Evaluation of Etching

1. What techniques I have learnt?

- The materials needed to produce an etching:

- Pre-soaked printing paper

- A plastic plate

- A dry point needle

- An ink dabber

- An oil-based printing ink

- An etching press

- Newspaper

- Blotting paper

- Soft cloth

- Various ‘rules’ regarding appropriate conducts whilst etching:

- Copying a drawing onto the plastic plate, before scratching.

- Avoiding scratching mistakes, as the ink penetrates all scratches and lines

- Dipping the printing paper in water very quickly, and then gently blotting it to eliminate any excess moisture.

- Turning the wheel of the etching press only once.

- Types of etching lines:

- Fine, delicate lines

- Dots

- Thick, broad lines

- Shallow lines
 

2. Why are my choices reflective of contemporary influences?

- The title of my work is produced from the direct translation of Alighieri ‘Purgatory’, in which its meaning provide further evidence of the harsh being of those guilty of both sins and goodness, yet, biblically, do not have a place to go.

- The salient image of the skull is a direct adaption of Otto Dix’s ‘Der Krieg’.

- The rose represents the goodness in individuals, (e.g., the element of people that is appropriate for heaven)

- The weeds and worms represent the sinfulness of individuals, (e.g., the element of people that is appropriate for hell)

- The decaying teeth that is representative of the harsh verbal abuses that people commit against each other.

- The destruction and overgrowth of the upper part of the skull, symbolising the sinful taint to one’s thoughts and actions.

- The decay to one eye, exhibiting a view of the world through ‘rose tinted glasses’. The other eye displays a normal appearance, thus contrasting perception’s have the world that contain both good and sinful elements.

3. What worked well?

- The Rose

- My personal design of the rose is a very salient image of the goodness in people.

- The large size and intricate detailing of the rose allow for a contrast between both good and sinful views, yet it is attached to the skull to therefore prove a point against the ‘sin consuming the goodness’.

- The Decayed Teeth

- I have made several adaption’s and inclusions to the image of the decayed teeth. I have increased the number of the teeth and designed its appearance to be more gruesome and mutilated.

- In turn, the mouth itself proves an absence of space within the image, to allow the audience to focus on each individual tooth and fully grasp its symbolism of the type of abuse (verbal) that can lead to the production of sin.
 

4. What could I have done differently?

- The Skull

- The design of the skull is both technical and elaborate, which suit the concept of my work quite nicely.

- Unfortunately, I believe that I have made too close of an adaption to Dix’s original work, and therefore I cannot claim the work as my own. I take pride in this image, although I would prefer a more independent creation of this piece, as it would bring more a satisfying sense of accomplishment after its completion.

- To design the skull differently, I would;

- Diminish any presence of the worms and rotting weeds, and use different elements to present decay, such as bone degradation of the skull.

- Change the angle of the skull from a portfolio view to a straight view or even an upward view.  A change in angle would produce different perspectives of the image, which should be embraced in order to exemplify the meaning of this work.

- Make the skull smaller and add other elements into the image background. For example, I could include three gateways extending from each corner of the page, representing a path to heaven, purgatory and hell.

Etching Images

Final Etching Cut

Final Etching Cut

Final Etching Design

Etching Design without Rose

The Start of the Etching Design

Supporting Images

Otto Dix

'Otto Dix - The Eye of the World' [online] 2013, Available: http://travelnewsnamibia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Otto-Dix.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

Influence / Adaption for my Etching

'Otto Dix' [online] 2012, Available: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfgb-fD5GimGL29fTVCdCVo5mvZlDBYhPrA0IW7A9o1kSrRhPKb1bshU_6eIqMPPlIMwuJCRXjmEFd4Er9KhtMsBG7CYuAXdpxKoagTU3QjxGsRmYL-C9VhNJOXT6eB4EYgEui-L7Knk/s1600/DixO.jpeg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

'Read Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy' [online] 2011, Available: http://vikingsinspace.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/dante-alighieri-the-divine-comedy.jpg  [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

‘Lo stato miserabile di essere è quelle tristi anime né fedele né infedeli al loro Dio,’

‘Lo stato miserabile di essere è quelle tristi anime né fedele né infedeli al loro Dio,’

(The wretched state of being is those sad souls neither faithful nor unfaithful to their God)

