Art in FocusChapter 11:
The Native Arts of the AmericasAdditional Studio ProjectsABSTRACT INK DRAWING OF AN INSECT, FISH, OR OTHER ANIMALUsing india ink, complete a design that combines four identical images of an abstract drawing of an insect, fish, or other animal. This drawing should exhibit a pattern of repetitious, flat geometric shapes and contrasting light and dark values. Combine the four images to suggest a sense of movement associated with the insect, fish, or other animal represented.
INSPIRATIONExamine the totem pole illustrated in Figure 11.6 in your textbook. What kinds of images are included in this design? Are these images carved to look lifelike, or are they simplified? What term is used to describe works in which artists focus attention on the elements and principles of art and on simplified forms? Can you identify any other artworks in this book that are created in this same manner?
WHAT YOU WILL NEED- Pencil and sketch paper
- Ruler and compass
- Section of mat board, 10 × 12 inches or larger
- India ink
- Pen and small, pointed brush
WHAT YOU WILL DO- Select an insect, fish, or other animal to use as your subject. Complete a series of pencil sketches in which you first eliminate all unnecessary details and then transform the image into a simplified pattern of flat, geometric shapes.
- Complete a final line drawing of your simplified animal measuring about 8 inches (20 cm) in length. Cut this out and, with the flat side of the pencil, darken the back of it. Place the drawing on a section of mat board and trace four copies of it. Be certain you create a sense of movement through the placement of your drawings. This movement should be characteristic of the animal depicted—hopping, swimming, or running, for example. You may find that this movement can be enhanced by overlapping the four drawings.
- Use india ink to add light and dark value contrasts to the geometric shapes in your design.
EVALUATING YOUR WORKDescribe Does your design consist of four images of the same insect, fish, or other animal? Is the animal easily identified? What features make this identification possible?
Analyze Do the images in your design present a pattern of repetitious, flat geometric shapes? Are these shapes rendered in contrasting light and dark values? Is a sense of movement realized by the placement of the four images in your design?
Interpret Is the sense of movement in your composition characteristic of the insect, fish, or other animal represented? What word best describes this movement?
Judge Why would formalism be the most appropriate aesthetic theory to use when examining and judging your design? Why would imitationalism be unsuitable in this instance? Using the formalist theory, do you feel that your composition is successful? What do you regard as its most visually pleasing feature? |  |
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