Curatorial Rational
My body of artwork focuses on the theme of the environment. I was always interested in exploring issues related to the environment and the impact that humans have on it. These works consist of a water color painting, a pen and ink drawing, and two colored pencil drawings. In these works, I intended to convey important problems that are impacting the environment right now such as pollution in the ocean, wildfires, animal extinction, and the death of coral reefs.
For The Plastic Problem, I chose to use colored pencils because I thought that the waxiness of the pencils would help convey the texture of the items of trash shown in the ocean. I used colored pencils for Wildfires for a different reason, as the techniques were very different. Using the technique of drawing small, repeated lines I was able to complete my goal for this work and show the intensity of the fire. Additionally, I used watercolors in the painting The Last Buffalo to show the beautiful, almost gentle seeming details of the land while still showing the small details of the grass and flowers. I did this to create a peaceful image as the painting showed the last buffalo that had not yet been killed off my European settlers in the United States. Finally, I used the stippling technique in the drawing Old Coral to show the pitted pattern of coral exposed to acidity and global warming. All four artworks address different problems that currently plague the environment; all of the problems I displayed in my works are man made problems such as pollution and excessive hunting leading to extinction. The way I chose to arrange my final works was largely based on the size of the works in addition to wanting to create a very balanced exhibit. I placed the two works that are closest to the same size diagonally to each other to create a balanced appearance. I did this party for the aesthetic appeal but also knowing that my display space was small so the works needed to be well organized. While I was originally worried about the larger work being placed at the bottom “dragging down” the exhibit, the exhibition remained balanced. Finally, I also placed the two works made with colored pencil opposite from each other would help the balance as well. |