Fictional Truth
Ricardo Nunez
Say a lie 1000 times and it will become truth I am a dreamer. I like to play with reality, I like to live in a parallel world. Maybe the truth is too much for me so I escape from reality, I decorate the truth and then I smile and that smile is my face. The face that you will see from me. I know life is not a smile but it helps to make it better, not just for me but the ones that surround me. If I am kind you will be kind too and it will be a good way to start. Fiction can be as real as reality, at the end we could not take reality as something that is certain and unique. Everyone’s reality is different from everyone else’s and each of their realities can be truth. This is my world and this is real to me. Maybe it is not real right now but I know I just have to say it a 1000 times and eventually it will become truth.
Image Harvest Do something that you always wanted to do but for some reason you never did. I chose animals. Their shapes have fascinated me since I remember. The problem? How to show them, how to make them different. They have been the reference of countless artists, How can I make them mine? My own way to see them, My own way to show them. How animals can be mine and no one else’s, I want them real but mine, in my own words in my own world.
Who am I? Why I do what I do? How far I wanna go? How much I know myself? Does this master my goals or is it just part of another beginning? Tension, nobody knows you and you want to leave the best impression, you want to show at the first try what you are capable of, You want to be the best and you believe you are. Then you do what you feel is your strongest skill and then you realize that you are not the best and you still need to learn more. You are here to do nothing but make mistakes and learn from them.
Bookbinding We are going to learn to use paper in different ways. Everything focusing on books or Pop ups.
I know about this, I have done it before. No, no, no, no. I didn’t like the first result, I want to work harder to make it better. No, it’s not the way I wanted. Fuck! I dunno how to do it. Well I think it start to looks good. Ohhhh, I love it. I think this is one of the best I’ve done this semester.
Letterpress Prepare some illustrations to try with letterpress.
I don’t want to do this! That was my first thought but it was just to get to the place and learn how to do it to be in love with this technique. It is amazing! the result on paper is beautiful and I felt I was lucky enough to bring nice illustrations that responded pretty well to the process.
Art Market Create a product from the beginning. In order to get the right price you need to be sure to keep track of the money and the time that you spend.
Exciting project I must say. The first big problem is that I actually don’t know the market in United States. I don’t know what people like here so I don’t know what I can do. On the other hand I like to work with my hands and be detailed with it. Some ideas came along, some fun as well. The only thing that was left was some time to sleep but we just got used to it.
I wanted to create a new universe, a dream in which the viewer can immerse and forget who is even if is just for an instant, I wanted to create a link between the viewer and my work that attach them forever and leave a footprint to endure for many years.
Collaborative Book Project Illustrations that must be understood by children in a different way that an adult would.
B is for book ans S is for shit, I have no idea how I am going to approach this topic. F is for frustration. Now that I know I am not the best I might be one of the worst in the world. What makes the situation worst is that the solution was right in front of my nose but I didn’t see it. Somebody had to tell me where to search, I just didn’t see it. More mistakes, more learning. You don’t know how good you can be, you don’t know how much you know. You are better than you think you are.
B
B is for Bear
C
C is for Cougar
P
P is for Pussy
S
S is for Seaman
T
T is for Trip
V
V is for Vexy
Paper Engineering Paper engineering. We are going to learn techniques to use paper in unusual and creative ways
Should I play safe and do something in which I feel comfortable with? Or should I try something completely new to see how many mistakes I can make but at the same time how much I can learn from them. Guess what I chose
Sketchbook Project We all are going to have one sketch book with one topic. Every week we switch sketchbooks so we will do an illustration for a different topic.
This is a pain in the ass. I have a lot of things to do and every week I have to think about the sketchbook. I don’t care, I didn’t like this project but I can use it as it is, I can do sketches. I am not going to spend much time sketching just letting it go, naturally and without thinking much of what I am doing. *What is strange about this project is my way of illustrating right now when I have no time.
Laser Cut Another way of putting illustrations in different media. We learn that the laser cut exists and how it works.
Smooth. All went easy on this project. My ideas were so clear that I didn’t have to think much about what I was going to do. Everything went just fine and the result and time was what I expected. It was just an appetizer. I discover a new way to translate my illustrations and give them fresh air using the same aesthetic.
Words on Wheels Poems made by children that will appear on the buses in Baltimore. Illustrate what the child wants to say. Think as a child and try to emulate his words.
This was sort of a competition. One poem for two of us and the best one will be chosen to be printed. Fortunately I didn’t feel that way. It was an opportunity to explore my ways of illustrating someone else’s idea. I won the competition but it was against myself.
