In the unit "Artists Steal", we took art from any medium that was already created, and changed it to make it our own. When changed, the art would be considered our own, despite the stolen parts of art. Going into this unit, I believed that original art was art that had never been done before but was 100% your ideas with no outside influence, and that if you were to take an idea from another artist, you were to give them credit. After going through this unit and learning about what stealing is, I now have a totally different perspective on stealing. Perhaps the biggest difference is my view on original artwork. No matter how new and unique your artwork seems, there will be elements from different art works; places you have been, music you have heard, and more. An idea from an art is not original in anyway, because you take inspiration from things that have already been created. What makes a piece unique and original is how you put those ideas you take down and compose them into art. Even masterpieces of art have elements stolen from other works. Original ideas are in a way, not real.
In the first project of the unit "Artists Steal", we did a character remix. I chose to do my favorite princess, Aurora, and change her up. I morphed her into the opposite of what Disney Princesses are teaching young girls to be. Sleeping Beauty is symbolic of innocence, beauty, patience, and kindness. What came to mind when thinking of the opposite is a criminal, so I chose to do a mugshot of Sleeping Beauty. The idea of stealing comes from that I took an idea that was already created (Sleeping Beauty) and added another idea to it (a mugshot), combining the two ideas so it is something new and original.
Another project in the realm of stealing is combining two ordinary objects. The drawing above is a blend of a light bulb and a spiderweb. Initially, I planned on doing a jar made of spiderwebs, but the jar was boring and there was nothing I could add to make the jar recognizable. To solve that problem, I chose a light bulb and created the shape out of a spiderweb. To make the spiderweb look like a spiderweb and not random lines, I added a spider. Stealing comes into play here because a light bulb and spiderweb are both already invented, and many people can take credit for drawing either of the objects, however it is how I took the two pieces and put them together that no longer makes them stolen.
Zombie Movie
Lastly, for the final "Artists Steal" project, my group consisting of Miles, Cam, Midori, and Meagan, made a stop motion video incorporating the idea of science. In our video, a group of scientists are mixing up a potion, when it spills on two of the scientists. Those who got the potion on them began to undergo life threatening changes, turning them into zombies. There are a few underlying themes in our zombie video, even though it may not seem like it. Science is wonderful, but there are limits to it, and we need to recognize those limits before something disastrous happens. The zombies are a very stretched representation of what could go wrong. The video is also connected to science in that there must be several precautions taken when working in a lab, because a screw up will not just affect those in the lab, and has the potential to reach everyone. For the inspiration for this project, I drew it from the class activity where we brainstormed various topics on a sheet of paper, and when our group bounced ideas off of each other while planning; we came up with a zombie apocalypse. I also had source material i gathered from Pinterest. Also as a side note, face paint is extremely hard to work with; it dries very fast leaving little time for blending and making an even coat, and it is much different from paining on a canvas or paper. People who have mastered the art of face paint have serious skill.
Lastly, for the final "Artists Steal" project, my group consisting of Miles, Cam, Midori, and Meagan, made a stop motion video incorporating the idea of science. In our video, a group of scientists are mixing up a potion, when it spills on two of the scientists. Those who got the potion on them began to undergo life threatening changes, turning them into zombies. There are a few underlying themes in our zombie video, even though it may not seem like it. Science is wonderful, but there are limits to it, and we need to recognize those limits before something disastrous happens. The zombies are a very stretched representation of what could go wrong. The video is also connected to science in that there must be several precautions taken when working in a lab, because a screw up will not just affect those in the lab, and has the potential to reach everyone. For the inspiration for this project, I drew it from the class activity where we brainstormed various topics on a sheet of paper, and when our group bounced ideas off of each other while planning; we came up with a zombie apocalypse. I also had source material i gathered from Pinterest. Also as a side note, face paint is extremely hard to work with; it dries very fast leaving little time for blending and making an even coat, and it is much different from paining on a canvas or paper. People who have mastered the art of face paint have serious skill.