Ocular Ambrosia: A Multimedia Spectacle

36 Pages·2015·10.38 MB·English

Ocular Ambrosia: A Multimedia
Spectacle
By Ebony T. Perry

Ocular Ambrosia: A Multimedia Spectacle
By Ebony T. Perry
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
-Winston Churchill
Table of Contents
What it is
Introduction:
Research Phase 1: Three Inspiring Pre-1950s Artists.....Chapter 1
Research Phase 2: Three Inspiring Post-1950s Artists...Chapter 2
Additional Influences........................................................Chapter 3
The Art Making Process...................................................Chapter 4
Future Plans.......................................................................Chapter 5
Gallery................................................................................Chapter 6
Glossary of Key Terms.....................................................Chapter 7
Bibliography
Introduction: What it is
Ocular Ambrosia is a series of satirical illustrations and handcrafted art dolls inspired by
current social, political, & pop cultural topics. I used Graphic Design, Illustration, and Mixed
Media art to bring my concept to life. Each of these mediums is used to create a collection of
posters, ink drawings, digital paintings, and figurines to prompt both an emotional and
intellectual response from viewers. This collection of works coincides with my interest and
academic pursuit of interpreting social, political, and pop cultural topics into a visual art
statement laced with satire and humor. The original driving force behind this series comes
from my sincere concern with the current state of the world. Today's society is so "plugged
in" and bombarded with propaganda, that, as a result, this tactic of ornate brainwashing
continues to distract people from moral and truly important values, herding them into the
land of detachment. Society has become a circus of clashing agendas. This onslaught of
fashionable lunacy is what inspired the carnivalesque tone and title of my series. Another set
of curiosities in the sideshow of modern culture that fueled this exhibition, stemmed from my
interest in society's fascination with materialism, celebrity gossip, and the reckless behavior of
the famous. I have explored the ever- rising dependence on technology, the dwindling right to
privacy, and the exploitative corruption of virtue for the sake of profit. Through my
illustrations and complementary bizarre figures, I invite the viewer's to prospect for changes
in the current order of things. My belief is that we must move away from the typical solutions,
break free from a vicious cycle, and wake up the complacent. I want people to understand that
my use of satire is meant to trigger a yearning for social change, something I believe the world
needs greatly. My choice to creatively exaggerate the issues plaguing our society and to
magnify them is so that people, who have come to accept this gradual decay of normalcy,
simply wake up and come to realize how bizarre several values in our modern culture have
become. Our path back from the land of detachment could lie in reflecting upon these
concerns to achieve social change and a united state of awareness.
Chapter 1
Research Phase 1: Three Inspiring Pre-1950s Artists
The three pre-1950s first artist I selected as a source of inspiration were Sir John Tenniel, George
Cruikshank, and Max Fleischer. As the encyclopedia entry on Tenniel notes, Sir John Tenniel is a
British illustrator, graphic humorist, and political cartoonist (1820 - 1914). Tenniel is considered
important to the study of England's second half of the 19th century in regards to social, literary, and
art histories. Tenniel was knighted by Queen Victoria for his artistic achievements in 1893. Tenniel is
most noted for two major accomplishments: he was the principal political cartoonist for England's
Punch magazine for over 50 years, which was a ground breaking British magazine of popular humor,
including a great deal of satire of the contemporary, social, and political scene. Tenniel was also the
artist who illustrated Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking
Glass."("Tenniel"). When shaping my final thesis for my capstone, I felt that Tenniel's works were
extremely inspiring and relatable to what I was trying to achieve. Because he was a satirist, he always
sought to draw attention to society's issues and find a way to get the public's attention through his
radical images to inspire change. Through creating such works, he played a key role in his nation's
moments of political and social reform by echoing the voices of the British public. What struck me
most about his work was his style and how honest and sharp his characters are. Even in his
illustrations for Carroll's books, one can see the personality in the characters faces. Though his
illustrations were mostly ink drawings in black and white, his work collectively made a difference.
The way my work contrasts from Tenniel's own is by not just sticking to ink pen and paper, but also
by putting digitally made designs and illustrations into the equation.
From left to right:
"British Lion Attacks Bengal Tiger" (Punch) August 1857 by Sir John Tenniel.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Tenniel's "Mad Hatter" from (1865).
The second artist I chose to pull inspiration from is one who illustrated one of my favorite stories as child,
Oliver Twist. "George Criukshank (1792 -1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as
the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many
other authors, reached an international audience. For Charles Dickens, Cruikshank illustrated Sketches by
Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (1837-38) and Oliver Twist (1838). Criukshank even acted in Dickens'
amateur theatrical company." (Morris). What I particularly loved about Criukshank and found to be
relatable is we both have a performing arts background and he used that background in his works of
illustration. For example, in Oliver Twist his works are very detailed, and it is always clear what character is
being depicted in a certain chapter: Fagin is sly and grotesque with a silly charm, Oliver is helpless and
trying to find his place in the world, etc. In my own works I can relate to Criukshank because I make clear
who my antagonists and protagonists are in my illustrations. In contrast to this Victorian era illustrator, I
choose to utilize text along with image in my graphic design works and to make the public get into the
character of a social witness.
Pictured above: Oliver Twist
Artful Dodger introducing Oliver to Fagin, From the novel by Charles
Dickens, George Cruikshank, (1792-1878/British), Chromolithograph.
"Fagin" a character from the Dickens novel Oliver
Twist, helped me pinpoint and expose what twisted
hierarchies in this world are doing to trap society
from realizing their full potential. For those
unfamiliar with Fagin, he is described as the
"grotesque" leader of a group of orphaned children,
whom he teaches to make their livings by
pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in
exchange for a roof over their heads (abuse of
power to create dependence among the populous).
Although portrayed somewhat humorously, Fagin
is nonetheless a self-confessed miser who, despite
the wealth he has acquired over the years from the
work of others, does very little to improve the
squalid lives of the children he takes in - even
allowing them to smoke pipes and drink gin "with
the air of middle-aged men."
One of my own works inspired by the character of
Fagin in Oliver Twist was "The Profiteer," a
vulture-like character who is an exploiter for the
collection of excessive and unfair profit. His motto
states, "As long as I come out on top nothing else
matters." Another Illustration inspired by Fagin's
corruption of youth and a true story in the news is
titled "Little Lungs." The story in the news
appeared in 2010 and was about a chain-smoking
baby from Indonesia, reported to smoke 40
cigarettes a day.
Pictured right:
Oliver Twist
Fagin in his cell ( by Charles Dickens)
1846 copperplate engraving.