- June, 2013

- Media: Etching

This work depicts personal conflicting ideas of religion and the afterlife. The idea for this piece stems from my adolescent age that is allowing the continuity of ‘growing up’ themes within my life, as I begin to question the moral teachings of society, school and my family. The basic ideology of this work is the contemplation of the life after death. Various influences have forced me to conclude that at the end of one’s life, we are all tainted with both sin and goodness, yet the bible basically states that the ‘good’ go to heaven and the ‘bad’ go to hell. In turn, for the majority of the population that is guilty of both offences, where do they go? This work shows the conclusion of the remnants of such a person in purgatory, primarily protruding to the audience that I, myself, are still unsure about the outcome of life after death.

Influences that have helped me succeed in this work include my reading of the ‘Divine Comedy’, by Dante Alighieri. Alighieri was a 13^th century Italian philosopher, who wrote literature regarding his perceptions of Christian beliefs. The Divine Comedy is separated into three books; Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The novels follow the imagined journey of Alighieri exploring each location and the type of people that are reduced to those circumstances.

The primary influence of German Expressionist artist, Otto Dix, has also aided in the production of this work, as the etching is an adaption his work called ‘Der Krieg’ (The War). Dix used his personal experiences from war to portray an image of a fallen soldier and the slow degradation of his body. Dix’s skull inspired my debate over the existence of the afterlife, as soldiers have committed sins but do it for the protection of their people and country. Correspondingly, these soldiers developed my category of the type of people that are guilty of both sin and goodness, and thus are presented in my work.

I choose to think of my work as a continuation and thus adaption of Dix’s symbolic image. Dix has accurately produced an image of a fallen man, yet my various inclusions and subtractions portray a further story of his aftermath.

Products from Papermaking Workshop

Designed Paper

Embossed Paper

Flower Paper

Thick Paper

Thin Paper

Reflection of Papermaking Workshop

Papermaking Workshop

1. Briefly, explain the workshop you attended yesterday

On Monday, the 20th of May, my Art class and I attended a papermaking workshop, orchestrated by members from ‘Primrose Printmaking’. We were educated on the origins on papermaking, the uses of papermaking and how to make it ourselves. The workshop allowed us to test and create a diverse range of papermaking techniques, which we could use for different uses within our etching artworks and for our future creative endeavors.

2. Outline the steps involved in making paper

• Place small pieces of recycled paper and water into a blender, and blend it until it has a porridge-like consistency, called ‘pulp’.

• Mix the pulp with water and put it into a VAT.

• Submerge the mould and deckle into the VAT and collect an even layer of pulp.

• Drain any excess water within the mould and deckle, by lightly moving it side-to-side and gently tipping it at an angle.

• Pull the deckle off the mould and place the mould at a 90-degree angle to a flannel square.

• Directly push the mould onto the flannel square.

• Use a sponge to absorb any excess water from the back of the mould.

• Gently peel the mould off the cemented pulp.

• Place a flannel square and a flat sponge over the cemented pulp.

• Place into a press for 5 minutes.

• Take the substance out of the press, peel the flannel square and flat sponge off the cemented pulp, and leave it to dry for 24 hours.

3. What are the advantages of making your own paper in this way?

The advantages of making paper in this way is that these skills give you more variety to include in your future works, it allows you to appreciate and uphold the traditional crafts from previous generations and it encourages environmental sustainability through the use of making new paper out of recycled paper.

4. Was the workshop fun/worthwhile/a positive/negative experience?

The workshop was a positive and worthwhile experience. This is through my newly acquired knowledge of the skills in papermaking, which I can now use for my future crafts, and how the tutors hosting the workshop were very nice, patient and passionate about the subject.

5. What was the best part of the activity?

The best part of the activity was making paper with the inclusion of various flowers and organic materials. The ending result was simplistic, yet the natural inclusions would make an interesting contrast to my etching artwork; therefore I was most passionate in creating that work.

6. What was your least favorite part?

My least favorite part of the workshop was the primary introduction to the papermaking course. I found the subject and origins of papermaking to be quite interesting, but I feel as though the introduction to the course dragged on and therefore I lost interest quite rapidly. This resulted in my distraction from the background to the topic and left me focusing on the hope in starting the future task of papermaking.

