What My Family Gave Me
Exhibition Text
What My Family Gave Me is a visual representation of who I am and what makes me who I am. It is called What My Family Gave Me because it was inspired by Frida Kahlo's, What The Water Gave Me. In the painting there is my legs in a bathtub and within the water there are my parents, brother, my dog, a fire and a tent. They all represent different things, especially on which side they are placed.
What My Family Gave Me is a visual representation of who I am and what makes me who I am. It is called What My Family Gave Me because it was inspired by Frida Kahlo's, What The Water Gave Me. In the painting there is my legs in a bathtub and within the water there are my parents, brother, my dog, a fire and a tent. They all represent different things, especially on which side they are placed.
Critical Investigation
What The Water Gave me is an oil painting and is a famous piece, because it was created during the naive art. This painting was created after her accident and undergoing through her husbands, the famous painter, Diego Rivera many affairs. This painting symbolizes pain and cleansing since she is putting her feelings and terrible experiences in a canvas but in a setting where her and anybody washes themselves to be clean. According to Fridakahlo.org, Frida explained her painting as: "It is an image of passing time about time and childhood games in the bathtub and the sadness of what had happened to her in the course of her life" to her friend, Julien Levy. This painting is currently in Paris since it is in a collection of Daniel Filipacchi. I was inspired by the baroque movement and Frida Kahlo's work because it is artwork that has always held my attention and admiration, so I used them as my examples and inspirations when painting. I used Frida Kahlo's, What The Water Gave Me, as an example to help position my legs, since that specific painting was my inspirtation. However, my leg positioning was almost exact but not all quite the same, I used different hues and different things of what make me, me. The colors and strokes are different in Kahlo's and my painting. I liked that I tried to elaborate all my ideas in my painting, and still maintaining the Kahlo inspiration there. Her meaning was her life experiences and my meaning was my life experiences that my family gave me. Similar concept, but different.
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Planning
The pages are notes I made in my sketch book that helped me build and paint my piece. I included all the pictures of my family and images of things that help depict my life. I explain the importance of the images and why I included them there. I have included two of my sketches in there, experimentation, process, paint shades and final product. I explain everything in the pages.
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Process, Ideas and Intentions
I obtained 4 sides of frames and sticked them together. After that, I grabbed a staple machine and stapled the sides. I then cut canvas cloth and set it on the floor and then set the frame. I cut the cloth and stapled the cloth onto each side of the frame; I had to be careful and not make it too tight or too loose. After I finished setting up my canvas and getting the right tightness to it, I had to staple the extra cloth from each corner. Before I started to do anything, I did lots of brainstorming and was contemplating on the color of the bathroom tiles, since the original image was plain and boring. I wanted to do something more like Frida Kahlo, vibrant and colorful. I then painted my background a dark purple so my bright colorful self would stand out. After that, I projected the chosen images onto the canvas and traced the images with a white color pencil. For the images, I experimented projecting different images of my family onto the canvas and some I would have to change the position they were, whether flipping the image or moving the image more upward or downward. In the end, I decided to project the images that are below for my family members. After I projected the images, I then painted it and experimented with many different hues. I imagine Frida Kahlo had a different process, since she did not use a projector and painted freely and used oil paint and as in the canvas there wasn't any information on how she created her canvases or if she bought them. All the colors in the painting came from six colors which are green, white, black, blue, red and yellow; I mixed them and used those colors in my painting. I did the lines of the wall tiles, and it was extremely difficult, I used a ruler and it still would create a fine line and when I would try to fix it, the lines would just get thicker and thicker. I then worked on bathroom handles and then my legs. The legs were somewhat difficult, since I had to paint the toe nails. It's harder than I thought it would be. Then I did the tub, my family members, my dog, tent and fire. Then the water. It was a lengthy process. The development of my skills and ideas were progressive since, my skills are a lot better than last years and as in my ideas, my ideas and creativity has surely developed as well. As in my reflection, I feel confident and pleased with my painting. It was really hard and it took me over ten hours, but pleased nonetheless. My critiques with my group were okay, I had my painting done by that time but not my website. I was scored a proficient for my painting. The people in my group mostly got zeros, since most of them had nothing on their website and left their paintings at home, but one of them got an advanced because he finished everything and it was amazing craftsmanship and great work overall.
Critique
My process against Frida Kahlo's was a lot different because I used acrylic painting and she used oil. Plus, I used a projector to project the image onto the canvas, even though projectors were created in 1895, the technology is a lot better now compared to back then, so that is definitely a difference because even if Frida would have used a projector, it wouldn't have been that great. Also, her condition made her paint in bed or sitting down whereas I paint standing. There are small differences but they change the whole process and visual the audience has on the artist and the way they made/make art.
