What's Your Stance?: Reflection

Draft

Final Draft

I do not believe my stance is clear with the art that I created. I realize that the image that resulted through my efforts does not fully express my initial idea. I wanted the United States to be expressed as a menacing force, dominating the world, almost like a controlling regime with an iron fist over the world. The only way to know that I was expressing America in this image though is through the color of my text, which I made red, white, and blue. I do believe though, that the "FREEDOM" written in blood does express how the United States proclaims itself to spread freedom to other nations, but only leaves terror and death in its wake. I feel that my final draft successfully recreates my idea on my thumbnail sketches and paper sketch, and my final draft adds even more to the idea through the use of the clipping mask in Adobe Illustrator. From the first version to the last version of my poster, I decided to keep the idea of outlines of bodies, but changed it from white chalk to the bodies outlined in blood. I decided to also attempt to make my stance clearer by writing more text. As well, I decided to fill in the bodies with images of terror and destruction to communicate the idea about the detrimental force that is the United States and its military. I feel that of the rubric, the Design aspect is expressed strongest in my art. I feel that the colors I used, most apparently red for the color of blood, express my idea, and the images in the bodies through the use of clipping masks also express it. The weakest part of my project was the Concept aspect, as I believe that my art fails to fully realize it, and it is also left unclear to the audience. The most challenging aspect of the project, conceptually, was trying to come up with an image that would realize the idea that I had in my mind, since the topic I chose was so broad, and can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways. From a technical perspective, the most challenging part was the clipping mask, as I had no idea how to use it. I failed time and time again, and only through trial and error I was finally able to use it. As well, with the assistance of my teacher, Ms. Lee, I was able to find an easier and quicker way to use it than what I had been doing initially.