the exhibit so anything more would be considered a distraction. The location comes second to the art. There are some examples of artists going for a different backdrop to display their work. An example of this would be Thomas Kinkade, whose shop and gallery gives off a homely feeling to go with his art.
Places or Environments can be crucial to how the art is presented, whether the art has some form of significance to the surrounding area or are made from natural materials. An example of this is Patrick Dougherty whose work is mainly made from saplings, which he uses to create small structures such as houses.
SOURCES:
Sustainability: Beautiful Belfast by Cynicus MetroPostcard List of Postcard Artists and Illustrators A
Identity: Astroboy by Osamu Tezuka, American Splendor by Harvey Pekar and art by Robert Crumb & Gary Dumm
Innovation: Video for A-ha – Take On Me, directed by Steve Barron
Gender: Femininity and Masculinity in Art | LARA (drawpaintsculpt.com) , Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda, Sin City by Frank Miller, Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida
Place: Thomas Kinkade Hometown Gallery – Visit El Dorado (visit-eldorado.com) , 15 Environmental Artists That Make Us Think About The World | LittleThings.com , art by Patrick Dougherty
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