Lou i
January 2019 / issue 1 / Vol.1
100 Ignasi monreal, man behind gucci’s recent campaign
200 Explanation of the ‘clout aesthetic’
300 Clermont twins -contextual reference
OVERVIEW Of my A-level portfolio...
W
Editor-in-chief
elcome to my carefully curated A level
portfolio. In here you'll find my thoughts and annotations on work, ideas for future projects and pieces and regular explanations of the way the project going. I decided on placing all my work into a magazine because I feel it would showcase by work in a better light, a magazine is very relevant in project as i feel they have key influences in today's culture. Allhough a dying trade printed magazines are classics they have almost a nostalgic feel and portray almost a affluent attitude; obviously only if the magazine is good. I plan to model my magazine around modern 21st century art culture magazines like Juxtapoz, Summit and Art & Culture. As Well as using artists that inspired me i'm going to use contextual references that link to my project and create pieces of art inspired by them. I'm going to take aspects from different areas of society and merge them together to create a magazine full of interesting perspectives on art and modern culture . Enjoy the read thank you .
Cover louie varney shot by louie varney styling louie varney
Contextual references Contextual sources may be works by artists, designers, craftspeople or architects, as well as cultural objects and artefacts. In this project, I will work from both primary and secondary contextual sources. Studying how other artists and designers work is
important to help your knowledge and understanding. I plan on making notes on their ideas, techniques, style and development. A lot of my contextual references throughout this project are pop-culture influencers like the Clermont twins and Kanye West. I also have taken inspiration from tattoo artists and creators that don’t produce art in the stereotypical way. Contextual referencing will be a huge element in my project as most artists only portray the negative effects of living in the cultures, I plan on celebrating these areas of society with positive artist responses and portrayals and eventually my own piece.
Alternativ e
Non-living things
people
People who live on the edge
Top 10% percent
Celebrities , influencers
D
Rebellious images celebrities portray
Young celebrities
health
perceptions of society
Mental health
Negative and positive
Key influences and their implications on mental health
Non stereotypical fame
Homeless in luxury
unorthodox
Young and successful
Success through illegitimate industries
Talented youths
Image and how looks can determine your life
alternative ɔːlˈtəːnətɪv,ɒlˈtəːnətɪv/ Adjective 1. (of one or more things) available as another possibility or choice. 2. relating to activities that depart from or challenge traditional norms.
Drugs and crime
Goals
metaphorical
literal
Personal goals
Life goals
Football goals
a pair of posts linked by a crossbar
value
Support , strength and solidarity
ambitions
Ideal life
Key figures
Key influences and their implications on mental health
Stereotypical way someone should lead their life
family
Struggles of reaching goals
How having goals can be negative
Morals behind teamwork
negatives
Problems due to living by norms
goal
ɡəʊl/ noun plural noun: goals 1. (in football, rugby, hockey, and some other games) a pair of posts linked by a crossbar and typically with a net between, forming a space into or over which the ball has to be sent in order to score. 2. the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.
Culture
people
Cultural beauty
D f
ff
f
totems
Cultural identity
Values of different totems
stereotypical
What these things provide for the community
Powerful people within these groups
How the young are influenced
Key influences in areas around the world
Rebellion to stick to cultural norms
Success through foreign culture
Common group activities
Unknown cultures
Overall image of a culture
culture ˈkʌltʃə/ noun noun: culture; plural noun: cultures 1. the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. 2. the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.
rituals
dances
Alternative culture Alternative Culture is ...
A
lternative culture is a type of culture that exists
outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. My initial plan is to create pieces inspired by these ‘subcultures’ and try to link my work to relevant artists. Due to me having such an interest in street culture and urban streetwear and how it has inspired designer labels, I plan on using mixed media to develop my project but first I'm going to use the media I'm most confident in; pencil. I plan on this project being a culmination of multiple different subcultures, maybe even the taboo subcultures that are under-represented like ‘clout’ and ‘gang culture’. These pictures here are just a brief insight into the project and act as a reference point for me .
Adria mercuri
Adria Mercuri an up and coming illustrator, creates pieces that seem to portray a vulnerable subject. His work gives a feel of uncomfortableness and seems to represent the juxtapositions within society .i.e flowers and a boy. Adria’s art combines seriousness with lightness in a very captivating way. Adria’s style can be described as youthful and self-aware with a twist of ethereal freedom. In my opinion Mercuri captures the younger generations vibe perfectly it emcompasses the freedom and affluent attitude of today's culture. I decided to do an artist inspired piece using some of my secondary images of young people from the stereotypical “streetwear culture’.
