Artwork: Screen Printing on Tyvek
Title: Connection
Size: 91cm x 91cm
Medium: Screen Print
Completion: October 2018
Title: Connection
Size: 91cm x 91cm
Medium: Screen Print
Completion: October 2018
Exhibition Text: Connection is a piece that is meant to show and represent the community of Milwaukee. I chose to do my background by using the style of Pablo Picasso. I used his paintings of Landscape With Dead and Live Trees and Bouquet of Peace because of his placement of the objects in his pieces and his stylized method of work. The stencils on top of the piece are all symbolic and have meaning behind them. Some being included in Milwaukee's history and others being symbolic to feelings toward the city. All of them are how I view the community of Milwaukee.
Planning
Inspiration and History
Milwaukee grew as a manufacturing and distribution centre in the second half of the 19th century. Flour milling, leather tanning, and iron founding were all major industries. However, Milwaukee became best known for beer production, which began in 1840. German immigrants opened several large breweries and made Milwaukee a national centre of the industry. For a time, the city was the region’s primary lake port for eastbound shipments, particularly wheat. With the arrival of the railroad and the growth of Chicago as a national rail hub, Milwaukee’s importance as a shipping point declined in the late 19th century. European immigration was largely responsible for Milwaukee’s growth. German settlers played an important role in the city’s development. As the city’s largest ethnic group, the Germans developed their own society that included schools, churches, and breweries. Irish formed the second largest group beginning in the mid-19th century. Large groups of Polish and Italians occurred toward the end of the century. The 1830s and 1840s brought European dances like the schottische, waltz, galop and, most importantly, the polka. The 1840s also saw massive immigration from Germany to Milwaukee, which became known as Deutsche Athen. Groups formed, such as the Milwaukee Musical Society, to celebrate ethnic German music. Pablo Picasso was a spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most-influential artists of the 20th century and the creator of Cubism. One of Picasso’s principal artistic discoveries on that trip was colour—not the drab colours of the Spanish palette, the black of the shawls of Spanish women, or the ochres and browns of the Spanish landscape but brilliant colour—the colour of Vincent van Gogh, of new fashion, of a city celebrating a world’s fair. Using charcoal, pastels, watercolours, and oils, Picasso recorded life in the French capital. In his late work Picasso repeatedly turned toward the history of art for his themes. He seemed at times obsessed with the need to create variations on the works of earlier artists; thus, in his many prints, drawings, and paintings of that period, reference is made to artists such as Albrecht Altdorfer, Édouard Manet, Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, and Gustave Courbet. Repeatedly Picasso did a complete series of variations on one particular work, the most famous being perhaps the series on Las Meninas of Velázquez consisting of 58 discrete pictures. At times Picasso reworked a specific work because he identified personally with it. Because Picasso’s art from the time of the Demoiselles was radical in nature, virtually no 20th-century artist could escape his influence. Moreover, whereas other masters such as Henri Matisse or Braque tended to keep within certain stylistic boundaries, Picasso continued to be an innovator into the last decade of his life. That led to misunderstanding and criticism both in his lifetime and since, and it was only in the 1980s that his last paintings began to be appreciated both in themselves and for their profound influence on the rising generation of young painters. Since Picasso was able from the 1920s to sell works at very high prices, he could keep most of his oeuvre in his own collection. At the time of his death he owned some 50,000 works in various media from every period of his career, a selection of which passed into possession of the French state and the rest to his heirs. Their exhibition and publication has served to reinforce the highest estimates of Picasso’s astonishing powers of invention and execution over a span of more than 80 years.
Inspiration and History
Milwaukee grew as a manufacturing and distribution centre in the second half of the 19th century. Flour milling, leather tanning, and iron founding were all major industries. However, Milwaukee became best known for beer production, which began in 1840. German immigrants opened several large breweries and made Milwaukee a national centre of the industry. For a time, the city was the region’s primary lake port for eastbound shipments, particularly wheat. With the arrival of the railroad and the growth of Chicago as a national rail hub, Milwaukee’s importance as a shipping point declined in the late 19th century. European immigration was largely responsible for Milwaukee’s growth. German settlers played an important role in the city’s development. As the city’s largest ethnic group, the Germans developed their own society that included schools, churches, and breweries. Irish formed the second largest group beginning in the mid-19th century. Large groups of Polish and Italians occurred toward the end of the century. The 1830s and 1840s brought European dances like the schottische, waltz, galop and, most importantly, the polka. The 1840s also saw massive immigration from Germany to Milwaukee, which became known as Deutsche Athen. Groups formed, such as the Milwaukee Musical Society, to celebrate ethnic German music. Pablo Picasso was a spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most-influential artists of the 20th century and the creator of Cubism. One of Picasso’s principal artistic discoveries on that trip was colour—not the drab colours of the Spanish palette, the black of the shawls of Spanish women, or the ochres and browns of the Spanish landscape but brilliant colour—the colour of Vincent van Gogh, of new fashion, of a city celebrating a world’s fair. Using charcoal, pastels, watercolours, and oils, Picasso recorded life in the French capital. In his late work Picasso repeatedly turned toward the history of art for his themes. He seemed at times obsessed with the need to create variations on the works of earlier artists; thus, in his many prints, drawings, and paintings of that period, reference is made to artists such as Albrecht Altdorfer, Édouard Manet, Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, and Gustave Courbet. Repeatedly Picasso did a complete series of variations on one particular work, the most famous being perhaps the series on Las Meninas of Velázquez consisting of 58 discrete pictures. At times Picasso reworked a specific work because he identified personally with it. Because Picasso’s art from the time of the Demoiselles was radical in nature, virtually no 20th-century artist could escape his influence. Moreover, whereas other masters such as Henri Matisse or Braque tended to keep within certain stylistic boundaries, Picasso continued to be an innovator into the last decade of his life. That led to misunderstanding and criticism both in his lifetime and since, and it was only in the 1980s that his last paintings began to be appreciated both in themselves and for their profound influence on the rising generation of young painters. Since Picasso was able from the 1920s to sell works at very high prices, he could keep most of his oeuvre in his own collection. At the time of his death he owned some 50,000 works in various media from every period of his career, a selection of which passed into possession of the French state and the rest to his heirs. Their exhibition and publication has served to reinforce the highest estimates of Picasso’s astonishing powers of invention and execution over a span of more than 80 years.
