Board One:

Currently I have mostly finished my first board. There are some pieces that need to still be worked on, and a few faces that need to be drawn, also I need to add some dimension to a few works. However there is art covering one side of my portfolio, that is subjectively okay.

This is the first half of my first board. The first series shows vintage images of female gender-roles repainted to look like Disney princesses. I have used bright colours to add to the pop-art style. The next image is three famous women's rights activists all protesting together, and next to it is two airplanes to represent Jean Batten, and Amelia Earhart, two famous female pilots.

  

This is the second half of my first board when it was incomplete (it is now completed). The first series you can see it women who were known for more feminine things, but were actually extraordinary in another way. Audrey Hepburn was known for acting, but spent most of her life helping the hungry in Africa. Marilyn Monroe was known for being a ditsy blonde, but was actually incredibly intelligent. In the gap is now Emma Watson, known for being and actress, however she is very proud feminist, and UN representative. Lastly is Queen Elizabeth II, who is known for being the Queen of England, but was also an ambulance driver in World War II. The other series is about women in traditionally male dominated areas, such as CEO, Army, Emergency services, and surgery. 

Art History

Night Creatures by Lee Krasner - 1965 (76.2 x 108cm) Acrylic Paint On Paper

The artist, Lee Krasner, used acrylic paint and paper to create this artwork. The benefits to using acrylic paint as opposed to oil paint or watercolours is that they dry quickly while still being very vibrant. This was very important for the artist, as there are so many layers to this painting that she didn’t necessarily want to mix together, but she wouldn’t have wanted to spend weeks waiting for the layers to dry. Also because she was painting in layers she would have wanted more vibrant paints so that they would cover the paint underneath. The choice to use paper as opposed to a canvas was also very purposeful. The reason behind this is the artist, Lee Krasner, wanted a smooth surface to paint on so the swirling pattern would be easier to achieve, since canvases have a lot of texture. When creating this abstract painting Krasner would have painted the layer of red that you can see behind everything else. This was purposely done messily to make the painting feel more rustic and intense. Next she would have painted a layer of white, also messily, purposely leaving places for the red paint to show through. This layer of white helps create a striking contrast against the red and black. Then when the white paint was dry she would have taken a thinner paint brush and created the black swirls. Some of the swirls are shaped rather purposely to look like eyes and faces. These would be the eyes and faces of the ‘Night Creatures’. These shapes are not incredibly obvious, meaning you would have to look at the painting very closely to even notice, but it gives the painting almost an aura of darkness and fear. This painting is supposed to remind the audience of the creatures they see in the dark. She did multiple layers of the black and white, and possibly the red in certain areas, this was to build up colour, and to create new textures, patterns and colours that catch people's eyes. The colour pallette chosen consists primarily of black, white, red and grey, where the black and white mixed slightly. These colours all create negative connotations, and manufacture feelings of unease, which in collaboration with the swirling shapes, sets the tone for the painting. This painting is very large, at 76.2cm x 108cm. This also adds to the feeling of unease, as the size of the painting is intimidating, and is supposed to make the audience feel small in comparison. Krasner was a part of the abstract expressionism movement, which began just after World War 2. This movement included many different stylistic features that often related to the sorrow and confusion of the post war society, and the uncertainty of where to go from here. These features were things like geometric patterns, prominent brush strokes and the general lack of recognisable figures.This art movement was heavily influenced by the great depression, which was happening towards the beginning of Krasner’s career as an artist. The abstract expressionism movement is said to be influenced by the surrealism movement that started in the 1920’s, and many artist of the abstract expressionism movement took inspiration from the surrealism movement.

This is relevant to my practical work because of the media that Krasner uses, it is the same that I have used various times throughout my artwork. She is also working with a lot of contrast here, which you can see in a few of my works. Also the idea that Krasner was a woman in art who was overshadowed by her husband in a relevant theme in a lot of my work.

Board Plan - Art

This is my plan for my art board. The second panel is mostly empty, because I didn't have any plan at that point, however now I am doing two last, large panel painting inspired by Jacqueline Fahey.

My Why - Art

My theme in art this year is female role models. Initially my theme was fantasy, but I decided I didn't like the direction that was heading, and decided to look into something I am more passionate about, which in this case is the hypocrisy and redundancy of stereotypical role models for young girls. As children I think most girls idolize Disney princesses, and the traditional gender-roles associated with them. Young girls should be more exposed to powerful, female role models as children, women who save themselves, speak for themselves, and don't rely on any man. This is very important to me as someone who reads a lot of books about powerful women, and therefore recognizes the way these characters can change your own self-image. I am also inspired by many women in my family, such as my mother, my aunties and my great-grandmother. These women are all people I know personally who have had to support themselves at some point or another, regardless of where the men in their life were, and I do look up to them because of that.