Thinking about how I would approach a piece in the style of adria mercuri for me was easy. I found her work very captivating and felt it would attract a much more younger audience. I also felt that it has almost a street-grunge style to it which coincidentally is the first subculture I'm looking into. Streetwear. I found two secondary images of subjects who almost have stereotypical streetwear model look, one of the subjects being the stranger things star, finn wolfhard. Recently, he seems to very relevant in the streetwear scene, modelling for major brands like gucci. Using on of my strong points, tonal studies, I decided on creating two individual pieces . I feel they are both majorly detailed and very accurate representations of my subjects and the artist. I surrounded the subject with a halo because that is the stereotypical Mercuri attribute. Once these pieces are completed i can manipulate them using a photo editing app i use called ‘enlight’.
Using the app enlight I created different effects using the ‘mixer’ tool. Adding different shapes and designs. I kept all the detail within the halo to keep it relevant to Mercuri and her style . This specific piece I staurated the image so it would appear more detailed and realistic .
Using the app enlight I created different effects using the ‘mixer’ tool. I was able to clean up the uneven edges of the circle and add a splash of colour. This effect almost gives the watercolor effect and I think it's very effective as it adds more fluidity too the piece.
Ignasi Monreal is known for his modern streetwear inspired perception of gucci’s christmas 2017 christmas collection
Ignasi Monreal
Gucci being one of the most influential brands behind the streetwear culture has a huge following and provides almost an unorthodoMonreal juxtaposes completely opposite societal norms forming amazing pieces which represent the different subcultures x vibe which encapsulates modern society Monreal juxtaposes completely opposite societal norms forming amazing pieces which represent the different subcultures Using Mercury as my first artist has inspired me to keep the ‘halo’ effect around the subject. I also took inspiration from Monreal’s work and one of his images had an ‘old-timey’ border look to it so i decided on using photoshop to impose my image onto the border on his.
Ignasi Monreal
Using the app enlight again i re-coloured both the border and the drawing. These illuminous colours don't really go with ignasi vibe but i feel its potentially relevant to my project . im planning on looking into ‘clout aesthetic and this colours are very relevant in that subculture.
imAGes
pRimARy
CLOUT AESTHETIC
A clout aesthetic is a style/lifestyle which often associated with high fashion streetwear Clout is often given negative connotations, in actual fact clout celebrates and emphasises the street/brand obsessed society we live in. continuously pushing the boundaries of streetwear and becoming almost a societal norm with the youth. Clout is all about being famous Aspects of a clout aesthetic is seen and having an influence of within mainstream fashion. society weather that being
negative or positive. Often associated with clout is the extensive use of drugs. Especially since the rapper lil peep came ‘on the scene’, he would advocate the use of ‘designer drugs’ which in turn gave him a huge negative perspective from older generation.
Lilly Phillips is a graphic designer /fashion artists that predominantly does vibrant ‘messy’ pieces . Her work is very abstract and modern . i feel that when paired with a ‘clout’ subject it would really capture the culture that i'm trying to create. As of now my project is leaning towards modern and current artists with huge social media influence. So lilly phillips is very relevant . A couple of lilly’s pieces are on acetate i found this technique very effective and decided to do an artist inspired piece with ‘clout’ being the context.
In these pieces you can see i've tried to use contrasting colours to compliment the skin tones of my subjects. I feel this is most effective on my male subject, his dark skin tone really makes the yellow pop and stand out. I feel the is marginally less effective with my female subject however i do i feel it still looks good .overall for my first time painting on acetate i feel it was quite successful but, next time i would try and make more accurate skin tones .
These are my artist inspired pieces from lilly phillips. I used my primary images to create two pieces. To create theses i traced the outlines onto acetate with a black biro; left that to dry. Then started applying the acrylic paint. I found this style very affective but the application of the acrylic very tricky as its almost like blind painting because once the first layer is one you can see you image; you have to constantly turn over te acetate to see if you placed the acrylic in the right place.
Linking back to ignasi monreal, i added a coloured halo around the subject. I chose corresponding colors to compliment to subject and portray different feelings . Pink can be indicate delicacy and give a charming feminine vibe to a piece of work Looking into colour psychology and the potential meanings of colours is found that, yellow can portray fun, happiness, sunshine and other light playful feelings
Nigel Tomm
This simple technique of scrunching up paper was very effective and created a brilliant distorted effect ‘Art determines a personal reality as a visual satisfaction constructed on pure nature of cognition forms’ I found his work really enticing and enjoyed this style of experimental photography as its controversial but in almost an conservative way. Hiding the modesty of the subjects I feel his work is very relevant in today's climate considering everything's about image on social media representation. His work gives an alternative view on popular mundane photography. I created a inspired piece using the social media icon kylie jenner, her presents online is huge. I used a semi provocative image scrunched it up and laid it flat between two books to capture the crease in the paper . I framed the image with a white boarder and added braille using a homemade braille stencil. The brain reads louie upside down .