Buffenstein, A. (2016, September 30). 8 Quotes to Celebrate Picasso's 134th Birthday. Retrieved from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pablo-picasso-birthday-quotes-347585
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Landscape With A Dead And A Living Tree 307 By Picasso. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.beverlyamitchell.com/landscape-with-a-dead-and-a-living-tree-307-by-picasso.html
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Planning Sketches
Background Idea
Stencil Ideas
The top stencil is an outline of wheat which represents the brewing history of the community.
The middle stencil is a music note and it represents the music in the community and how it brings us together. The bottom stencil is an outline of a wolf and it represents loyalty, guardianship, strength, independence and freedom. |
The top stencil is an outline of a swan. It represents grace, balance, and beauty.
The bottom stencil is an outline of a wood violet. Not only is it the state flower of Wisconsin but it represents faith. |
Experimentation
The top image is my first planing sketch. My original intention was to have the city buildings in the background to represent downtown Milwaukee. The black curvy lines were to represent music lines to represent our German folk music. And the tree in the middle was to represent our state tree and what that represents.
After the critique on the first piece, I was told that the building were to common and to switch of the color of the tree. So I added the Allen Bradley clock tower to show something that would get people to recognize the building. I also changed the color of the tree to green. |
Process
1. Draw your background inside of a perfect square so when they need to be printed out it will print out in a perfect square. Then scan your image into the computer and open up Photoshop.
2. Create a new white background that is 36in x 36in and has a resolution of 200. 3. Put your image into Photoshop and shape the image so it fits into the 36 x 36 square. I then adjusted the brightness so the image was clearer and easier to see. The images were then printed out on tyvek and taken to MIAD. 4. Before we began to put our stencils on the tyvek, we had to put ink over the stencil to stick the stencil to the screen. First you want to put paper under the stencil and tape the stencil to the screen. 5. Then put ink onto the screen and use a squeegee to move the ink over the stencil under the screen. The image below is me doing this step. 6. Then lift up the screen and look to see if the image turned out. If it did then quickly put the screen over the tyvek and put the stencil on the tyvek. If it didn't turn out then do it on a piece of paper again to get the ink through again. Do this quick before the ink dries. 7. Continue to do these steps until all of your stencils are on your background, Then clean your screen and clean up the equipment you used. |
Reflection
Critique
In the end, I am really happy about how my piece turned out. When the project began, I had a little bit of an idea on what I wanted to include but I didn't know how to show that. Then I was doing my planning sketches and had the critiques and I came up with the idea and that's what I did. I really liked adding the stylized look to my piece because I feel like it stood out more and gave more meaning behind my choices in the background. I also like my stencil choices because they are all symbols of how I view the community of Milwaukee. I chose blue for my stencils because I thought that it would stand out with the colors that I used in the background.
Critique
In the end, I am really happy about how my piece turned out. When the project began, I had a little bit of an idea on what I wanted to include but I didn't know how to show that. Then I was doing my planning sketches and had the critiques and I came up with the idea and that's what I did. I really liked adding the stylized look to my piece because I feel like it stood out more and gave more meaning behind my choices in the background. I also like my stencil choices because they are all symbols of how I view the community of Milwaukee. I chose blue for my stencils because I thought that it would stand out with the colors that I used in the background.
ACT Questions
1)Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Pablo Picasso stylized work played a huge part in my artwork. I also used his use of placement in my piece to give more emphasis in the things in my background.
2)What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
At times Picasso reworked a specific work because he identified personally with it. Because Picasso’s art from the time of the Demoiselles was radical in nature, virtually no 20th-century artist could escape his influence.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
There are many different ways that Milwaukee is viewed. Some people have negatives thoughts about Milwaukee people, ideas, or cultures and many are also positive.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspiration research?
My central theme of the piece was to show my view on Milwaukee and its community.
5)What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Many people have good things to say about Milwaukee and many people celebrate the history of Milwaukee.
1)Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Pablo Picasso stylized work played a huge part in my artwork. I also used his use of placement in my piece to give more emphasis in the things in my background.
2)What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
At times Picasso reworked a specific work because he identified personally with it. Because Picasso’s art from the time of the Demoiselles was radical in nature, virtually no 20th-century artist could escape his influence.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
There are many different ways that Milwaukee is viewed. Some people have negatives thoughts about Milwaukee people, ideas, or cultures and many are also positive.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspiration research?
My central theme of the piece was to show my view on Milwaukee and its community.
5)What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Many people have good things to say about Milwaukee and many people celebrate the history of Milwaukee.
Bibliography
Britannica, T. E. (2018, April 25). Milwaukee. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Milwaukee
MUSIC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.milwaukeeoktoberfest.com/music.html
McCully, M. (2018, October 21). Pablo Picasso. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Picasso/The-Picasso-myth
Britannica, T. E. (2018, April 25). Milwaukee. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Milwaukee
MUSIC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.milwaukeeoktoberfest.com/music.html
McCully, M. (2018, October 21). Pablo Picasso. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Picasso/The-Picasso-myth