For one of the images I designed for the expression: Expansive in the previous project, I decided to draw in white holes with a black surrounding. I have trypophobia which is a phobia for patterns of holes i.e. lotus root, beehive, etc, and I thought it was interesting to create a bigger gradation image with my phobia.
Category Archives: Courses
This is the parent category of all of the years and individual courses represented in your learning portfolio.
Complex Figure Gradation
At first, I had difficulty understanding what complex gradation was. I didn’t understand exactly why one image would be complex and the other a regular gradation. However, upon viewing and researching complex gradation images, I was able to understand the term and apply it to my work. The second difficulty I faced was creating images of figures that conveyed emotion. I first did a charcoal drawing of a figure image I got from the web which obviously did not meet the criteria or the expectation of the work I was supposed to create. Then, I decided to incorporate ballet moves I saw during our visit to the Ballet performance, as not only were they interesting in form, but they were very emotionally expressive. I also merged drawings of branches and parts of trees in black to create a more interesting and expressive complex figure images.
Gradation
Emotions & Expressions
Emotions & Expressions was the first project I was faced with when I first joined this class during the third week. I was overwhelmed by the high qualities of work produced by my peers and was pressured to be good too. I remember the professor questioning my decision in joining the class the third week into the semester and warning me that the class would be tough especially with the extra workload I had to catch up with. The class as I warned was tough. However, it is undoubtedly true that I got so much more out of this class than any other classes, and improved more than I possibly could in such a short period of time.
Some of the images created for the emotions did had to be revised to better portray the indicated emotion (marked in green and red in the second image attached).
Written Portrait of Jackson
Serin Hwang
11th October 2017
Written Portrait of Jackson
“A small boy from a small seaside village in Maine.” That was how he first described himself. Covered by shadows of his older sister, who he idolized as a kid, Jackson’s childhood revolved around his older sister. He was like a moon hidden by the shadow cast by the sun. His first attempt to draw was also inspired by his sister who he described as being “very good at drawing”. He mentioned during his interview that he was heavily influenced by the fairytale stories and comic books he read during his early childhood. And as a child, he mostly drew fantasies, fairytale characters and stories which stem off his imaginations.
Although Jackson enjoyed drawing, he never thought of pursuing his studies in art until his mom told him otherwise. During his early adolescent years, Jackson was pushed by his mom to pursue art. His mother, an artist herself, wanted her daughter (Jackson’s older sister) to become an artist. However, when she refused, she started pushing Jackson to go to an art school instead. Jackson commented “I subliminally knew I was going to do art from a very young age”. Although his path was not chosen purely for his own sake, Jackson began to gain deeper interest in art, especially in fine arts, which is reflected on his portfolio works which mainly consists of drawings and paintings. He continues to be influenced by fantasies and stories, and is inspired by beautiful scenes from movies and most importantly, he is inspired by nostalgia which can easily be seen from his works.
He now defines himself by a single word “Honesty”. Jackson says he is trying his hardest to be him; “to be authentic”. He believes his life is less driven by his older sister, but by him.
the Moon
Like earth rotating around
the Sun
Like moon covered by shadows,
I remained hidden by
the Sun.
But as time goes by
the Sun begins to fade out.
And by night,
the Moon begins to shine
Ever so brightly.
the Moon, I
am no longer hidden by
the shadows cast
Now I know
the Moon
is not covered by the shadows,
but shines in another side.
Memoir
This photography piece represent my memories inspirations. I believe that I am a transparent person and artist capable of being inspired by anything. Everything appears new and fascinating to me, thus becoming my inspirations and influences. I wanted to convey this transparency, which I did through the use of clear plastic wrapped around the figure like a candy wrapper. Through the use of plastic and the idea of wrapping a person inside the plastic like candy, not only was I able to convey the idea of transparency and unlimited inspirations, I was also capable of conveying the feeling of innocence a child would have had. Furthermore, the nudity of the model does not feel evocative or sexual, instead feels rather childlike and naive, especially due to the posture of the model which is reminiscent of an embryo in the mother’s womb.
My Path, My Map
Moment 1
One of my more memorable moment that informed my creative works come from a relatively boring day when I was on my way back home. My mom had picked me up from my studio around midnight, and I was just sitting on the front seat gazing outside the car window. I remember being really tired and fatigue after having stayed in the studio for hours trying to finish my art project due in couple of days. I was cussing and lamenting about my situation to myself when for some reason I decided to turn and look at my mom. I suddenly came to a realization that my mom too was staying up really late everyday just for me- to pick me up from my studio. I felt so sorry and grateful at the same time, and this sudden realization undoubtedly impacted the type and quality of work I make now, because ever since this realization, I began to work harder and push myself so much more to create something that is better than the previous work.
Moment 2
During my late junior year, I went on a 2-week long volunteer trip with my friends to a dog rescue center located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The dogs I took care of where mostly abandoned dogs due to unacceptable reasons such as having disabilities, old age, sickness and most commonly due to their “ugly features”. What influenced me the most wasn’t taking care of these dogs, but being with the people who were working there. The working environment and shelters volunteers stayed and worked in were extremely poor with improper facilities. There was no running water or proper toilets, and hygiene wasn’t even up on the priority list. Most of the workers there were volunteering of an extended period of time which lasted from around a year to some for over 3 years. I thought these people were extremely inspiring both as individuals and as inspirations for my art makings, as taking initiatives and breaking out of individuals’ comfort zones and working to help these needy dogs seemed like a complete new level of courage and challenge to me. After my trip, I created a series of works related to my experience with both the dogs and the people. These works I created after my volunteer experience were no longer for aesthetical purposes, and for me to be satisfied with, but for the people working in the rescue center and for other people to relate to.
Moment 3
Although there are numerous moments that influenced my creative work, the most influential moments has to be from my studio. My studio was full of works created by me, and most importantly, it was the place I shared memories with my art teacher. This was the place my ideas were refurbished and made into art pieces, and a place where multiple discussions were made regarding my future and path as an artist. My art teacher and I worked together for over 4 years in this studio, thus sharing multiple discussions that lead to my growth as an artist. This was the place where my works were created to a portfolio worthy standard, and a place that helped me decide on becoming an artist with the guidance of my teacher. It was undoubtedly through my relationship with her where I was shaped as the artist I am today, capable of having pride in the works I make.