This coloured pencil study of model gigi hadid was my first attempt at using coloured pencils for portrait.
Coloured pencil study
I found the contours of the face where able to be much more characterised using coloured pencils opposed to a tonal piece. However i do find normal pencils are much easy to blend and menover around the page and mistakes are easily rectifiable whereas coloured pencils are very hard to erase.
Clermont twins These influential twins have captivated the public's attention this past year they seem encompass the whole “clout� lifestyle. There style and way of living has inspired younger generations and gave them a huge social media following. Thy are often seen changing up there hairstyles but this image above is really inspiring as you can see how multiple subcultures have inspired there style .i.e. Rastafarianism, clout, haute couture and streetwear.
Melodie Perrault Continuing with the theme of social influencers and artists with a huge social media presence i decided to look for a artist who capture the naked form precisely and tastefully. Perrault i feel does just that. I decided on pairing her style of work with the clermont twins as they are often captured nude. Perraut uses dot work to shade and uses harsh lines to outline her subjects i feel creating a inspired piece in this style would fit perfectly into my project as harsh lines and dotting are completely opposite to one another and that is almost like my project. Almost like a juxtapose of society.
The dreadlocks hairstyle popularized in Western culture by Rastafarians has become universally identified with Jamaica and Reggae. People from all walks of life use it as a symbol of protest or as “going natural�. Read more about this in the article on Dreadlocks. Their adherence to natural medication and their many uses of marijuana has provided a stepping stone for many scientific studies of many of the herbs in Jamaica. They have been at the forefront of the legalization of Ganja worldwide for use in their religion and also for medical purposes.
Rastafarianism
Rastafari, sometimes termed Rastafarianism, is an Abrahamic religion. Classified as both a new religious movement and social movement, it developed in Jamaica during the 1930s
Rastafari refer to their beliefs, which are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible, as "Rastalogy". Central is a monotheistic belief in a single God—referred to as Jah—who partially resides within each individual.
Tonal pencil study
Ojo Agi Ojo uses her platform to challenge the lens with which women of colour are portrayed Agi tries captures a feeling, an emotion and an expression withinOjo uses her platform to challenge the lens with which women of colour are portrayed her pieces. Focusing on women of colour she represents them in a new light.
Ojo agi describes her work as redefining black culture and changing perceptions of black women in a westernised society. Much of our identity as african women is handed down to us from our parents. We’re supposed to want to be doctors, lawyers or engineers; asexual throughout our teens but suddenly committed in a heterosexual relationship by our early twenties; studious, conservative and most of all not too entrenched in ‘western’ values. Some some us comply some of us rebel.
Alternative pop culture Pop culture is referred to as modern popular culture transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people. And alternative is referred to when relating to activities that depart from or challenge traditional norms. People who challenge traditional norms are often referred to as ‘rebels’. Examples of people/cultures who preach alternative pop culture are rastafarians, hippies, chavs and lads and ladettes. Mass media's often supplies the public with the perfect idea of celebrity and fame however, it has been a regular thing where unstereotypical beings are reaching stardom .
When Thinking about how to represent ‘alternative pop culture’ i was inspired by multiple different streetwear photographers. Willy Vanderperre, Terry richardson and Bruce weber all have a similar style and represent the epitome of alternative pop culture. The almost controversial style really projects the ‘vibe’ im trying to achieve for my portfolio. I plan on doing a photoshoot in the style of these photographers but first i need to plan.
PhoTOsHoOt pLan
When sketching out ideas for a photoshoot i decided to do some in the style of a parisian tattoo artists MADAME BURAKA. His style is very modern and almost gothic but with pop culture references. He platforms his work on instagram and has tattooed multiple celebrities.
