Naomi.N
Artist: Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett printmaking is inspiring because I was amazed by her themes about the Black Women, Black Culture, the Social Justice and Hardship Experience. Elizabeth Catlett was born and raised in Washington, D.C in 1915 (Washington the District). I found her artwork with the encouragement about what she knew best and to experience with different elements. Elizabeth has created a lithograph and linoleum cuts that she learns from the Taller de Grafica Popular in Mexico.
The technique she uses is the linoleum cut that is like the woodcut method but uses linoleum as the matrix. Linoleum blocks have a wood base with a layer of lino on top. The linoleum is very soft and easy to cut compared to wood, which allows the cutting to go in any direction as there was no wood grain to restrict movement. This allows soft and rounded lines to be created while the linoleum holds the ink evenly of light and dark.
I want to investigate the element of Elizabeth Catlett printmaking about "Sharecropper". The portraits are the mood of emotions that are defined as poor, hardship, farmer, and it was lifeless in debt. There was a sample of colours that Elizabeth used are the rich brown ink that shows the skin colour out stand of Black figure. The crisp black line ink will give more of the details to the features, shadow and highlight. The green ink for the colour of the clothes is to bring peace and hold together with a pin. I notice the Black figure was placed at the angle of looking upwards at the farmer field for the escape from the slavery or sky for the hope for freedom. The texture was used in the ink paint to bring more of the boldness colours, but the cuts leave the plain white which gives more details for the background and the portraits.
Elizabeth shows the inspiration of exploration, individual personalities, and historical figures. It conveys the generalised ideas of her imagery that arise from an honest conversation with herself and I. its identification throughout the senses and living the present time of society belief.
Artist: Delita Martin
Delita Martin of her piece printmaking artwork because she made the large scale print with the element of drawing, sewing and collages. She was born and raised in Conroe Taxes in 1972. Delita Martin was a known American multimedia artist in Taxes. Delita claims space for her subjects of the black women and creates a Western art with a powerful presence that highlights the historical absence of black bodies.
I like how she created the theme of exploring interconnection between past and present generations based on African tradition and recollecting the materials.
It connects through symbols of the shape in circles that represent the human spirit. Delita uses the colour blue as symbolic, which she associates with spirituality. It shows that she visualises the space between the physical and spiritual world. Delita pushed her own drawing further things to come with the ideas of printmaking naturally fit. She uses the charcoal to draw the portrait over the blue circle, so it looked like a natural transition of Delita Martin printing. Delita Martin collects the fabric patterns to use them on the artwork. It shows that they're wearing the article of clothing that has a beautiful pattern and combines a partial pattern.
Delita makes patterns with tracing paper, then uses decorative paper on the fabric to create clothing and adornment of the figure. So she can get the chance to explore the patterns, colours, texture and bring it all together to glorify the figure.
Another symbolic item she used is the hoops earring and the style of the earring has become a symbol of inclusion. Not only is it a circle, it represents the nation of totality, wholeness and the infinite.
Delita Martin creates her work universally, like her work is a larger story whether we are the poet, a visual artist or musician. We tell the stories that fit into this greater conversation and use a lot of common objects as a pattern in Delita's work from visual language.
Artist: Caledonia Curry (Swoon)
Caledonia Curry is known as Swoon and was born in New London in 1977. She is an American contemporary Artist who works with the techniques of printmaking and sculpting to create the community based on the project and public artwork. Caledonia Curry studied at the Pratt institute in Brooklyn as she began creating large drawings, lino cut prints and wheat pasting them on the semi-abandoned space in New York. Her travels have led to her art to create with the aim of helping local communities rebuild in the wake of environment disaster. Most of her work incorporates portraiture with the subject ranging from a friends and family to individuals.
Caledonia Curry is a highly spiritual woman who creates both stunning art and gets people involved when she starts with linoleum block print walls. She wanted to make an extender collage subject to the elements which includes any creative process that is deeply within context. I'm inspired by her work that has a creative force inherent in all forms of life and the pattern with the universe to build to itself. The portrait of a woman named Sonia that Caledonia worked with her in Philly. Caledonia was doing some art therapy with the group of women and talking with them about the close universal link between trauma and addiction.
People often describe connections with the portraits and the impermanence of the imagery and materials. The challenge of the collapse of many towns in certain regions of the United States. If we can make a positive impact through the creative thinking and actions, it makes the kind of things in life worth living.