Works by Kathe Kollwitz

Riot - The Revolt of the Weavers (1897)

'Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945): The Revolt of the Weavers' [online] 2013, Available: http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Media/Kollwitz/Kollwitz_Riot_Best.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

Prisoners - The Peasant War (1902-1908)

'Kathe Kollwitz [1867-1945]' [online] 2010, Available: http://spaightwoodgalleries.com/Media/Kollwitz/KK_Gefangenen_unsigned3.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

Self-Portrait - (1923)

'Kathe Kollwitz' [online] 2010, Available: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tyk2yoqzVkE/TFLadYSr1yI/AAAAAAAABFE/Df9Mf_9iAg8/s1600/z.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

Woman with Dead Child - (1905)

'Kathe Kollwitz' [online] 2010, Available: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tyk2yoqzVkE/TFLadYSr1yI/AAAAAAAABFE/Df9Mf_9iAg8/s1600/z.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

Image of Kathe Kollwitz

'Kathe Kollwitz' [online] 2010, Available: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tyk2yoqzVkE/TFLadYSr1yI/AAAAAAAABFE/Df9Mf_9iAg8/s1600/z.jpg [Accessed 30 May, 2013]

The Art-Making Practice of Kathe Kollwitz

1. A range of social, environmental and political circumstances influenced much of the art that Kollwitz produced. This is evident from an early age where the academic teachings from her grandfather affected her views on religion and socialism that was presented in the way that she viewed members of the working class. This is furthered with the images Kollwitz saw of the labour class that her father campaigned for, in which many of her artworks depict exceedingly empathetic and mournful images of their experiences.
 

2. Kollwitz’s role as an artist is to force the audience to evaluate the harsh reality of poverty and the inability to sustain a family, the loss of life (both physically and emotionally) and the common hardships that the lower class endures. Kollwitz creates pieces through her perspectives of one who can afford both life’s necessities and luxuries and displays a comparison between two vast social differences. In turn, a common theme through her art making practices are universal tones of motherhood, despair over loss and sudden confrontation at life’s developments.

Kollwitz has been cited as having one of the most ‘strong and truthful depictions of the lifestyles and struggles of Germany’s destitute’.

3. Aside from social perceptions, direct influences to Kollwitz’s works refer to her theatrical interests.

Gehart Hauptmann’s play, ‘The Weavers’, provided her with inspiration of the oppression of the Silesian weavers in Langembielau and their failed revolt in 1842. Following this, the artist produced a series of etchings that illustrated The Weavers theme of Poverty, Death and Conspiracy, and finally, the March of the Weavers, Riot and The End. These works were a ‘naturalistic expression of the worker’s misery, hope, courage and doom’.

A secondary Hauptmann drama, ‘Florian Geyer’, caused Kollwitz to complete a second cycle of work called the ‘Peasant War’ (1902-1908). This work depicted the revolution that took place in Southern Germany, during the Reformation of 1525, where slaves rebelled against the feudal lords and the Church. This work consisted of pieces named Plowing, Raped, Sharpening the Scythe, Arming in the Vault, Outbreak, After the Battle and The Prisoners.

4. Kollwitz’s 1905 artwork, ‘Woman with Dead Child’, produce clear evidence of the artist’s common art practices. This work was created using the etching technique, through an engraving of an original image and then added colouring shades of various monotones- including, greys, whites and blacks.

Kollwitz uses aggressive and taut lines to bring passionate energy to the surface of the artwork, with the assistance of shape and shade. The lines share complexity of their various sizes and carvings, yet they allow the objects in the image to become fluent amongst each other. Kollwitz’s use of lines creating a three-dimensional look at the piece, present various tones of her work, such as sorrow.

5. Kollwitz has often expressed her influences of the expressionist and Bauhaus movements, through out various elements of her work, particularly emphasised in Runover (1910) and Self-Portrait (1923). Corresponding with her other works, these contain a connecting Gothic theme produced by a high level of technical difficulty from their vast sizes and intricate command of light and shadow. In particularly, Kollwitz has been cited has having ‘the highest achievements of any etcher to date’.

Kathe Kollwitz Bibliography

Kathe Kollwitz

Kathe Kollwitz (Kathe Schmidt at birth) was born July 8, 1867, in Kaliningrad, Russia and died on April 22, 1945 (aged 77), at Moritzburg.