9 Top PhoTOgRapHy ComPOsiTIon RUleS 1. FilL tHe fRAme / CroPpINg 2. Don'T cuT OfF liMbS 3. UnDerStANd The RUle Of ThiRdS 4. Use FrAMes 5. MakE The MOsT of LEad IN liNEs / ShaPEs 6. SimPlIFy – KnoW yOuR fOCus 7. WatCh The BAcKgRoUnD 8. LoOk For SyMmeTrY/paTtERnS 9. CreATe dEPtH
PhoTOgRapHy
coMpOSitIoN RUle OF tHIrDs
The golden triangle: compose pictures classically. ... The golden triangle is instead a classical rule of composition used in paintings and photography. This timeless rule states that to create a harmonious image, the main subject should describe the shape of a triangle.
The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guidelines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.
GolDEn RatIo
The Golden Ratio In Photography. Some argue that the rule of thirds is an oversimplification of a more advanced mathematical equation known as the golden ratio (also known as the golden mean). The golden ratio is a ratio which has continued to surprise artists, scientists, musicians and mathematicians for centuries.
UsiNg A woODbuRnINg ToOl When looking into different medias and canvases i came across pyrography. Pyrography is is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker. I used a pyrography tool and started practicing on spare pieces of wood before completing any big pieces. I practising doing random patterns and some typography onto the wood testing how powerful the tool was and the amount it burnt through the wood and what pressures achieved certain looks. I then decided on free hand burning a face into the wooden slab. The tool came with multiple different ‘tips’ to achieve certain looks; for this portrait i used a rounded end as it had much more surface area and could achieve more shading. After that i decided to complete an artist inspired piece of the artists Boris Schmitz, a german artists who predominantly uses continuous line drawing to capture his audiences.
Here are some the the pyrography attachments and their effects. As you can see the more surface area the thicker and lighter the burn will be whereas, the thinner tools has a much darker more detailed effect .
FADED music video This influential music video set a tone for a new style of videography and is also very influential in my project. Kanye west’s work encompassed pop culture mixed with a retro aesthetic. There seems to be a huge surge in mainstream media using grained images to portray almost an ‘old timey’ look now and i personally love it. Here i have took a still from the video used different graded pencils to create a smooth tonal image. I would like to complete an acrylic piece like this using more vibrant colours .
Chelsea dawn leopold
Leopold is an instagram artist with a evident passion for image portrayed hrough art. Or even hairstyles. Her work depicts vulnerable looking women and adds almost child like accents to her pieces through the hair.
Her work inspired me to create a eries of images all based of the ame portrait. During this experiment i felt my portrait skills weren't as good as they once were and wasn't too impressed with the outcome. I also found it quite hard to oughly draw flowing hair without any structure. It didn't seem to match.
These images are in order of when i done them. The first was a portrait without hair, the second, third and fourth was the same but with the child like rough hairstyles and the fifth and sixth are directly inspired from leopold's pieces where she randomly places splashes of colour to add depth into her work, overall i feel this experiment was a fail because the pieces were not a good portrayal of the artist.
ILLEGAL HAIR TRADE IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES A documentary made by refinery29 inspired me to incorporate how the hair trade has exploited poor women in third world countries into my project.
The woman in the documentary was a vietnamese housewife who earned very little and for the past two years has been approached by traders offering minimal amounts for her hip length hair (£2.30). It's been known in previous years for women to be abducted or drugged for ‘hair smugglers’ cut away there long locks. These woman are not being celebrated for there long black well kept hair instead they are being exploited in benifit of the multi-million dollar industry.
However in this documentary there was a man who would ethically source the hair from these rural villages offering the woman decent payment and benefits in return for their long hair.
This really interested me and inspired me to look further into how there hair is used and how these ‘wigs’ are made. I took advice from my teachers and started learning how to make small hair pieces.
The process piece was then dried and glued again as without two layers of glue the was potential for failure. Once i reached ear level i sectioned the top into segments to create partings in the hair. I initially used a hair dryer to dry the glue and found that due to the synthetic hair being plastic is set the hair in place almost acting as straighteners - which worked to my I initially started of by paper macheing advantage. However i found using a a ball - 3 times to ensure stability. Then heat gun much more effective as it i drawn a hairline and carefully cut out dried quicker but it did slightly singe the excess using a knife making sure i the hair but it just made the piece did not puncture the ball. look more volumouse. I then began applying the hair i used The final wig was very successful, artificial ‘plastic’ hair for this as real however in unsure i would do this hair could potentially be unethical and again as its very time consuming and to expensive. I cut it into small strips unsure whether it's relevant to my and glued them onto the ‘scalp’. Each project .
Current project position And where my creative mindset is ...
