Mixed Media |
Exhibition Text:
My mixed media work, Success applies aspects of asymmetric balance, orange colors, and media inspired by collage work done by Kurt Schwitters. My work is also symbolic of my thoughts and environment and incorporates elements from my community which are personally impactful to me. |
Inspiration |
Kurt Schwitters is an artist who worked in the 1900s in a variety of mediums, including collage, typography, poetry, and constructions. Much of his work constitutes of collages contributing to the Dada art movement. In these collages, Schwitters used found materials such as scraps of paper and trash. This often also included typography from newspapers, which allowed Schwitters to display verbal meanings to his work. The inclusion of elements which had been thrown away in his community enabled his art to depict aspects of the current environment Schwitters lived in.
|
In addition, the inclusion of discarded and aged newspapers gives many of his collages an overall warm and orange tone. This orange use of color is one I wanted to implement in my work as well, as I also wanted to include typography and newspapers. With the use of printed media, specific works are intentionally emphasized, such as in Schwitters's Difficult, which is an element I also wanted to include in my work.
|
Schwitters's use of balance is also unique, as instead of arranging components of his collage symmetrically, the items are arranged in an asymmetric manner. This gives his work a scattered and eradic movement, where the viewer's eyes move throughout the piece multiple times. While asymmetric movement typically exists in his work, each element of his collages are given equal attention. In my work, I wanted to include this asymmetric type of movement, as it would allow for sporadic movement between each element in the work, emphasizing the idea of the elements surrounding me. Similar to Schwitters, I planned for the elements in my work to be characterized by my environment and represent aspects of my surroundings which impact me.
|
Planning |
The first part of my planning included an exploration of elements of Schwitters's work which I could possibly incorporate into my own work. His collages consist mainly of scraps of newspapers which are combined in an interesting manner. These newspapers include different words, and some specific words are emphasized through this material. I decided I wanted to incorporate a similar use of newspaper and include typography. The words depicted in my work would place emphasis on aspects which affect me. The aged color of the newspaper also creates an orange tone seen through the pieces, and I wanted to incorporate this use of color as well.
|
Schwitters's work also includes aspects other than typography, such as depictions of people. To illustrate the impact of the words in my piece, I also wanted to incorporate an image of myself. Although Schwitters uses mediums such as typography in his collages, I wanted use these mediums while also including other types of mediums. I decided I wanted to include a graphite drawing of myself in addition to newspaper. As another part of my planning, I wanted to explore how to place elements in a collage. In Schwitters's work, elements are layered on top of one another and create an almost cluttered look. To explore this, I layered multiple scraps of magazine cutouts on top of one another.
|
As a final stage in my planning, I combined my ideas to form a structure for how I wanted my piece to appear. In the layout of my piece, I wanted to include aspects such as Schwitters's asymmetric balance, use of typography, and use of color. I decided to place a yellow or orange background on the graphite drawing of myself to maintain an orange tone throughout my work. I also decided I would place the elements of the piece in an asymmetrically balanced order to create the jumbled appearance.
|
Process |
To make the thickness of the cardboard similar to drawing paper, I removed both the outer non colored layer of the cardboard as well as the layers of corrugation. I did this so that the colored layer of the cardboard was left, which I was then able to draw on.
|
As I wanted to include a similar use of typography as Schwitters, I collected newspapers. I also ensured they were from my area and had articles relating to events impacting my community. I then collected scraps from articles discussing important events in the area. I also collected article titles with specific words which I wanted to emphasize. To create a similar old and yellowed look to the newspaper, similar to in Schwitters's work, I dyed the newspaper scraps. I did this with a mix of orange and yellow acrylic paint diluted in water.
|
I left the dyed newspaper scraps to dry so they could later be glued to the illustration board. In addition to the dyed orange color of the newspapers, I wanted to emulate the aged look of the materials in Schwitters's work in other ways. To do this, I burned some edges of the newspaper clippings with a lighter. Doing this also allowed more textures to be incorporated into my final work including the crisp burnt texture. I collected the materials I would include in my work to begin placing them onto the illustration board.
|
I also ripped the edges off of my graphite drawing, as I wanted more soft edges which appeared more similar to Schwitters's work. As the layering progressed, I added more orange clippings of newspaper as well as different materials. I included different pieces of corrugated and non corrugated cardboard to add texture to the work.
|
Experimentation |
One of the many sources of experimentation was the aged quality of the newspaper inspired by Schwitters's work. I attempted to achieve this aged appearance through dying the newspaper an orange toned color. I also experimented with burning the edges of the newspaper. I did this with both the dyed and white newspaper clippings, however I found that burning the orange paper that had been dried resulted in more dark charred places where the flame touched the paper. I then experimented with the way I would glue the newspaper scraps to the illustration board.