Kollwitz was the fifth child of Karl Schmidt, a Social democrat, and Katherina Schmidt. Kollwitz’s grandfather was a Lutheran pastor, who founded an independent congregation after expulsion from the Evangelical State Church in Prussia, in which her education was greatly influenced by contrasting ideas of religion and socialism.

Soon after Kollwitz’s twelfth birthday, her father arranged for lessons in drawing and sculpting. At sixteen, her talent extended towards drawings of the working class, such as sailors and peasants who associated with her father. Her artistic education was furthered when she enrolled in an art school for women in Berlin, where she found companionship with Karl Stauffer-Bern, who was close friends with the artist, Max Klinger.

Prior to becoming engaged (and later married) to medical student, Karl Kollwitz, at the age of seventeen, she spent two years studying at the Women’s Art School in Munich, preferring her strengths as a draughtsman, rather than a painter, and graduated in the class of 1890.

Kollwitz married Karl a year later, and moved to a large apartment (that would later be destroyed in World War 1), and continued to draw the labourers of Berlin that Karl attended to.

Through her lifetime, Kollwitz produced over 275 prints in etching, woodcut and lithographing, along with at least 50 self-portraits.

Kollwitz outlived her husband (who died from illness in 1940), and later died just before the end of World War 2, due to unknown causes. 

Evaluation of Lino Print

1. What techniques I have learnt?

- The role of each lino carving tool

- V-Gouge (small, triangular tool): Narrow and sharp lines.

- U-Gouge (small, round tool): Shallow and fluent lines.

- Large Line (large, triangular tool): Deep and thick lines.

- Large Gouge (large, round tool): Broad and dark lines.

- The difference between water-based inks and oil-based inks

- Water-based inks are more soluble and easier to clean up.

- Water-based inks have a more ‘powdery’ outcome onto a print.

- Oil-based inks have a more superior colour and are easier to copy a print onto.

- Oil-based inks take a longer amount of time to dry.

- The equipment needed for printing

- Lino rollers (either plastic, metal or wooden)

- A printing press

- Lino printing ink.

- A barren (a concave sheath, wrapped in bamboo)

2. Why are my choices reflective of contemporary influences?

- Skeletons on the triangular path depict the ‘dead-end’ path of their life, as they have been stolen for the human trafficking trade.

- Chinese writing is a direct translation to a quote by Sylvia Plath, regarding slavery; ‘I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it,’. This is due to modern-day trafficking being labelled as ‘slavery of the 21^st century’.

-  Limbs that are amputated and maimed are a direct presentation of various tortures within this trade.

- Repetition of skulls represents sufferers of the trade, where specific victims are lost to the knowledge of society.

3. What worked well?

- The image of the skeletons

- Skeletons represent excessive punishment endured by trade sufferers. This has caused emotional and physical deficiency, where a lack of free-

thinking and low self-worth leave only a ‘frame’ of a previous character.

- This confronting image proves its salience to the audience.

- The Chinese writing

- The foreign translation of this quote proves evidence of the location of these trafficking events.

- The delicate carving of the letters were also presented when printing the image, and enabled an apparent view at the quote’s meaning, to native speakers.

4. What I could have completed differently?
 

- The repetition of skulls

- The intended salience of the skeletons became ‘lost’ in the skull repetition. If I were to complete this differently, I would reduce the amount of skulls within my work.

- There was not much variation between each skull, therefore the audience cannot clearly perceive the specific victims of this trade. I could emphasize the diverse characters between each skull, by different carving and design.

- It was not clear that the repetition in the background of my work, was that of skulls. To complete this work differently, I should view various skull interpretations and create my own based on a biological perception.

Various Lino Print Designs

Final Product

Fourth Design

Third Design

Second Design

First Design

‘I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it,’

‘I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it,’

- March, 2013

- Media: Linoprint

My work depicts the ongoing issue of human trafficking in China and the turmoil that the victims face at the hands of their exploiters. In particular, I chose to represent the begging and slavery aspect of human trafficking, where exploiters force young victims to beg on the street for money and food, and physically maim them to look more vulnerable to supporters of this trade. Any individual who gives money to these victims unknowingly support this trade, as all money provided towards the victims usually go to the exploiters. Authorities are indecisive on how to deal with this issue, as victims are never on the receiving end of the finances; therefore it does not provide assistance to them whatsoever. Accordingly, if the victims do not earn enough money within a given time period, they are further punished by their exploiters.