Graffiti Against The System

This project is for the last unit of my Art and History class P'art of History. The purpose of this project was to think of something that would cause you to revolt and then write a poem about what the future utopia would look like after the revolt I learned a lot about the Chicago 8, activists, anarchists, and revolutionists, I also learned how to write a poem. I am very proud of the poem I wrote because it is the first one I've ever written  and I think it was a pretty successful first try.

Title: Graffiti Against the System

Medium: soft cut linoleum, carving tools, clay, plaster, paint

Size: 6in. x 6in.

Date of completion: 7/27/14

When creating my piece I knew I wanted to show something that symbolized the system getting overthrown by graffiti. As I was thinking I figured I'd draw a man in a suit because whenever I think of the government or someone of power I think of suit and tie. I drew the spray can pointed at the "system’s" head to symbolize a gun, which symbolizes that graffiti is the only way that I feel we can end the corruption of the government’s laws.

After I got all of my ideas down I had to make the initial sketch and then after touching it up I had to finalize it. Next I had to shade in all the part I wanted to come out with pencil. Then I had to place the shaded sketch on top of the linoleum and rub vigorously until the pencil marks transferred onto the linoleum. Then I had to take a carving tool and carve out all the parts that were shaded in. Then I made a clay box around the linoleum. After I built the box I mixed plaster and poured it in the clay box and smoothed it out until it covered every part of the linoleum. Then I waited for it to dry. Finally, When it was done drying I took the clay walls off and painted the plaster mold

Propaganda posters were a very important part of warfare at home during world war 2. Propaganda posters were made by artists in Russia, America, and Germany to keep people at home informed about what was going on in the war and also The posters were also used to taunt leaders of other countries and they were suppose to be like a call to action. propaganda posters must have symbolic imagery or a symbol of power. I believe I used this in my piece by putting the guy in the suit because I believe that people in suit and ties are often associated with power or wealth. I also used symbolic imagery in my piece by putting the spray can which means graffiti overthrowing the system. The reason i wrote graffiti over system is because i feel that graffiti gives me like and the system just tries to put me back in a hole so i do feel that graffiti is way more powerful than the system.

This is the year that graffiti is considered art

and the city is covered with pieces from people all around the world

This is the year that the cops will not only accept graffiti but will pick up a can and write their thoughts

This is the year that cops put down their guns and fight with a can and a message

This is the year of 2014 but lets take it back to the 80’s when subway trains were covered with tags and pieces and the streets were our canvases

This is the year the writers don't have to wear masks and bandanas  like thieves and crooks for following their passion

This is the year that police officers hide their identities for the violence they’ve cause as the writers roam the street with pride  

This is the year that cops learn a lesson from the Chicago 8 of 1968 and don't profile someone because you know that they have a different thought or a different passion

The Chicago 8 were anarchists that got imprisoned because the government knew they had different thoughts and seen that as a threat

This is the year that you can walk down the street with spray paint on your clothes without cops stopping you

This is the year that the blue uniform and police badges are a symbol of shame and cops trade out their guns for a more powerful weapon a can of paint and a message

This is the year that our free art walls are the sides of police stations and government buildings

This is the year that we go out and take back our freedom and make this world OURS  

    

 

Police Brutality Can Change

This project is for my second unit of my art and history class. The purpose of this project was to pick a problem in Chicago and see how we showed resilience. If your problem was not yet solved then we had to dream of a way we want Chicago to come back from this problem. I learned a lot about police brutality from the news and YouTube but I also learned a little bit during my investigation of how to solve this problem. I am most proud of the solution I came up with because I feel that it will work on the cops end and will help the citizens of Chicago live a safer, better life

Title: Stop The Brutality

Materials: Carving tools, Soft cut linoleum, Concrete, Clay, water, Cups,
Size: 6x6
Date of completion: 7/17/14

 

I feel police brutality is ultimately cause by letting power go to your head. The police are given the power to take someone physically harm someone and imprison someone but if we touch them we can get imprisoned for a long time. I feel that it is very unfair that cops get t treat us like dirt for petty reason. So I feel that the cause of police brutality is just cops abusing their power! The effect of the cops doing this is that the build up a certain fear in everyone and now when someone sees the cops they get paranoid of scared and automatically feel that they did something wrong. another effect is that a lot of people get beaten badly or killed by cops because the cops want to be brutal for no reason at all and also some people even get wrongly imprisoned. cops have also made a name for themselves by doing this because now when most people see cops they associate the word "Cops" with the words "a**hole" or "Pigs" because of what they have been doing to ordinary people for many years. I don't believe we have came back from this problem but I hope that one day we can. My dream is that police officers could reach out and talk to us like civil human beings instead of treating us like dirt and not caring about our opinions. I feel that if cops would just listen to what we have to say instead of just shutting us out and making us feel bad about what we have done there will probably be way lees people wrongly imprisoned and a lot less people being a victim of police brutality 

 

 I feel that the piece represents my explanation perfectly because I show two diamond shapes connecting which represent handcuffs and one of the definitions was slavery and law. I did this symbol to represent the cause because I feel that law is a power and slavery is abuse. I did the megaphone to symbolize the fact that we have no voice when the cops talk to us and also that we need more talking and less abuse to people that do wrong. The feather symbol is my way of representing resilience. The description that came with the image was “Truth, justice, morality and balance. When the pharaoh died Maat was lost and the world flung into chaos, only the coronation of a new pharaoh could restore Maat. When I read it I think of the people being the new pharaoh and basically standing up against the government and the cops and stop the brutality because it isn't fair to us but we can do something if we cooperate and talk civilly to the cops even if they treat us like dirt just to show them how much stronger we are