For my board this year I wanted to play with the bright colours, and animated figures of the pop-art style. Key artists of this movement were Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, both of which I drew inspiration from when completing my artworks. However my most influential artist model this year was Jacqueline Fahey. She does collage style pieces that speak on the struggles, and expectations of women.






















































































































































































































































































































































































 

Writing Portfolio - English

Dystopian futures, where hope is lost and living standards are unimaginable, it can begin feuds between people or groups of people. With every man for themselves or keeping a masterace in change, Children of Men shows little to no hope for foreigners. It is a well pronounced law in the film that all illegal immigrants and refugees should be reported to the police and sent away. With an infertility epidemic going on as well, there is little hope for humanity...but that all changes when a “fugee” is set to have the first baby in 18 years, and that changes everything.

Edit:

Dystopian futures, where hope is lost and living standards are unimaginable, it can begin feuds between groups of people. Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, shows little to no hope for foreigners. It is a well pronounced law in the film that all illegal immigrants and refugees should be reported to the police and sent away. Cuaron used many language features such as … to reinforce the stereotype that immigrants are inferior.

Refugee Crisis - English

1. When was this article published?

The article was published on July 29th, 2019 (wow)

2. What are the areas/people most affected?

North Africa, Medirterranean, and the Middle East. 

3. List 4 statistics and/or facts which stand out from this article. Order them from most significant to least.

• “U.N figures suggest that even before Thursday, some 423 migrants had been killed this year attempting to reach the Italian peninsula.”
• “No words are equal to Thursday’s news that some 150 migrants perished in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.”
• “Around 140 others managed to survive and were rescued by fishermen and members of the Libyan Coast Nations.”
• “More than 70 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes as of 2018 - half of them children - which is more than double the number from 20 years ago.”

(wow)

4. How does this article relate to Children of Men?

Because the article is all about the refugee crisis around the world, just like how in Children of Men they have a huge refugee crisis because all the countries were torn apart.

5. Thinking about this article specifically, explain why is it worthwhile to study the film Children of Men.

Because the content of this article relates very heavily to many of the themes in children of men. Children of Men depicts an extreme version of the current refugee crisis, but also not too far off, because there is a problem in places like America where children and other refugees are being kept in cages. 

Unfamiliar Texts - English

They Ask Why I Don't Wear Makeup - Harriet Carter

This poem explores the way that men justify sexual harassment against women, and how women are are effected by this. The author uses simile to get her point across, for example, "private school brotherhoods wear ignorance like lynx." This language features compares ignorance to lynx, which is a brand of antiperspirant which teenage boys tend to use excessive amounts of. So this line is saying that private school boys are extremely ignorant, and by looking at the context of the rest of the rest of this poem I can assume that she is talking about their ignorance to the feelings of girls and women when they cat call, or give unnecessary compliments to. This poem has negative connotations, specifically because of words and phrases such as; bleed, shame burns my chest, caterwauling, male ears shouldn't have to listen, ignorance, only desperate liars lie here and crying.
We also see the use of a couplet in this poem, which helps to show what the author is referring to in this poem. The author writes, "they cherish both uniform/ and red church dresses." This line is referring to the way that men objectify and sexualise women, no matter what they are wearing, where they are going, or how old they are. If a girl is going to school or church she probably isn't trying to sexualise herself, however that doesn't stop men passing her from doing so, and in fact school uniforms are incredibly sexualised, as are girls who do attend church. The couplet in this line helps to break up the sentence, and adds to the rhythm of the poem.
             

Language Features - English

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza.

Eg. The holy time is quiet as a nun 

       breathless with adoration. 

Eg. The sun is bright as a flower

       ready to be pollinated.

Couplet 

A pair of successive lines, typically rhyming and of the same length.

Eg. Hear the honking of a goose

      I think he's angry at a moose.

Eg. The stars shine bright

      Creatures below fight.

Metonymy 

The substitution of the name of an attribute adjunct for that of the thing meant.

Eg. We will swear loyalty to the crown (instead of king or queen).

Eg. You'll find him six feet under (instead of dead).