Experimentation
The stages of my experimentation include, me experimenting and taking many different pictures with different positions for this painting. I also had a different variety of pictures to pick for every family member that was included in this piece, but I chose my mom, because I had more pictures for her. I obviously chose on one picture as you can see for every person and object, there was no repeated images. I also experimented with different brushes and colors, but my experimentation was mostly focused on pictures.
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Reflection
This project was pretty intense from the rest of the projects because I finished the painting in a course of two complete days and was under a lot of pressure due to me being full IB. However, it was a success because I made my point across and it was able to show my inspiration and development through my painting. I think one of the most difficult challenges I had to get through was time management, last year it was more calm, but this year, its only been a month and a half and I have been the most stressed I have ever been in my life and that isn't including the fact that my extended family is staying with us for a while to live, so the environment is pretty hectic. Other challenges was developing the hues and the right tone, creating highlights and shadows too. Since we came back from summer break, my painting has been very rusty but with more practice, it will be back. Overall it was challenging, but a good experience nonetheless.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My inspiration, which was many baroque and Frida Kahlo's paintings as you can see in my artistic inspiration section had a lot of effect in my painting due to its meaning and representation. I believe that this painting will have an effect on me because it demonstrates how I look at myself. It's a way of representing me.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors overall approach regarding the topic of my inspiration is that it covers all the colors of every side of me by making it real and baroque.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Some generalizations and conclusions I have discovered about this certain topic is that there are not many famous baroque paintings, compared to other type of art movements.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research was melancholy, baroque and life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I believe that Frida Kahlo is filled with colors and is inspirtaional to all people by the colors they use and how they demonstrate their feelings and experiences through art.
Bibliography
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My inspiration, which was many baroque and Frida Kahlo's paintings as you can see in my artistic inspiration section had a lot of effect in my painting due to its meaning and representation. I believe that this painting will have an effect on me because it demonstrates how I look at myself. It's a way of representing me.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors overall approach regarding the topic of my inspiration is that it covers all the colors of every side of me by making it real and baroque.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Some generalizations and conclusions I have discovered about this certain topic is that there are not many famous baroque paintings, compared to other type of art movements.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research was melancholy, baroque and life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I believe that Frida Kahlo is filled with colors and is inspirtaional to all people by the colors they use and how they demonstrate their feelings and experiences through art.
Bibliography
“Frida Kahlo Paintings, Biography and Quotes.” Frida Kahlo Organization. http://www.fridakahlo.org/
Kettenmann, Andrea. Frida Kahlo: Pain and Passion. Los Angeles: Taschen, 2008.
Levine, Barbara, and Stephen Jaycox. Finding Frida Kahlo: an unexpected archive. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.
Morrison, John. The Great Hispanic Heritage: Frida Kahlo. New York: Chelsea House, 2003.
Pérez Alonso, Leticia. "Frida Kahlo and the Improper/Unclean: Toward the Condition of Abjection." Women's Studies 43, no. 4 (May 2014): 407-424. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
Reis, Levilson C. "Paratexts to Frida Kahlo's Oeuvre: The Relationship between the Visual and the Textual, the Self and the Other, from the Self-Portraits to the Diary Entries." Forum For Modern Language Studies 48, no. 1 (January 2012): 99-111. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
Solomon, Deborah. "Saint Frida." New Republic 205, no. 14 (September 30, 1991): 28-32. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
“The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo.” PBS Organization. http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/life/
Kettenmann, Andrea. Frida Kahlo: Pain and Passion. Los Angeles: Taschen, 2008.
Levine, Barbara, and Stephen Jaycox. Finding Frida Kahlo: an unexpected archive. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.
Morrison, John. The Great Hispanic Heritage: Frida Kahlo. New York: Chelsea House, 2003.
Pérez Alonso, Leticia. "Frida Kahlo and the Improper/Unclean: Toward the Condition of Abjection." Women's Studies 43, no. 4 (May 2014): 407-424. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
Reis, Levilson C. "Paratexts to Frida Kahlo's Oeuvre: The Relationship between the Visual and the Textual, the Self and the Other, from the Self-Portraits to the Diary Entries." Forum For Modern Language Studies 48, no. 1 (January 2012): 99-111. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
Solomon, Deborah. "Saint Frida." New Republic 205, no. 14 (September 30, 1991): 28-32. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2017).
“The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo.” PBS Organization. http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/life/