2022-2023 ap art pieces
This year in my AP class I went through 3 different sustained investigation topic. The first topic I choose was trying to express emotions without using facial expressions. I used composition, colors, and body language to try to express different emotions. I did this topic for 7 pieces. The second topic I only used for one piece and it was cultural dances. I did research on the Bata dance and made an art piece based off of what I learned. The last topic I choose was on outfit design as well as dynamic poses. I choose a pose to draw and then a style of clothing to design an outfit for the figure I had draw.
Frustration
14" by 11"
acrylic paint
My first sustained investigation piece is inspired by the feeling of frustration. The figure is in different fragments of the painting to symbolize how being frustrated can make it seem like everything is falling apart and breaking.
Love
14" by 11"
acrylic paint, yarn
This piece is based on the emotion of love. Although there are many forms of love, I choose one of the most common, two people in a seemingly romantic relationship. The figures are monochromatic on their own but have color when joined together, symbolizing how relationships can affect people.
Emptiness
14" by 11"
acrylic paint, yarn, air dry clay
This piece is based on the feeling of emptiness. I chose to go somewhat 3D for this piece to emphasize the feeling of emptiness by having the main figure be empty.
Excitement
14" by 11"
acrylic paint, pistachio shells
This piece was based on the emotion of excitement. I used yellow for the background because it is the most common color that people think of when they think of positive, happy emotions. The pistachio shells were added to the background because in some Chinese cultures, pistachios can symbolize happiness.
Burnout
14" by 11"
acrylic paint
This project was based on the feeling of being burnt out, which is a pretty common feeling for artists. The skin of the figure has been burnt away revealing the skull. The black liquid falling over the figure could symbolize the feeling of hopelessness that comes with feeling burnt out.
Serenity
14" by 11"
acrylic paint, air dry clay
This piece was based on the feeling of serenity. When I think of serenity, I think of nature so I tried to use colors found often in nature in the background, and colors not found as often for the figure.
Art Block
14" by 11"
acrylic paint
My final sustained investigation piece of first semester was based on the feeling of art block. Art block is a feeling experienced by artists when they feel distant from the art they’re making and they feel unable to create anything. To portray this emotion I decided to make a painting that could seem incomplete, not painting the full background and having the figure fade into it.
Bata Dance
digital
This piece was inspired by the Bata dance which is a traditional dance from the Yoruba tribe in western Nigeria. This dance is believed to be a tribute to Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning. The dance is accompanied by the Bata drums which come in three different sizes. The largest is the Iya, the Iya sets the rhythm for other drummers and is played by the master drummer. The middle drum is the Itotele and the smallest is the Okonkolo which keeps the rhythm steady. The drums and dancers are completely harmonized and these drums are one of the most important parts of the dance. The Bata dance includes many characteristics such as twisting of the waist, bending knees, tilting the trunk(trunk being chest, abdomen, pelvis, and back), flat feet, acrobatic steps, and very expressive movements. The Bata dance is a very important aspect of many Yoruba festivals.
Gold
Digital
This piece was mostly a filler piece when I was trying to decide what to do the rest of my sustained investigation on. I wanted to continue trying more dynamic poses which inspired this piece, even though the outfit and background are very basic.
Steampunk
digital
This piece was inspired by the steampunk style. I tried to incorporate as many steampunk elements as possible to the clothing and the scythe. I chose this pose because it was not only fairly dynamic but it also had a little bit of perspective which isn’t something that I have worked much on.
preppy
Acrylic paint
This piece was inspired by the “preppy” clothing style, which is fancy and expensive but simple. When working on the sketch for this piece, I wanted it to have a more surrealist style more like the paintings I did at the beginning of the year rather than the more recent ones. To do this I decided to make the head a heart and remove the hands. I had originally added the hands but they didn’t look right with the rest of the piece.
Spirit of earth
digital
For this piece I did it less inspired by a clothing style and more inspired by nature as a whole. I also wanted to try drawing a non-human character and a more realistic digital style. I tried to incorporate as many natural elements that I could including the water for the dress, mushrooms on the arms, and clouds covering the face.