By The Sea Shore ILLUSTRATED BY RICARDO NUNEZ
The waves lap the shore The wind is in my face Free as a gull soaring high Sun shining down on my freckled face Never want to leave this place Aurelia Zeltzman Grade: 3rd Hampstead Hill Academy Teacher’s Name: Lauren McKinley
By the Sea Shore
They struggled to find a way Coming from different places and different cultures, My great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers. A Joint Project of: Baltimore Design School Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School Baltimore School for the Arts Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School Cross Country Elementary/Middle School Edgewood Elementary School Hampstead Hill Academy Holabird Academy KIPP Ujima Village Academy Maryland Institute College of Art Midtown Academy Roland Park Elementary Success Academy Wolfe Street Academy SPONSORED BY:
Irish African-American German Native American People ask me, tease me Not understanding there’s so much for me to be. Who I am, is not easy… but it’s beautiful. Kiyia Johnson Grade: 6th Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Teacher: Ashley Storey
Mixed
ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: RICARDO NUNEZ / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ‘16
Mixed
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Animation Learn how to do stop motion. How my illustrations would be if they have movement.
I am tired of sending messages without expressing my feelings about the world we live in. I am tired of the greed of people. I can’t believe that while a few are eating gold, a lot more are eating shit because of them. And myself, who has the tools to send messages just stays still worrying about myself and forgetting what I can say to try to create awareness. Shit and farts is what many of the ones who wear a tie are. They look like they have manners but it is so clear that money is the only thing they care about. Even worse, they are the example to follow by many in a society that cannot see beyond their noses.
Hand Lettering Create three different alphabets with a concept in each other. They can be related. I chose something that is related. Police, Killer and Victim.
Violence. I see violence everywhere. It’s hidden by society but we all know it’s there. We don’t want to look at it, we want an easy life, we think we deserve it and we think we have worked a lot for that peace. How to show it in the way that everybody can see it? Dunno if worked but at last I showed it. I have seen too much violence these days it’s is starting to effect me.
ALPHABET SERIAL KILLER
ALPHABET VICTIM
ALPHABET POLICE
Patterns Create five different patterns under a single concept. We are going to learn a way to develop patterns to make them look intrinsic and more interesting.
Dead bodies everywhere. I am so into blood and dead people. It’s an attraction that I have had since I was nine. I hate to see dead bodies but at the same time I feel attracted to them. They know already what dead is like and shame does not exist anymore when you are dead. The body position is uncomfortable once the body is not alive but this seems not to be important.
I do not want to work with death for a while.
Dead bodies everywhere
Dead bodies everywhere
Dead bodies everywhere
Dead bodies everywhere
Dead bodies everywhere
Self Directed Project You have to think of your own project. Arrange your schedule, What are you going to do, How are you going to do it and develope it
I must love what I am going to do. Read, evolution, read scientist, read animals, read illustration about animals, read. Doubt, read, write, facebook, write, facebook, chat, sleep, read, write, smoke, eat, write, read, sleep, movie, write, sleep, read, write. Write, write, write, read, ask, write, opinions, talk about it, correct. Imagine, sketch, too unreal, too normal, scietific.... Just right there. Doubt a little more, I like it, finish, I love it.
Species / Introduction
Clement Van Burden described by Van Burden that has only been discovered by scientists recently. Even so, it is too early to decide if the work of Van Burden is valid in scientific terms. The annotations describing his supposed discoveries are very precise and biologically logical. It is true to say that many of the first books that classified animals usually contained creatures drawn from poorly written descriptions provided by observers.
In the middle of 2012, by mere accident, the laboratory of the biologist and naturalist Clement Van Burden (1793-1865), was discovered in an abandoned building outside the city of Edimburgh in Scotland. What was found in his notebooks is a depiction of species from the animal kingdom, which, according to him were discovered in the expeditions he led to some of the most remote places on earth. What is astonishing is that most of the species discovered were never named or seen by any other expeditionary.
Is important to state that this books began to appear in XVI century, about three hundred years before Van Burden began to write his archives. However, those old books were not scientific but were more a compilation of drawings depicting any kind of animal real or fantastic.
Scientists have noted the striking language of Van Burden’s texts, which typical to his era, describe his discoveries with judicious clarity. In addition to his texts, there are exquisite illustrations that portray his findings with scientific logic.
In the following pages, dear readers, we have organized the notes of Van Burden to make them clear and understandable by many. We will give you a description of his travels and you will be able to read notes written by him. Also, you will find the o the world of the unseen and the hidden creatures.