|
I did this by taking a scrap of the board and attempting to glue pieces with glue sticks, glue bottles, and a paper mache technique were I mixed glue and water. While the paper mache allowed the layers of the newspaper to be transparent while it was wet, the paper gained its opacity as it dried. Besides this difference, the methods of gluing did not differ much.
|
Critique |
Similarities:
The overall use of color between my work and that of Schwitters's is similar with the inclusion of orange values. Both works ultimately are warm-toned due to this color use. This color is seen in the newspaper elements in both my work and Schwitters's. In my work, this is due to the dye I soaked the newspaper clips in, and in Schwitter's collages, this is due to the old and worn nature of the paper. The use of asymmetric balance is also similar between Schwitters's work and mine. In Schwitters's work, the weight of each scrap of paper or element in the collage is not equally distributed across the pieces, and instead erratically placed, creating an almost sporadic movement. This cluttered movement is also present in my work, as the scraps of newspaper and cardboard are not placed in a symmetric manner. The use of materials is also similar within both mine and Schwitters's work. The use of typography is implemented in the paper clippings of both works, which allows specific words to be emphasized and contribute meaning to the works. In Schwitters's Difficult, the word "difficult" is emphasized, where in my piece, words such as "success", "study", and "pandemic" are emphasized. Differences: While the use of typography is seen in both my work and Schwitters's, my work consists of mixed media while Schwitters's work is mostly collage pieces. In addition to typography, my work contains corrugated cardboard, acrylic paint, a graphite drawing, and the use of fire. While Schwitters's work has depictions of people from newspapers or magazines, I am depicted in my work through the graphite drawing. Although the overall use of color in my work and Schwitters's work is similar, Schwitters implements specific colors which are not presented in my mixed media piece. For example, in his work Mai 191, vibrant blue and red hues can be seen soaked into the newspaper. However, in my work, brown and tones, as well as some white make up the entirety of my work. |
Reflection |
My mixed media piece was inspired by artist Kurt Schwitters, who made many collages in the Dada art movement. Inspired by his work, I wanted to emulate a similar use of color and medium to Schwitters, as his pieces included a great use of typography mainly though newspaper scraps. As this paper was worn and aged, many of his works have an overall warm-toned and orange color. I wanted to incorporate a similar color use through newspaper as well, however a challenge in this project included manipulating the material to appear more aged. As the newspaper clipping I acquired was white, I was faced with the task of dying the newspaper. This task of making the appear appear aged allowed me to use many more mediums than Schwitters used in his work. I ultimately used acrylic paint and fire in addition to mediums such as newspaper. I also continued my previous experience using cardboard as a medium in this piece, as I wanted to include aspects of texture as well. Another element of my work which was inspired by Schwitters is the use of asymmetric balance. In his work, there is seemingly not an order to the arrangement of his objects, which is an element I wanted in my piece as well. At times, it was difficult to determine where I should place each object in my work. Due to the way Schwitters collected typography from within his community, the words displayed in his works illustrate aspects of his community. As I collected newspapers from within Millwaukee, I was able to depict a representation of my thoughts and community through the typography in my work.
|
ACT Questions |
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration of Kurt Schwitters inspired my use of overall color, asymmetric balance, and media. As Schwitters's work consists of collages made from mainly newspaper, much of his work includes an aged orange color of the newspaper as well as words from articles. I also included this in my work as well as the asymmetric balance the artist uses to create erratic movement. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? Kurt Schwitters creates much of his work for means of expression. While it may not be specifically stated what the artist wishes to express, his use of color and balance create a message in his collages. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration? A major way to explore the aspects of an individuals life that have significant impact is through media presented within their environment. This includes newspapers, magazines, books, articles, and pictures. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?. My inspirational research included ideas relating to collages as well as ideas relating to environmental impacts on an individual. Concerning collages, I explored efficient ways of arranging and collecting medias to create a composition. Regarding environmental impacts, I explored history behind the Dada movement, and how those within this movement expressed themselves. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? Because Schwitters was an artist during the Dada movement, which often expresses opposition to policies and war, I inferred that he was either affected by the war or aspects of the environment surrounding him. Schwitters expresses this impact in his work with the specific words presented in the typography in his pieces. |
Citations |
“Kurt Schwitters Art, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/schwitters-kurt/.
Schwitters, Kurt. “(Difficult), 1942 - 1943 - Kurt Schwitters.” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.wikiart.org/en/kurt-schwitters/difficult-1943. Schwitters, Kurt. “For Kate, 1947 - Kurt Schwitters.” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.wikiart.org/en/kurt-schwitters/for-kate-1947. Schwitters, Kurt. “Mai 191, C.1919 - Kurt Schwitters.” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.wikiart.org/en/kurt-schwitters/mai-191-1919. Schwitters, Kurt. “Oorlog, 1930 - Kurt Schwitters.” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.wikiart.org/en/kurt-schwitters/oorlog-1930. |