Q.1
In the culture we live in today, many people fear or dread death. As a result, they spend ridiculous amounts of money to reverse the signs of aging in their bodies and try their best to hide their age. Through this work, I criticize this fear of death by showing just how ugly it can be. Being able to honestly depict death and decay helps show people that these things are inevitable and occur to everyone. Everyone decays one way or another, whether that be physically, mentally, or emotionally. I think I used a strong sense of imagery in this piece to also show how raw and unedited the world can be. Our culture is one that is sometimes very graphic and horrifying in nature, mainly through media, and I wanted to capture that mortified curiosity that people sometimes feel when they see terrible things in the media. I wanted the uncensored nature of Tray's decay to catch people's attention and make them truly consider the downfall of all people.
I would say that this work was inspired by modern culture because it shows the multiple sides that most people have but sometimes don't exhibit. It also represents the idea that sometimes younger people have trouble finding themselves, and therefore have to change identities several times to find what fits them best. As for the aesthetic of the piece, modern culture in art played a pretty big role. Black and white is very popular currently, so I chose to keep the contrast high and the colors simple. There's also a growing graphic art fad in today's society, so I made sure to introduce some eye-popping graphic patterns to the piece to make it really stand out to the viewer.
Q.2
I consider our theme projects and identity projects to be the most enjoyable. I thought they were great because they were really thought-provoking. You had to truly consider your own identity or that of others, or you had to really delve into your theme to produce a work that resonated with the viewers. To make the class a better learning experience, I would say that adding different techniques and mediums would be amazing. When the AP art students showed some pieces they had done with foil or stippling in Art 1, I definitely wished I had had the opportunity to explore those options. Other than that, I think the class was perfect. It allowed each student to become an ARTIST, and allowed them to really explore their different passions through art.