But what really awoke the interest of scientists was Van Burden’s description of the Asiatic Unicorn (Pseudoryx Nghetinhensis). It is a rare bovine that inhabits the mountains of Annamite, between Vietnam and Laos. The name of this animal is reminiscent of a fairy tale, but what is most curious is that this animal was first scientifically documented in 1992. This could indicate that all the species discovered by Van Burden may actually exist. It would be an extreme coincidence that someone in the 1800´s invented an animal with the same characteristics as the animal that was discovered just a few decades ago. The Asian Unicorn is not the only animal
Welcome to the mysterious world that Van Burden discovered and was hidden for centuries, until now. Judge for yourself if we are in front of a great adventurer that found the way to discover the unseen wonders of nature or if we are in front of a dreamer that just wanted to depicted the world and enchant what he saw in a more romantic way.
Portrait of Clement Van Burden. 1856 Oil on board
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Species / Asia, an inaccessible treasure
SAOLA THE UNICORN OF ASIA
180 cm
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Bovinae Genus: Pseudoryx Species: P. Nghetinhensis Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander, MacKinnon, 1993
The Saola is a mammal from the family of Bovidae, though similar in appearance to members of the Cervidae family such as Muntjacs. It was identified following the discoveries of skulls found in the villages near the Annamite range in the Vũ Quang Nature Reserve in 1992.
length. The horns are very straight and in profile, gives the impression having just one horn, aiding the moniker of the Asian ¨unicorn¨. They are believed to live in herds comprised of a dominant male with his harem of females and their offspring. The color is not sexually dimorphic, but is dark orange with distinctive white spots on the head, legs, belly and back thighs. Not much is known about the gestation period or the time that the calf stays with its mother, but it can be estimated to be similar to that of relative species in the Bovidae family.
The Saola remained quite a mystery until 1999, when a Saola was photographed by a trap camera. In late August of 2010, a female was captured by villagers in Laos but unfortunately died in captivity before being released back to the wild. Although she died, her remains were very useful for scientist to study the animal and helped to classify the Saola as a unique species. It is a medium size bovine 1.80m high and approximately 1.50m large, weighing about 120 kilos. What is very singular in this animal are the large horns that can reach 1.20m in
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Species / Asia, an inaccessible treasure
GREAT ASIAN RHINOCEROS A GENTLE GIANT
250 cm
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family:Rhinocerotidae Genus:Dicerorhinus Van Burden: 1841 Species: Dicerorhinus Gigantem
The Giant Asian Rhinoceros is a rare member from the family of Rhinocerotidae. The second largest extant species of rhinoceros, it can reach 3.5 meters long, 2.2 meters high and can weight more than a ton. The Giant Asian Rhino was first found in 1841 in the range of Anammite, in Vietnam but because this range covers also part of Laos and Cambodia it is believed to be found there as well.
What appears to be a perfect symbiosis in nature, actually can be deadly for this gentle giant. If the plants grow in large quantities, the rhino will be too heavy and not be able to walk; dying of starvation. On the other hand, some roots are invasive and they can grow inside the armor of this animal affecting his nervous system and motor skill abilities. It is a slow and painful way to die.
The Giant Asian Rhinoceros possesses two horns, a hook-lipped mouth specialized to pick leaves from bushes, and red hair. It is similar to his closest relative, the Sumatran Rhino but with abundant hair and a smaller head. Unusual for rhinos, this species is a social one living with herds of approximately 4 to 6 individuals, most of the time with one male, several females and their offspring. What make this rhino different from the others is that is incredibly slow. It is so slow that the rhino literally has an ecosystem living on him. Many types of plants and moss find the skin of this giant appropriate to grow upon and as they do, it attracts all sort of insects, amphibians and even reptiles.
That is one of the main reasons this animal lives in herds; to eat off each other the excess plants to maintain a perfect equilibrium. It is very rare that a rhino should die in this way, only happening with solitary male adults that were cast out from their herd by a younger, more dominant male. The life expectancy for this rhinoceros is unknown, but by observing his incisors it is calculated to be between 60 to 70 years. However, it is difficult to confirm this data due to Van Burden being the only human to have seen this species to date.
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I am still not sure of who I am. I can say that I am closer to knowing what I want but to say that I know where I am going would be a lie. What I am sure of is that this is just another beginning and that my journey does not end here. I do not feel tension anymore. I am not in a race and I do not want to beat anyone. I celebrate the achievements of my friends as if they were mine and I try not to celebrate my achievements much cause my family will take care of that and I want to be humble. Am I excited for what will come? A little bit, I think it’s better to take what comes, good or bad, with a certain calm. I guess what I have learned is that I should listen more to the Ricardo that I have inside me, the one that talks from his heart and takes risks. That one that jumps and falls all the time but still gets up and continues because that one knows that the bruises are not forever and will turn into memories to laugh about later. So I am going to keep on lying and convincing myself of the lie so as to convince others.