Project 2 : The Emblem of Life

Title : The Emblem of Life

Description :
- An Emblem is a pictorial image of an abstract or representational that epitomizes a particular concept.
- An Emblem is often synonymous with Symbols for they act as a spokesperson of a specific content.
- In this project, two paintings are made as a metaphorical representation of the nature of existence.
- One painting is would be in the style of symbolic representation while the other is in abstract nature.
- The painting of a symbolic representation is produce on an A2 size paper while the abstract is on a canvas of the same size.
- Both of the paintings are made using acrylic paint of the same colours.
- A single drawing was also made in the trials of finding the right content for the symbolic representation painting on a sketchbook using a pen.

Objective (What I'm trying to do) :
- The main catalyst of this project was to diverse the content of my art from sexual appeal of a female figure to a wider range of subject.
- The purpose of the project was to create a painting that acts as the representation of life and all of its wonders.
- Two style of painting was made in order to relate to a wider range of audience by have a symbolic representation painting acting as a corresponding visual toward the abstract painting.
- The relation between the two painting can be seen in the possession of the exact same colours.
- The abstract painting is the primary emblem to the subject chosen for it best depicts the twist and turns on the road of life with its wonderful colours.
- A sketch was also made in the process of finding the right context. In the drawing it consist of an astronomer figure studying the universe around him and trying to understand life.

Techniques :
The techniques and methods used in this project is the usual steps of sketching and painting.

- In the first painting of the symbolic representation, i used the methods of culture mixing of the Byzantine Empire's art  with the modern Punk-Rock aesthetics in order to sketch out the subject of the painting.
 - I also used the method of culture mixing as i was sketching the outlines of the abstract painting. The two culture i mixed was the indigenous art of the Australian aboriginal culture alongside the Psychedelic posters of the 60's Hippie counter-culture. i also added an element of modern contemporary art of minimalism into the painting.
-This method of culture mixing is necessary to symbolize the time concept of human society of the past and the present into a single style of expression.
The colours and subjects of the artworks are specifically chosen in order to embody all the aspects of life.


Research on similiar:
For this project the similar artist that i have researched on are :

1) Ron English 
 - Born in 1966
 - An American contemporary artist who is well know for his exploration of popular brand imagery and advertising.
- His signature artworks consists of the mash-up of the high and low cultural touchstones to create a spectacular visual evolution.
- His style and technique of culture jamming has truly emphasizes the influences of multicultural exposure in arts.
- In this project i uses his method of culture mixing in creating the content of my painting.

2)Byzantine Art
- Originate during the Byzantine Empire (5th Century - 1453)
- The arts primarily contains religious aspects of angels and demons
- The style of the art is often in two dimensional
- This style of art is the primary influence in the structuring of the content of the symbolic representation painting

3) Punk visual art
- It is the visualization of the Punk Rock music genre
- This style of art could be seen in the mid 1970s with the rising punk rock bands
-This style of art is often seen in the album covers of the bands
- The style of the art is a rebellious semi-Gothic visuals
- This style of art adds the modern taste into the subject of the symbolic representation painting

4) Indigenous Art
  - Made by the Indigenous tribes of Australia
 - Has the primitive symmetrical pattern which are beautifully abstract 
 - The content of the arts often revolves around the hard condition of their environment and their desire for water
   -This style of art is the fundamental structuring of the abstract painting

5) Psychedelic Poster
- Made by the ingenious designers of the 60s hippie movement mainly in San Francissco
- Made as a visual aid to the out of the world experience listening to the musics of the specific bands
-The style of art is a visual representation of hallucinations of psychedelic properties
- This style of art added a higher state of abstraction into the abstract painting.




Philosophy and Theory :
The main philosophy of this project is Taoism which originates from ancient China. It is the philosophy of Balance and Harmony in nature and the universe.
This philosophy can really be seen in the symbolic representation painting with a complimentary opposites balancing out each other. Example are the balance between Day and Night, Fire and Water, Nature and Technology and especially Death and Birth.
One could argue that Death and Birth in the painting are not an equal opposite because Death is bigger than Birth but this is drawn such a way to show the miracle of existence in the cold harsh universe and how precious life really is.
The baby figure which symbolizes Birth is also position under the big world to show the burden of mankind to escape the wide wings of the Judgmental Death.
In the painting a clock tower is position in the middle to symbolize that everything in the universe is centralized and controlled by time. 

Meanwhile the abstract painting posses as of these values with the addition of perspective that life is just a whirlpool of colorful aspects and in order to keep the balance of the universe life must move forward into the oblivion of time.

A sub-philosophy that can be seen in the artworks are the respect of the past and influences in our culture.

 “Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein

 


Referencing :

Ron English :  https://www.popaganda.com/
Byzantine Art : http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/b/byzantine.html
Punk visual art : http://visualvitriol.wordpress.com/ 
Indigenous Art :  http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-art

Psychedelic Poster :
 Off the Wall (Psychedelic Rock Poster From San Francisco) by Amelie Gastaut and Jean-Pierre Criqui

Taoism : http://www.taoism.net/ 
“Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein:
http://adoptanegotiator.org/2010/06/04/life-is-like-riding-a-bicycle-in-order-to-keep-your-balance-you-must-keep-moving-albert-einstein/


Evaluation :
In conclusion, every aspect of both symbolic representation painting and abstract painting has a metaphorical meaning. Each choicest of content from the style of the subject to colours and as well as position of the paintings carries a symbolic context of the philosophy and messaged that i wished to portray. Overall, it has truly embodies the nature of life and existence, thus achieving the objective of creating an Emblem of Life. The paintings also shows the technique of cultural mixing in my own style.