Sustained Investigation #4

Artist's Statement:

Jillian Wight

Medsker

2D Design

20 January 2021

In my work, I tried my best to convey the idea of body positivity, and the fact that when we accept our own beauty and learn to stop looking for qualities to critique, we truly bloom as individuals. I conveyed this by painting a lily before it had bloomed. The petals are closed up tight, and the stalks are bright green. I then juxtaposed this with a fully bloomed lily. I tried my best to add a human element to these illustrations by arranging the petals and pistons in a way that appeared to have a similar structure to the human face. I then used an anti-art technique to “deface” the unbloomed lily, adding negative imagery that draws focus away from the actual figure. To the bloomed lily, I added positive imagery that surrounded but didn't disturb the delicate beauty of the flower. The concept was that women are like flowers. When we critique ourselves (illustrated by the anti-art negative imagery), we do not bloom. We shrivel, and we are dominated by our flaws. However, with a little personal nourishment (self-love), we are able to fully bloom and our qualities no longer take away from us as individuals but simply are part of us. We do not exist as our flaws, we exist despite them. My project relates to my life because, as a young girl during a time when social gatherings are limited, I have recently been forced to spend a lot of time with myself. The only way I could interact with my peers was through the filtered, edited, and specifically curated versions of themselves that they choose to display on social media. It became very easy for me (and I know a number of my friends had similar struggles) to constantly compare myself to them. I began losing self-confidence, and I forgot that I had been happy with myself before I began overanalyzing. I think this is an important message for girls everywhere to hear. Life is simply more fun if you exist for your own values, and do not change yourself for others.

To create this piece, I used a few materials that I usually avoid. I wanted to experiment as much as possible so that my skills as an artist had the opportunity to grow. First, I started with a mirror. This was an important element of the piece because it immediately draws a connection in the viewer’s mind between my art and the idea of self-perception. I then used acrylic paint to create a base layer for each plant figure, and then went in with more acrylic paint to build up from this layer and do as much shading as possible. For the extremely fine details, I used a white gel pen and a sharpie marker. Specifically, I used these materials to outline the petals in the lily, and accentuate the folds in the edges. I also used them to highlight parts of each petal to create a more engaging piece. Finally, I used the same materials, a white gel pen and a sharpie marker, to “deface,” or add additional design to each figure. I’m extremely happy with the outcome, as the last time I attempted to work with acrylic paint was in 9th grade on a project in March that, due to the pandemic, I never ended up finishing. I think that my exploration of this medium paid off, and the effect that the thick paint created on the mirror is really unique, almost 3 dimensional. Although it is difficult to convey through a photograph, there is a very funky depth to each element of the design due to the use of the mirror as a canvas.

A number of processes were used to develop my final product. First, I had to make sure that my color selection was intentional and vibrant. This is because I knew I would have to photograph the work outside for as little distraction in the mirror as possible, and therefore I knew that the background would end up appearing blue. I wanted my colors to stand out, and so I used very saturated pinks and greens with small patches of yellows, browns, and royal blues (although these are not easily detectable). Color was also important because it allowed me to experiment with different ways to create form. I found myself really drawing from what I learned in past art classes to mix colors and shades effectively in order to create values, and I’m happy with the outcome! Form was a very important element in my design because it brought a life-like effect into play that really contrasted with the 2D, cartoon-esq style of the anti-art doodles. This contrast emphasized the message that I attempted to convey. Finally, the anti-art lines I added played a role by creating movement throughout the piece and guiding the viewer’s eyes where I wanted them. I’m very proud of the overall outcome! I would say my project evolved from a very unspecific concept to a clearly developed idea, and then to a reality! I think my next steps should be to learn more about anti-art, because after I finished there were certainly a few things I realized I wanted to change. For example, I think it would have been very cool to add a spider-web to the unbloomed lily, further emphasizing my message. In general, however, I am happy with my project and pleasantly-surprised by my tequniuque with acrylic paint!

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