BLOCK PRINT |
Title: Silenced
Size: 8.5 cm x 11 cm Medium: carved linoleum block, printing paper, ink Completion: 25 September 2021 Exhibition Text
My piece "Silenced" explores my experimentation with linoleum block printing as well as the style of artwork that was created in the Harlem Renaissance. Taking experimental as well as conceptual inspiration from artists Hale Woodruff and Robert Blackburn, I explore different aspects of art in my work. When carving, I experiment with the manipulation and application of contrast, line, and form similar to Woodruff and Blackburn's work as well as the social justice themes presented in their work. The purpose of "Silenced" is to make a statement about the silencing that occurs to people of color.
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Inspiration |
Artists Hale Woodruff and Robert Blackburn
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Sunday Promenade -
Hale Woodruff (1935) |
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Planning |
My first goal in the beginning of the planning was to brainstorm ideas for how I wanted to convey my theme. As I had already figured out that I wanted to do a theme involving social justice and the oppression of people of color, I began planning to explore possible symbols I could use to illustrate this. As I was experiencing trouble exploring these potential symbols, I began observing both physical and thematic elements of Hale Woodruff's work. I examined the different facial profiles and angles he uses along with his implementation of technique. I then began to sketch facial profiles of my own, experimenting with different facial perspectives. Through this process, I deduced that I wanted to have a black woman in the center of my work, with different actions being taken on her, like the pulling of her hair.
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I then sketched out different ways the woman's hair could look in my piece, ultimately deciding to create curly hair through inspiration from Woodruff's art. Although I observed his art to find inspiration, I has also planned to incorporate certain elements into my work that differed from his, such as my arrangement of the position of the woman in my piece. I also went on in the planning to experiment with the ways I wanted the arms of the woman in my piece to look as well as the highlights and contrast that would be created.
After planning out which components I would like to have in my piece, I marked the size of the linoleum block I would be putting my design on and mapped the position of the elements of my work. I wanted to have a woman of color fully facing the direction of the audience. The woman would have a fist, held up to symbolize solidarity and strength, being aggressively grabbed by another hand protruding from the edge of the piece. I also wanted another hand coming from the opposite side of the work to cover the woman's mouth. The detail in the hair along with the highlights I would need to make in the face were also components that I sketched. Finally, I also planned for an area of negative white space positioned near the fist which would create a large contrast to the fist, which is mainly black. In this part of my planning, I also began to reflect upon which components of my piece would be carved, making it appear white, and which components would not be carved, resulting in a black appearance.
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Process |
Before beginning to carve my planned design into the linoleum, I wanted to explore how the tools cut into the medium and the pressure I would need to exert on the blade to result in a favorable cut. Because I have never worked with carving linoleum blocks, it was necessary for me to develop cutting techniques so as to create my piece efficiently. I explored the lines created by carving with each of the tool attachments. I reasoned that I would mostly be using the smallest attachment of the carving tool the most often due to the smaller details in my piece that would require finer lines. Once I had experimented with the carving tools, I sketched my design plan on to the linoleum block.
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As I began carving, I first carved larger details that I knew would need white negative space. With the white space area near the fist, I used one of the larger attachments with the tool to carve out the area. This allowed me to further continue the development of my carving skills, as I practiced carving lines repeatedly when creating this section. I experimented with different types of lines as well, knowing that the space would result in being almost completely carved out. After carving the beginning components of my piece, I was curious to know what the fist would look like when inked and transferred to paper.
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To examine what the fist would look like, I went over the top of the linoleum block in pencil to replicate how the ink would be applied once the carving was finished. This allowed me to reflect on if my creation of lines was effective in achieving my desired thickness and direction. I also realized after carving the white space area that I had carved too much linoleum with too much pressure on the tool, resulting in a hole in the linoleum block. This caused me to reflect and conclude that I needed to put less pressure on the cutting tool. Contrasting from Woodruff's work, I also attempted to cooperate cross-hatching into my work as opposed to simple shapes and lines that compose the piece. In both of the arms I use this technique to create the illusion that the arms protruding into the piece are 3-dimensional. I then continued to carve the rest of the linoleum block until I was ready to begin making ink copies.
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Experimentation |
After rolling the ink onto my carved linoleum block and transferring the ink to paper, I reflected on the final result of the first print. Although I was satisfied with the amount of ink that was transferred, I wanted the lines in the fingers of the fist to be more defined, as I felt the fist is a vital component to the piece. When I began to print again, I also experienced difficulty determining the amount of ink to use when printing. While my first print has too much ink, my following prints did not have enough ink.
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I also encountered the problem that certain objects, such as eraser shavings or carvings from the linoleum block would appear in front or on the blocks. In the prints to the left, certain objects interfered with the success of the print, as there is a disruption in the fist (farthest left), and a disruption near the woman's shoulders and the protruding hand (closest right). This prompted me to consistently clean my workspace so as to prevent these issues.
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After experimenting with different amounts of ink to apply to the linoleum block, I created an ink transfer that satisfied the amount of ink I wanted on the page. While in some of my other prints, the ink was too scarce and provided an excess of unintentional white space, I was able to find an ink amount that suited the needs of my design. For the purpose and theme of my work, which is to make a statement on social justice and the silencing of people of color, I want the amount of ink to be significant. With the large variation in intensity of white and black values, the elements in my piece that are white are emphasized. |
Critique |
Similarities:
Between both my works, and the work of Woodruff, the technique of manipulating line is very similar. As I was inspired by Woodruff and both pieces are the same medium, they both create the illusion of depth by highlighting certain areas of the pieces with line. This is done as the repetition of carving strokes in a circular direction leads to the illusion of depth created on the form of the face.
