but apparently on the submission day
my classmates kept asking me what my artwork meant
and when i told my theme is " HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE"
they replied " WAH! so cheem!" -.-
i actually didn't want my work to be cheem
cause to me, art is SELF EXPRESSION
and since we are not like lucia hartini where we can't express our feelings
i think that art should HELP us EXPRESS what want to express
like things that are hard to expain though words
so i think that art work should be simple and direct
instead of being to cheem and symbolic till the viewers are confused
okay back to my work
sorry that i dont have a picture here
but i have something that lizzy took
CREDITS TO LIZZYBETH!
and this is something i posted earlier
i hope you can try to picture my final work until its being displayed :D
okay so my idea is like a girl with hair ( no picture sorry) stretched upwards and outwards like medusa style with things like: US dollar, lollipop, skull, teddy bear, butterfly and big ben trapped in the hair. and i drew two of them with the main difference being the girl. one is drawn with a smile, while the other is drawn with a serious look and a slight frown. the things trapped in their hair is the same
okay here comes the hard-to-explain part:
i want to show that human beings experience similar things, we all have to experience death, we have to worry about time, we have experienced the wonderful taste of lollipop and all.but yet what differs a happy person from one that is full of worry is HOW THEY VIEW THINGS. like their perspective of life. so here comes my paper cut part. it is supposed to be placed on top of the drawings. and using the holes, different objects are being "circled out" while some are being blocked by the paper. every circle i cut out is planned and has its own purpose.
for the happy girl drawing, the objects being encircled are" lollipop, teddy bear and butterfly" lollipop represents food, how food makes many happy. i asked my friends around me, " what makes you happy" and the answer i got back the most was "food". just watch a little boy on the streets licking a lollipop, you'll realise how happy they are, how satisfied they look, how the wonderful sweet taste spreads across their mouth with every lick :D as for teddy bear, it represents toys, how toys brings us enjoyment and fun. same thing, watch a girl cuddle a teddy bear, how happy and 幸福 they look stroking the soft fur of the bear's tummy :D as for the butterfly, it represents hopes and dreams. i was thinking rainbow at first, but it is nearly impossible to draw with pen which is black and white >< so i chose butterfly, how every girl wishes and dreams that she will be like a butterfly, one day coming out of the cocoon, turning into a beautiful lady. there's a charity organization called butterfly of hope, that where i got my inspiration from. girls hope they'll become a ballerina, boys hope they will become superman, these hopes and dreams keep us alive and going on, a goal we can work hard for.
as for the sad girl, the big ben, a skull and the US note are being shown. the big ben is one of the tallest clock tower in the world and is famous for its reliability to tell time. hence i used it as my symbol for time. people worry too much about lack of time, we rush through our lives, forgetting to stop and relax and enjoy it. we have no time to study, want can't finish our revision, our parents rush for work, rushing to prefect their proposal for their next big project. people also fear aging, how it slowly steals our youth away from us, time seems to always be against us. so we rush and rush and rush trying to keep up with it. this is why i feel that lack of time is what makes people worry and sad. Skull is very direct, the symbol of death. we fear death. perhaps because we dont know what is beyond death, it is like this unknown world to us, we fear the unknown, is there afterlife? is it painful? also , death is connected to health, how people fear to fall sick and get diseases. it sort of slowly drains happiness away bit by bit. hence death is another factor of unhappiness. lastly, US note which obviously signifies money, shows human's obsession with money. economic depression, stock market crash, tax revenue, profits, inflation, trade. money has became a necessity in today's society and people worry about too much about money. but yet money can't buy us happiness, can it?
okay i dont know what to talk about le D:
more explanation:
why hair:
hair is something very personal? very close to us?
i wanted to show how these are things that are in our brain, these are things that we think about. so the hair wraps around these things that we think about. and the hair extends outwards, like how we think endlessly and theres no end to what a human brain and think about? I DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN D:
why girl:
i wanted a kid cause i feel that their happiness is something very pure. simple things make them happy and contented. and kids are often happier than adults :D
inspiration: pippi longstocking
i read pippi's book since i was young and i always wanted to be like her. even though her mother died and her dad is no where to be found, pippi is always happy and hopeful. she sort of talks to her mother which she believes looks down at her through a peep hole in the heavens and takes care of her. she believes that her daddy is sailing the seven seas and finding treasures and made an island king. she may seem foolish and weird in the eyes of most adults, but i think that pippi is the ideal kid. she has a strong heart and a strong sense of justice, she is very adventurous, courageous, creative, fun, talented, friendly. i love her :D so i gave my girl in the drawing pippi's hair and freckles :D
why circle for paper cut:
do they look like bubbles to you? if so , GOOD :D cause they are meant to. i read somewhere that bubbles represent the fragility of life, how it seems so perfect and round and beautiful at first, but with a single slight touch, it bursts and its gone. we never know when our lives will end. hence we should treasure it. instead of spending our time worrying most of the time, why not stay happy and live life to the fullest?
afterwards when i told mrs tan my idea, she said something about them being lenses which i thought also coincides with my idea of how people look at things differently and what we focus on leads to a change in our emotions
okay. i can't think of anything else. is this enough to last through viva voce???
ni hao! i heard your viva voce so i didn't have to read the text hahaha. Anyways, your patience and keen eye for detail amaze me. I still wonder how you can control your penknife so well, you cut out the thin lines of the circles and even while doing so, you don't get confused. Also, your drawings were done in pen and the amount of detail on the clock tower and the dollar note is just W O W.goodjob!!! If you had the time, will you make a sequel to this? :>
ReplyDeleteHello darling :D
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea that "Happiness is a choice" because I stand by that everyday. (Or at least I TRY to!)
And I really like how your artwork is really simple and easy to understand, so that your audience can get your artistic intention right away!
And like many many others, I am seriously amazed by your ability to capture details and replicate them almost exactly (in your case, mirrored). It would kill me if I had to draw each line bit by bit and squint at all the details I have to include! I really commend your patience and determination!
And also, I really have to praise you for being able to persevere while doing your paper cuts even when your fingers were purple and swollen and undeniably painful.
You have great control in handling pen and penknives as each line and each cut is so neat and controlled.
Also, I like how each line you draw or each cut you make can come together to make such a delicate, detailed and beautiful artwork that WOWs people :D
However, I think you can do more drawings, almost like a series if you had more time!
Love you loads <3
Xueyingxx