NWSA-2D Art: MIXED MEDIA ASSEMBLAGE/COLLAGE PROJECT

Purpose
Create two mixed-media portraits or still life on Bristol board. Think about the theme of your persona or your subject's persona and style on how you will approach the project. This is not about traditional portraiture or just creating a typical still life, it's an interpretation as well, it's your original, unique vision, but it gives you the freedom to find creative solutions to challenge traditional perciptions. think abstract, deconstruction, mixed media, collaging, material, overlapping, LAYERING and weaving in your elements in creating a strong compositional solution. use your creative mind and create an affective integrated, cohesive series of TWO works of art that challenge the norm. Intergrate! don't treat your materials as seperates. they all must work together. INTEGRATION, NOT SEPARATION.

Two interpretive pieces either alternative portraiture or still life. Through the process, you will begin to explore additive technique in two-dimensional art. In particular, you will experiment with integrating collaging with traditional painting and drawing techniques. MUST BE VISUALLY PLEASING (good aesthetics please). Think and analyze your process, method of execution and explore creative solutions. Be experimental.

Attention will be given to the design principles we covered first semester. Namely: (framing, Scale, Hierarchy (points of interest/focal areas/emphasis), asymmetry, cropping techniques, Textural look or feel, F/G relationship, balance, composition, value, contrast and color theory/relationships), color palette, asymmetry. All that we have studied thus far is crucial in creating a cohesive unified solution. How will everything tie in together to create a balanced composition.

This project is treated as an abstraction and interpretive. not to be literal. All elements must work together to create a cohesive (unified), resolved, and finished work. Really think about your approach as in theme, style, be selective with materials and how to work them into your composition. Integrate the materials thinking of overlapping, layering, creating transparency in your finished piece. That can be done with different methods of layering mediums. You really need to analyze your piece and be visually aware of your AESTHETICS.

Due Dates (Critiques)

Mon/Wed Class: Monday, April 17th.

Tues/Thurs Class: Tuesday, April 18th.

Rubric
You will be assessed on your application of the design principles mentioned above, your creative solution, integration of materials, craftsmanship, composition, execution, sketches, and your creativity.

Note: All projects turned in after the due-date will be reduced by one letter grade.

Materials

Two Sheets of Bristol board 14in. x 12in. or bigger
Paint, markers, colored pencils, charcoal, watercolors, etc.
Fabric scraps, tissue paper, magazine cutouts, string, yarn, newspaper, etc.
Appropriate adhesive (white glue, rubber cement, gel medium)

Process

Step 1

In your sketchbook, create 3 different contours (silhouettes) that you will use as a reference for your collage. Themes can be a deconstructed portraiture, figurative, still life, abstract environment. BUT ALL ELEMENTS OF MEDIUMS AND MATERIALS MUST BE INTEGRATEAD, WEAVED INTO EACHOTHER, OVERLAPPING, INTERSECTING. MAKE IT A UNIFIED COMPOSITION. NOT COMPARMENTALISED. ELEMENTS MUST BE INTERGRATED NOT SEPERATED. MUST ALL WORK AS A WHOLE! THE SOME OF ALL PARTS. TOGETHER.

Begin by mapping out a theme/concept, think about materials, color palette, MAIN MATERIALS, your layout for both pieces, their relationships. what will crossover be? what is the common ground of your visuals, etc... Pay close attention to details, such as facial features or objects for still life. framing is important! and their relative size and position to one another. Be sure to map all these elements out correctly. Use cropping, scale and position on paper to create a dynamic composition.

Draw a silhouette of the head, then include neck and shoulders, add hair, include ears... Think about what you could add/remove to make it unique (pencil behind ear, sunglasses in hair, specific earring, etc). of course this also applies to a still life and all of its accents. whats the environment? look at Braque and Picasso JOSEPH CORNELL ASSEMBLAGES/collages.

Process to consider when creating your mixed media composition. Think abstract. Think creative. deconstruct. think of creating focal areas and how your eye travels through the piece. WHAT ARE THE FOCAL AREAS? MAIN SUBJECT, SECONDARY TERTIARY FOCAL AREAS. Must have emphasis. things can't have equal importance on your canvas. there will always be a main subject. can't have everything same size, same value, same anyting. have to keep it DYNAMIC!

Step 2

Focus on other areas of your body- hands, feet, legs, and entire figure. Repeat the steps above, to create 5 more contours from these observational drawings.

Step 3

Tape the composition to a wall, take a step back, and examine at your contours. Examine the positive/negative space, and composition, of each contour. What is successful. SQUINT.

Now, look at the compositions alongside each other. Pay attention to the different ways the compositions interact with each other. How do they inform (relate and influence) each other? What combinations of compositions are particularly successful? WHAT IS THE FOCAL AREAS? MAIN SUBJECT, SECONDARY TERTIARY FOCAL AREAS.

Step 4

Based on the observations in Step 3, choose one (or more) compositions to use as a starting point. Find ways to make the composition stronger, by overlapping, intersecting, combining, cutting, cropping, etc. Continue to refine the composition by rearranging, adding, and deleting elements.

Step 5

Explore with different materials (paint, collage, markers, fabric, metal, etc), continuing to refine the composition. Use color, texture, and value to tie everything together.