Inspiration/Theme
Faith Ringgold is a mixed media artist that excels at displaying African American culture and struggles through her work. Her work inspired me to capture different cultures in a series of masks that function in the pandemic. Ringgold essentially bring two sides together in her art work, similar to my mask making. The other inspiration pieces are authentic articles of Indian dress wear, courtesy of my friend. All three masks are inspired by each of my friends respective cultures: Scottish, Indian, and Spaniard.
To create the Spaniard mask, I used colors and styles similar to that of Flamenco. Since Flamenco is a well known Spain oriented art style, I found it fitting to base my mask off of it. A lot of the outfits are layered with ruffles and lace in red and black coloring.
Process/Experimentation
Here is my first idea for the Spain mask. I was going to have a yellow base with a layered red tulle over it to mimic the Spaniard flag. I then realized the tulle would be messy given the process of putting the mask together, so this idea was scrapped.
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The second sketch is closer to the final product. This one was supposed to have a red base outlined in black ribbon. the ruffles were going to be added latter to mimic the flamenco dress style.
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Here I drew one of the inspirations for the flamenco dress. I wanted to get a sense of how the ruffles added to the aesthetic of the flamenco art style.
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Here is a side profile of a mask without a design to see how it would fit on a person.
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Here is the front view of a person with a mask. this gives me an idea on where to place certain designs for the mask.
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Here I layered a folded red fabric and doubled up lace fabric so that both sides of the mask would be cut out.
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Here i cut the inside of the mask that acts as the filter, or extra barrier, for the pandemic.
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Here I calibrated the machine to the proper settings for sewing the mask. The sides are separated to sew them inside out. This creates a smooth stitch when flipped to the regular view.
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Here, I am doing a top stitch in red to further secure the lace. You can also observe the newly sewed sides that make space for the ribbon.
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Here, I am preparing to sew the filter portion to the decorative piece of the mask.
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Here, I added ruffles and a cool stitch pattern to further show the flamenco inspiration.
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Compare and Contrast
Similarities:
Black Light Series #12: Part Time, 1969, oil on canvas, 59 3/4 in x 84:
Flamenco:
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Differences:
Black Light Series #12: Part Time, 1969, oil on canvas, 59 3/4 in x 84:
Flamenco:
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Reflection/IB ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
- My theme of identity and relationships through culture and my color scheme were directly influenced by my inspirations.
- Faith Ringgold's approach to displaying the cultural aspect identities and relationships is displaying caricatures in such a way that their positions imply societal concepts.
- One generalization I made is the type of fabric and material used by the Flamenco culture.
- My central theme for all of my projects is identities and relationships.
- I made the inference that Ringgold depicts cultural identity through her artwork.
Bibliography
Faith Ringgold. (2020). Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.faithringgold.com/