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.