Cuts for Pennies
22.5 cm* 15 cm
Block Print
September 2019
Exhibition Text:
Cuts for Pennies is based on my response towards the hard work my mom has from work. After noticing the cuts on her fingers, it frustrated me to see that my mom would go so much work for so little money. Influenced by my frustration over from hearing over the paint my mom feels every day at work, this piece captures the cuts my mom gets from own.ce emphasized on my own definition of happiness compared to that of my community. This piece is primarily inspired by Kollwitz's pieces The People and the Widow, medium I used for this piece was Block Print on Paper. I incorporated Kollwitz's use of a negative space and texture.
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Critical Investigation
Kollwitz, Kathe "The People" from the War, 1923, woodcut.
Kollwitz, Kathe "The Widow I" from the War, 1923, woodcut.
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For this project, my main inspiration was Kathe Kollwitz's The People. One day, I was watching TV while laying down on my mom's lap, fiddling around with her hand. After further inspection, I noticed that her hands had a bunch of cuts on them from her manufacturing job. I was frustrated that my mother substantiated so much physical pain for so little pay. The cuts on her fingers left me hopeless as the job was the only source of income my family had. This moment reminded me about Kollwitz's pieces.
According to Westall, "Kollwitz was one of the leading artists of the early twentieth century, notable for the emotional power of her drawing, sculpture and her bold, experimental printmaking." Most of her pieces were woodcuts, usually consisting of black and white pieces. The piece is apart of Kollwitz's large portfolio, ""The War". According to "The People", "The portfolio's seven woodcuts focus on the sorrows of those left behind—mothers, widows, and children." The portfolio captures how after World War I, German women faced the suffering after the men died and lost the war. The piece incorporated the pain that emotional and economic lost through the hands. In the piece, a mother covers the eyes of her child, like my mother is doing with me, protecting me from the paint she endured. The world around them is black, expect for the arms. The second piece I was inspired "The Widow I" by Kathe Kollwitz. The piece is also from Kollwitz's portfolio, the War. In this piece, Kollwitz illustrates an image of a widow mourning in black. What truly inspired me in this piece was the amount of detail in the hands. As I looked closer at the piece, I noticed the capture her pain in addition to the rest of the body. |
Planning
In sketch one, I thought about having money, the minimum wage my mom makes next to her bruised up image of her hand, however, I did not think that this capture the German Expressionism ideas I had from the project. In sketch 2, I thought of just having a close up on one hand without the cash, but instead putting the $7.25 on the hand. I did not like the numbers on the hands after further inspection. I then looked into sketech #3 and I like most of the piece. I thought about keeping the dot in the palm, but I did not like how it fit in the palm, so I decided to get rid of it.
Process/Techniques and Experimentation
Outline of Steps
To begin the process, I repeated the sketch #2 my sketchbook onto the linoleum, matching the the proportional exactly. I put my right hand on to the linoleum to best capture the true dimensions of the hand. I then proportionally reduce the side of the piece to make it fit the piece less awkwardly. I made sure to add the stitches and cuts as necessary onto the piece.
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I then looked at the Speedball Cutter blade. I noticed that they came in three sizes. The widest blade was a size 5, the second widest blade was a side 3 and the smallest blade was a size 1. As I began cutting, I noticed that that Blade 5 was the easiest blade to use as I was cutting the the Linoleum. Its wide side allowed me to get the most Linoleum out.
PRINTING
For the PRINTING PROCESS, I used the following materials Baren, Brayer, Block Print Ink, Spoon, Ink Tray sheets on newsprint, mineral spirits.
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I began my process by placing the newsprint on the table and on top of that, the ink tray. I then generously laid out the a horizontal line of Block Print in onto the tray. Then with brayer in hand, I began to roll out the ink, up and and down while tilting my wrist clockwise in order to spread the ink out throughout the tray.
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Experimentation
After repeating the PRINTING process seven more times, I got impatient. I noticed that there was consistently not enough ink on the left side of the print and I was getting frustrated. I applied a little more ink than I was recommended. I rolled the brayer until it was caked with ink. I then finally rolled it onto the linoleum. I then made one more print.
Final Product
Reflection & Critique
Compare
Kollwitz, Kathe "The People" from the War, 1923, woodcut.
Kollwitz, Kathe "The Widow I" from the War, 1923, woodcut.
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Contrast
Cuts for Pennies
Cuts for Pennies
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Reflection
When creating this piece, I was primarily inspired by Kollwitz. Referencing my process with my previous block print helped me a lot, as it improve the overall quality of the Linoleum, and thus the print. In general, I am content on how my piece turned out but, however, I do regret how the stitches were not that present in my piece. After comparing the pieces, I do believe I did better when it came to my final print, as adding the extra ink in the end, did create texture in my block print. Some successes I had with this project is that I manage to improve on my printing skill. Upon further reflection, I can visibly see how borrowing elements like texture from both pieces. Adding texture added emphasis to the the hands its imperfection. My black background space from Kollwitz had also added emphasis to my piece. The contrast between the black and white values bring it to life, mainly attributed to the medium. Overall, I believe this piece was a piece well-done.
ACT Response Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Kollwitz's use of texture on the hands along with black negative space was something I saw replicated onto my own piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors approached the topic in informative way, providing enough context behind Kollwitz's pieces.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that when people observe work from Kollwitz they won't understand her disappointment without the context of German Expressionism.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was to find a artist that express disappointment through a frailty symbol.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Throughout my research I inferred that Kollwitz's pieces were based the general sorrow expressed by many artists.
Kollwitz's use of texture on the hands along with black negative space was something I saw replicated onto my own piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors approached the topic in informative way, providing enough context behind Kollwitz's pieces.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that when people observe work from Kollwitz they won't understand her disappointment without the context of German Expressionism.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was to find a artist that express disappointment through a frailty symbol.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Throughout my research I inferred that Kollwitz's pieces were based the general sorrow expressed by many artists.
Bibliography
“Käthe Kollwitz. The People (Das Volk) from War (Krieg). 1922, Published 1923: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Modern Art, 2011, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/69688.
“Käthe Kollwitz. The Widow I (Die Witwe I) from War (Krieg). 1921–22, Published 1923: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Modern Art, 2011, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/69685.
Westall, Mark. “First Exhibition of Kollwitz's Work in Nearly 25 Years Comes to London.” FAD Magazine, FAD Magazine, 5 Sept. 2019, https://fadmagazine.com/2019/09/05/first-exhibition-of-kollwitzs-work-in-nearly-25-years-comes-to-london/.