M
y project at its current state has taken a slight deviation from it initial idea of ‘alternative cultures’ and now delved into more real world issues and how i can portray them threw art. An issue i have with this is a feel my creative ability and artistic ideas have seriously lacked when it comes to portraying important ‘world’ topics. My passion is for pop culture and the ‘new-world’ fame that has came from social media. And this is where i'm going to now take my project. This is not a random jump as most of my project upto now still inks with this idea. Most of my contextual references, artists and photography has been inspired/is from social media influencers and creators. I'm now going to delve into a art from modern art-pop culture and relevant contextual references. My artists inspired pieces i want to become more vibrant and i want to be able to use much more of a huge color pallet. Neon colours are a huge trend as well as metallics at the moment to i plan on testing using them on portraits of different relevant individuals.
Inspired by her surroundings (london) Beetson uses social conventions to create masterpieces which her audience can relate to. Sarah Beetson creates illustrations using bright color and overlapping of different techniques and mediums i.e. biro, pencil and acrylic. I would describe her work as perfectly executed chaotic colourful madness. I really enjoyed using this technique, i found it to be very effective. If i were to do that again i would consider using brown card to achieve a better flesh tone instead of trying to create one using coloured pencils. This study also broadened by appreciation for different medias, i found using these different inks to create mesmerising patterns really adds depth and illusion to my piece. Which i don't necessarily feel i get from Beetsons pieces.
Warhol use bright flat colours in his work making his subjects appear 2D. The use of different colours would be heavily influenced by warhols avant garde style His work portrayed an alternative view on mass media, his famous paintings have been at the forefront of modern art for years. His work is iconic. Taking inspiration from his work i've created a duplicate piece like his marilyn monroe piece using completely different colour pallets on each image.
One using very ‘negative’ colou and the other using more a ‘uplifting pallet to show the subjects multip personality traits. I found trying to get rid of the brus strokes very difficult and after th third coat it wasnt seeming to go t plan so, if i was to complete piec similar again i would ensure m canvas was appropriate to achieve th block colour ‘look’ like warhol.
Of the back of my original Beetson inspired piece i decided to take my own advise and try it on card to capture more of a ‘skin tone’. I used primary images i already had on a family member to do this. I found it to actually be much more effective and felt it capture Beetsons athletic much more. Taking inspiration from the use of brown card i tried some coloured pencil drawings. I continued using an image on my cousin family member (charlie) as they were the photos at hand. The vibrancy of the pencils was really exaggerated by using the colour card and this was the reasoning behind choosing kylie jenner as a subject of interest for these ‘pieces’. Her diverse style and unusual choice of hair colour really relates to sarah beetsons exaggerated use of colour.
Lil miquela ; the model with no soul Lil
miquela
Lil miquela is a the account eat, sleeps resonates with my breaths project as im focusing computer generated and a on eyborg, and no one trendy-ness. She’s social media knows who behind the walking trend. in luencers and how Her af luent style and they are portraying 800k instagram . Despite the fact athletic inspired me to this ‘unrealistic’ way of miquela looks like a lost incorporate the account living . Lil miquela is Sims character her into my project, Her definitely doing that. in luence on social soulless whites of her media is huge and her eyes and matt skin followers can back that texture would make for an easy subject to up. From her constant potentially paint for designer purchases to draw. miquela social her computer Lil generated style changes platform really
The computer generated model The media have created a media storm around Miquela and asked enormous amounts of rhetorical questions. Who is she? Is she real? Is she alive? Is there an actual person behind this account? How is she made? All of these questions i would like to incorporate in a contextual reference inspired piece. Weather that be printed over an portrait or taking inspiration from micrography an artist such as Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.
I decided to take inspiration from american presidential campaigns . when thinking about this inspired piece as lil miquela is a high influential character in the media i thought i could be relevant . artist shepard fairey creates these fascinating images which ultimately portray power and almost a regalness to there pieces. The contrasting colours and varying techniques combine together to create a visionary masterpiece. The first piece was created by using photoshop to create different depths and layers in different colours to portray the heights and the lows of lil miquela facial features. I then transferred it onto cartrdige paper and painted over it using acrylic. I found creating a smooth layer of acrylic extremly hard. As shepard fairey’s main media is screen printing i decided to experiment with an image of lil miquela and transferring her onto iconic ‘vogue’ covers. Almost delivering a juxtaposed view of how society is now seen, especially in today's era where we have key influences from pre 20th century pop culture.
Using the app enlight I created different effects using the ‘mixer’ tool. I enhanced the image blurring out any imperfections in the pianting and added a ‘instagram’ gradient style background; as lil miquela is an instagram model it fits quite nicley.
images
primary