First we had to once again sketch the image and then place it on the linoleum and cut out the image. when we were all done carving we had to take stoneware clay and make a tight box around the piece of linoleum that was at least 3 inches tall. When building the wall we had to first make a base to cover the bottom of the piece and have the clay base be at least 4 cm long on each side so you can bend them upwards to start the walls. When making the walls we had to first take a big chunk of clay and flatten it and then cut it into a square, next we had to cut it into a rectangle and put it on one side and connect it to the part that you folded upwards and continue that step for all four walls. Next you have to spray the entire inside of the box including the clay with non stick spray. next I had to mix the concrete. For the concrete I first  had to add water to a small bowl and then I took a strainer and made sure all the rocks were out of the concrete and then little by little I poured the concrete while also stirring the mix together. Now finally after the mix is thoroughly stirred and smooth I poured the mix in the clay box and smoothed it out so it covers the entire linoleum cut and wait for it to dry

  The Great Chicago Fire

 There were many causes of the Chicago fire but one of the most famous one is Mrs. O'learys cow but another factor is that back then a lot of fires were happening and also the streets and houses were made out of wood and the rooftops of the houses were made out of tar which is highly flammable and they also had pine chips which were also highly flammable and they blew in the wind causing the fire to spread rapidly . The effects were that many people lost their homes and Chicago had burned down to the ground. I feel that Chicago demonstrated resilience because they started to rebuild Chicago with the help of many different places in the world. different countries started to send Chicago money because they had hope in this small city and Chicago started to rebuild very quickly. Buildings were not just going up one at a time but 25 building were popping up at a time. Chicago also decided to build the building up instead to out which made commercial building which also pulled in more money  

 

 

  

Our City My View

This Action Project is for my first unit of the P'art of History class. For this project we looks a neoclassical art and what the elements are. Then we wrote a story or poem that explains what we think lays claim to our Chicago and make a image that explains your story/poem. I learn so much about the elements of neoclassical art and also how many art pieces in Chicago have elements of neoclassical art in them. I am very proud of the linoleum cut that I made because I was never very good at making linoleum cuts and I think that is came out good and also displayed what my story was talking about perfectly!



Title: Art rules Chicago

Medium: Soft cut linoleum

Size: 6x6

Date of completion: 7/2/2014

 

Graffiti..

I think that graffiti lays claim to Chicago and also lays claim to people that do and enjoy the art. Graffiti is a way to express your self, to show your voice in a world that has shut you out. Graffiti is just an idea that is not only trapped in your mind but it is put in the public for everyone to see and that's why I think people hate it because they say you should express your voice but when you do they don’t listen. I feel that graffiti is for the brave and the people that want to get known. that's what its all about, getting up in the streets and get recognized by everyone even if the recognition isn't always good.

 

I feel that my visual represents my story perfectly because in the linoleum I depict a piece of graffiti very large and the city small in the background to show how important I think graffiti is in Chicago. I also add minor details to spice up the piece because even though the piece is simple it is very clean and has a certain beauty to it and that is the same way I think of Chicago. The mouth is the most important element in the piece to me because, I state in my story "Graffiti is a way to express your self, to show your voice in a world that has shut you out" and I put the mouth to symbolize that graffiti itself can speak to the public. Graffiti doesn't literally speak to the public but every time a person sees a piece of graffiti thoughts start to circulate through their mind and they even might relate the piece to a memory or feeling. Even if the impact isn't always good, graffiti has an impact on each and every one of us even if we don't realize it and that's why I did that piece in the linoleum

When creating my linoleum cut  I first had to sketch my design on a piece of paper and shade in the parts that I wanted to pop out. Next I had to place the design on the soft cut linoleum and rub it until the design transfers from the paper to the linoleum. Next I had to take a carving tool and carve all the parts that were shaded in. then, finally I had to touch it up and make sure it is perfect and ready for making prints

• sketch my design on a piece of paper
• shade in the parts of the design you want to be cut very dark with a pencil
• place the piece of paper face down on the linoleum cut and rub off the pencil marks until you can clearly see them on the linoleum
• outline one more time so you have a clear image of what you are cutting
• cut very carefully. remember anything you cut in will pop out on the mold. also be carefull not to go too deep when cutting or else you will tear through.
• do finishing touches! make sure everything is exactly how you want it and there are no extra pieces that you forgot to cut.

Neoclassical art is imagery that is simple, symmetrical, have clean lines and it may depict a heroic figure or be emotionless. I believe that my art piece hits each of these points. The lines in my piece are clean and symmetrical. I believe that the "heroic figure" in the piece is graffiti itself because it is my hero. Graffiti has made my life better and gives me the drive I need to follow my passion. The only point I think my piece didn't hit is emotionless because I think that my piece has a ton of emotion even though it is simple. One example is the mouth, I feel the mouth is a very important and symbolic part of my piece.

I can relate my story to Jacques Marquette because he traveled to Chicago to convert the American Indians to Christianity and spread his message of religion and that is what I think graffiti writers try to do. I feel that graffiti writers try to spread their name and message and try to make people believe in graffiti and accept it. I could also relate my story to the British and the native Americans because I feel that the native Americans were like graffiti writers and the British were like the government. I feel I can relate the Native Americans to the graffiti writers because they were very outspoken and had no voice. And the British were like the government because they were very powerful and kind of like dictators