Okay, so I realized I haven't posted anything from thesis this year. . .so here are two inked drawings! I'm holding off on posting the final versions until I get the colors just right. There's also a larger piece I'm working on that I'll try and post this week. For those of you who don't know the theme of my thesis this semester, basically I'm working on a series of illustrations inspired by a fusion of the themes behind the Roman gladiatorial games and the classical styles of the Italian master artists. The gladiatorial games, besides being a perverse form of entertainment, also served as a visual metaphor for the threats faced by Roman society at the time, including the threat of criminals, invasion by foreign enemies, the danger of wild animals and the ever-looming knowledge of an early death (life expectancy was less than half it is today). Order and peace of mind was maintained by the literal slaying of these threats, whether it was a formal execution of a criminal, the slaying of a prisoner of war, or a mass slaughter of wild beasts.
WIth this in mind I'm exploring the threats of modern Americans and how we face them, using both gladiator imagery and reference to the figurative poses seen in old Italian master paintings. The two images shown represent two different modern-day battles. One is the defense of the environment and natural resources against constant threat, a sort of never-ending loop of self-perpetuated disaster (the small boys in the forest area are nurturing the baby hogs while the adults defend the same forest from an onslaught of wild hogs.) The other image shows our relationship with beauty and the futile attempts to stop the process of aging (the girl is piercing her own reflection, which is indestructible). That's all for now, more updates to come later!