My Folio So far - Art

This is a painting of Audrey Hepburn dressed like her character from the movie breakfast at Tiffany's, but instead doing what she really dedicated her life to, which was helping those less fortunate than herself.   

The Theme for my art board is Young Girls Role Models. The first row is typical depictions of women during the early-mid 20th century, the women in these paintings are Disney princess's, because of they are very common 'role models' for young girls. The first painting in the second row is a painting of three famous feminists, Susan B. Anthony, Kate Sheppard and Millicent Fawcett, at a protest. The second painting is of two airplanes made to look like the airplanes flown by Amelia Earhart, and Jean Batten.   

This is the first sketch for my painting of the two airplanes representing Amelia Earhart and Jean batten.                                

This is the first sketch for my painting of Susan B. Anthony, Kate Sheppard and Millicent Fawcett.                                           

This is my first brainstorm for my new board idea.                                                                                                                             

These are my thumbnail sketches for artworks I did/were/are going to put on my board.                                                                         

Unfamiliar texts - English

The Lifestyle Creed

What does the word creed mean?

A creed is a system of religious belief or faith.

Words I do not know:

Oleocanthal - Oleocanthal is found in extra virgin olive oil, and creates a burning sensation in the back of your throat when you consume this oil. 

Cruciferous - My favourite cruciferous vegetable is broccoli.

Catholic Nicene Creed: 

The Catholic Nicene Creed is a catholic prayer which the poem I am studying parodies. These two poems have the same structure, but while the catholic creed is about legitimate religion, the lifestyle creed is about praising the things that help lessen the effects of Alzheimer's, which I assume is either effecting the author, or someone they love. 

Why does the author use cut up words?

There are two different fonts used in this poem, one of the fonts is from the original prayer, and the other is from a website which gives advice on how to deal with Alzheimer's. The author has replaced words of the Catholic Nicene Creed with words to do with Alzheimer's. The effect this has on the reader is that they can acknowledge that they are reading two different poems at once.

Why does the author use two different fonts?

The author used two different fonts to make it easy to tell the two poems apart. The Catholic Creed is printed in a very formal font, whereas the Alzheimer's website is a very modern font. This represents the formality of the original prayer versus the website of modern medicines. 

Why has the author juxtaposed Catholic Nicene Creed?

The author is trying to drastically change the meaning of the poem, turning it from a highly religious prayer, to a prayer to all these vegetables and food related things that help fight the effects of Alzheimer's. This is very effective, and effects the audience by thinking them think the author is praising these things.

What is the overall purpose of this poem?

The purpose of this poem is to show how valuable certain food groups, antioxidants, vitamins ect are to people who suffer from Alzheimer's, or their loved ones.

Overall tone:

The overall tone of this poem is grateful or optimistic.

The last two lines:

These lines suggest that the author is praying for a recovery, and just wanting everything to return to normal. "Resurrection of good cholesterol and the life of the world to come." This makes it seem like the author wants everything to turn around and get better. 

My opinion: 

I enjoyed this poem because I thought the idea of joining two poems together was very creative, and I liked how the author used a very famous prayer to do so.  

 

Children Of Men Discussion Questions

Questions:

What message does this film relay about immigration and xenophobia?
What effect does Cuarón’s use of long takes have in the scenes where this filming technique is used?
How plausible is the future world depicted in Children of Men?
How has the lack of children changed society?
What role does religion play in the film?
Luke is consistently portrayed as the "bad guy" throughout the film. Is he sincerely a bad person? Why or why not?
How was a totalitarian government able to emerge in the wake of the infertility crisis in Britain?
How does Kee develop over the course of the film?
How does Theo develop over the course of the film?


Answers:

If we don’t change the things that are wrong now(at the moment) then it’s going to get worse.
It makes the audience feel like the film realistic and more like a documentary.
It is very plausible in terms of the immigration situation that is currently happening in our world today but the women becoming infertile is very unlikely to happen.
Everyone is unhappy because children are a source of happiness and the uncertainty of the future because there is no one to pass on the knowledge.
The religion is a big role because some people thinks that it is God’s wrath that causes the infertility of women.
He’s not entirely a bad guy but because he has a different beliefs he thinks that he is doing the right thing.
Because of the infertility of the women there is a worldwide panic enabling a totalitarian government to emerge.
She started of being mean to Theo but during the film she started to trust Theo and others that tries to help her.
At the start of the film Theo doesn’t care about anything like politics and what’s happening in the world but after Jullian died and learned about kee pregnancy his view of the world changed. He became hopeful of the future.