"Thoughts and Prayers" is an artwork inspired by the recent school shootings, and artists Kathe Kollwitz and James Ensor. It comments on the lack of responsibility taken or given to those who either cause or allow shootings to happen.
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Title: Thoughts and Prayers
Size: 26x15 cm Medium: Linoleum Block Print Completion: September 2019 |
Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration for this piece came from German Expressionist Kathe Kollwitz and James Ensor
My first inspiration was Kollwitz's "The Survivors." I chose this for inspiration for multiple reasons; the first being the theme and the emotion it conveys. Her artwork is a reflection of the hardships of her time, and the grief that ensues, which fits what I want to convey in my own art. I used several elements from this artwork, the first of them being children in the front who are obviously in pain. I also used the crowded feeling of this artwork by incorporating many figures in my own.
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My second inspiration was Endor's "Death and the Masks." The first reason I chose this for inspiration was the issue that it addressed, which has to do with spiritual hollowness in the rich, and is part of the issue I wanted to address as well. I also really liked the portrayal of death as a white figure, as it is the opposite of modern portrayals of death as a dark, ominous figure in a hooded cloak. I chose to include death in all of my sketches to emphasize the severity of my topic, and its result. I also made everything related to death white instead of black. I incorporated the idea of the masks by putting a blindfold on the figure of the legislator, obscuring where the eyes would be instead of the whole face to symbolize blindness to a very real issue.
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