In Sunday Promenade, African Headdress, and my piece Silenced, a social justice theme is present. Woodruff focuses on the representation of black people in his work through a cultural lens by depicting people of color in many aspects of their culture. My work also focuses on the representation of people of color, as my piece works to make a statement upon the manner that women of color are treated.
Differences:
While woodruff uses hatching to create dimension in his work, I have implemented both hatching and a crosshatching technique. In Woodruff's work, hatching is seen in the clothes of the people, as well as the detailing of the church and arms of the people walking. In my work, I use crosshatching in both of the arm protruding from the sides of the peice to create the idea that the arms are round.
While Woodruff uses background in his piece to provide cultural significance and context in his work, I do not incorporate background into my piece and instead focus the emphasis on my work as the woman in the center. With the presence of background, Woodruff emphasizes collective people and black people through different aspects of their culture. However, in my work, my goal was to focus on the individual woman in the picture and make a statement about oppression and social justice.
Between both my works, and the work of Woodruff, the technique of manipulating line is very similar. As I was inspired by Woodruff and both pieces are the same medium, they both create the illusion of depth by highlighting certain areas of the pieces with line. This is done as the repetition of carving strokes in a circular direction leads to the illusion of depth created on the form of the face.
In Sunday Promenade, African Headdress, and my piece Silenced, a social justice theme is present. Woodruff focuses on the representation of black people in his work through a cultural lens by depicting people of color in many aspects of their culture. My work also focuses on the representation of people of color, as my piece works to make a statement upon the manner that women of color are treated.
Differences:
While woodruff uses hatching to create dimension in his work, I have implemented both hatching and a crosshatching technique. In Woodruff's work, hatching is seen in the clothes of the people, as well as the detailing of the church and arms of the people walking. In my work, I use crosshatching in both of the arm protruding from the sides of the peice to create the idea that the arms are round.
While Woodruff uses background in his piece to provide cultural significance and context in his work, I do not incorporate background into my piece and instead focus the emphasis on my work as the woman in the center. With the presence of background, Woodruff emphasizes collective people and black people through different aspects of their culture. However, in my work, my goal was to focus on the individual woman in the picture and make a statement about oppression and social justice.
Reflection |
As in the beginning of this project, I was unsure of how to carve into a linoleum block, I have been able to refine my skills throughout my process to develop skills in carving. I also worked to develop my hatching and crosshatching techniques, along with my ability to create depth through simple lines and shapes. Because I like to include many details in my art and tend to gravitate towards extremely fine and precise detail, it was very difficult for me to resist including as many details as I could. However reflecting after this project, I have developed as an artist to become more comfortable with creating artwork that consists more of simpler components. Through this development, I have realized that many simple details can lead to a complex piece. My inspiration for this piece was artwork created by Hale Woodruff and printed by Robert Blackburn. Both Woodruff and Blackburn created social justice protest themes in their work by making the focus of the piece concerning people of color and their culture. Just as Woodruff and Blackburn, I work to provoke feelings of reflection regarding the oppression and silencing of people of color in my audience.
ACT Connections |
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your work?
My inspiration had an affect on my work, as components of my inspiration, such as theme and manipulation of the elements of art, are present in my work.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
There are many ways that people of color and the oppression of those people can be represented. While some representations include a view of black culture, other works may portray the aggressive means of oppression that occurs to people of color.
What king of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration.
I have reached the conclusion that complexity may present itself in gatherings of simple components in art. While art that is extremely detail focused may result in a complex piece, more abstract ways of creating dimension, and line manipulation may also result in complexity.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme presented in my research concerns the social justice movement during the Harlem Renaissance and how this movement still impact people of the black community presently. People in this community are oppressed and silenced, which can be protested against in forms of art.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
When researching Hale Woodruff's work, I inferred that he references social justice themes through his art. In his work, people of color are presented in their cultural elements, and are also presented as oppressed and silenced, which I inferred relates to social justice.
My inspiration had an affect on my work, as components of my inspiration, such as theme and manipulation of the elements of art, are present in my work.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
There are many ways that people of color and the oppression of those people can be represented. While some representations include a view of black culture, other works may portray the aggressive means of oppression that occurs to people of color.
What king of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration.
I have reached the conclusion that complexity may present itself in gatherings of simple components in art. While art that is extremely detail focused may result in a complex piece, more abstract ways of creating dimension, and line manipulation may also result in complexity.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme presented in my research concerns the social justice movement during the Harlem Renaissance and how this movement still impact people of the black community presently. People in this community are oppressed and silenced, which can be protested against in forms of art.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
When researching Hale Woodruff's work, I inferred that he references social justice themes through his art. In his work, people of color are presented in their cultural elements, and are also presented as oppressed and silenced, which I inferred relates to social justice.
Bibliography
Harlem Renaissance, 2021, https://www.nga.gov/learn/teachers/lessons-activities/uncovering-america/harlem-renaissance.html.
Woodruff, Hale. African Headdress. 1935. National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.170351.html
Woodruff, Hale. Giddap. 1935. National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.144233.html
Woodruff, Hale. Sunday Promenade. 1935. National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.144238.html