American Psycho Analysis/Research

Focusing on the book rather than the film, I plan on making a series of responses from my favourite and most important sections of the story. 

Some pinnacle moments/quotes:

• " ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE is scrawled in blood red lettering on the side of the Chemical Bank..." 
• The whole chapter 'Morning' where Bateman describes his intense morning routine. (Page 23).
• "Did I ever tell you that I want to wear a big yellow smiley-face mask and then put on the CD version of Bobby McFerrin's 'Don't Worry, Be Happy', and then take a girl, a chow, a sharpei, it doesn't really matter..." (Page 111)
• The whole chapter 'Killing Dog' where he brutally murders a man's dog for no apparent reason and nobody else seems to notice or care. (A sign of things to come).
• The whole chapter 'Paul Owen'. An iconic moment in the film (as pictured above), however, it goes into a lot further detail in the book. "Blood starts to slowly pour out of his mouth shortly after the first chop, and when I pull the ax out - almost yanking Owen out of the chair by his head..." (Page 205)
• "While taking a piss in the men's room, I stare into a thin weblike crack above the urinal's handle and think to myself..." (Page 217)
• Chapter 'Lunch with Bethany' - another iconic scene from the film although I think a different character is used. The nail gun to the back of the head. But again, in the book  it's a lot more graphic. "placing her hands flat on thick wooden boards, palms up, and nail three fingers on each hand, at random, to the wood by their tips." (Page 234)
• "In this office right now I am thinking about how long it would take a corpse to disintegrate right in this office." (Page 264)
• "In the morning, for some reason, Christie's battered hands are swollen to the size of footballs, the fingers are indistinguishable from the rest of her hand..." (Page 279)
• Chapter 'Killing child at Zoo'. Similar to the killing of the dog, at first nobody notices the child's disappearance and he easily gets away with it. (Page 285) 
• Chapter 'Tries to Cook and Eat Girl'. 

Useful links:

• http://www.uncustomarybookreview.com/2012/10/american-psycho/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fng29MgqSNc&t=510s
• https://www.gradesaver.com/american-psycho/study-guide/metaphors-and-similes

Often considered a modern classic, the book is a representation of the society we have created, from the treatment of women to the rich being able to get away with murder.

Reflection and First Self Portrait (7x7 image)

The proposal I made towards the start of the module isn’t well suited to the work I am currently creating although I have forgotten to document the changes to my ideas (classic me). The proposal focuses more towards listening to other people’s conversations but this has changed drastically because I’m too awkward to do it.

The suggestions for what happens next have been that I continue looking at American Psycho and possibly look at more content in the book. This is something I am planning on taking throughout the majority of the module. It has also been recommended by a peer that I possibly look at other books once I have drained American Psycho and it comes to a halt. My initial intentions were to look at a number of books (mostly focusing on the horror genre).

A peer recommended that I look at the ‘Me Too’ movement for the BICeBE brief which I have been considering doing for a while but keep putting it off because it involves making a GIF. I need to consider how women are empowered and would rather focus on the positive changes of the movement rather than the negative aspects.

Upon reflection as a whole I need to get moving with the women’s empowerment brief and possibly find someone to help with the animation aspects (possibly a collab). I also need to consider a home for the horror characters that I have currently created and how these ideas will develop).

INITIAL RESEARCH

What do I like?

• Halloween 
• Politics 
• Plants 
• Reading (classic literature, fiction, horror)
• Veganism 

Some favourite books:

Naive Art

Listening to feedback last year I looked further into naive/primitive and outsider art in hopes to further understand and extend my own practice. The appearance of my work often expresses 'naivety' and I hope to apply this to more serious literature such as American Psycho to almost add an innocence to the character. This may make my audience initially question the work, but when they look further their initial reactions will alter.

Naive Art:

• 'Created by a person who lacks formal education/training that professional artists undergo' 
• 'Recognised/imitated for its childlike simplicity/frankness.'
• Often a flat rendering style with a rudimentary expression of perspective.

Examples:

Henri Rousseau - Surprised!

Niko Pirosmani - Deer

Ivan Generalic - Unknown

Updated Proposal/Statement of Intent

After feeling too awkward about eaves dropping on other people's conversations and watching their actions to produce work, I have decided to alter my proposal to something I am more comfortable with and enjoyed producing last year. 

Last year the 'About the Author' brief got me back into reading and I've been filling my bookshelf ever since. The work I produced during this brief has been commented on as some of my strongest work to date, which I can agree with. As well as this I also really enjoyed producing the work and would like to develop this further. 

Being a bit of a weirdo, one of my favourite books I have read in the last year was American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. The story is full of metaphors for the society that we have created today, Patrick Bateman repeatedly gets away with murder. Why? Because he is a rich, white male. 

I intend on creating a series of response to my personal favourite parts/quotes in the book. 

As well as this brief, I am planning on covering a number of different competition and live briefs such as the BICeBe Poster Call which goes back to my political routes. I also plan on responding to some editorial briefs as this is an area I am comfortable in and can produce quickly. 

Intent/Tone of Voice:

• Making American Psycho seem almost childlike and humorous with the use of colour and simplified imagery, focusing on the strangest quotes and the most graphic scenes. 
• Dark/dry sense of humour to capture the essence of Patrick Bateman's life.
• Initially naive but upon further inspection the image is quite dark/gruesome/serious. (This applies to both American Psycho and editorial briefs)
• The BICeBe brief - more of a positive tone of voice as its about women's empowerment (use bright colours but still integrate a sense of humour to make the work memorable).

Themes/Subjects:

• American Psycho - horror, gore, treatment of women, gays and POC, 90s, yuppies, humour, naive.
• Editorial briefs - depending on the brief (my usual approach is childlike responses to serious matters)
• BICeBe Poster Call - women, empowerment, positive change in society.

Audience/Context:

• People who have an interest in literature (American Psycho may extend into further books).
• Horror fans 
• Newspaper/article readers
• Left wingers
• Women of all generations BICeBe - but specifically those on social media that are more likely going to view the work on a regular basis).

Goals and Ambitions:

• Produce a strong body of work to use in my portfolio to take with me into the future. 
• Work more with moving image (essential for BICeBe brief) 
• Create a series of prints in response to American Psycho (and possibly other books) similar to those from the Folio Society.
• Make myself/others laugh

Practical Skills/Media/Formats:

• Print (especially screen)
• Intend to develop skills further in digital print to make work with the aesthetic of screen print that can be produced faster and more efficiently using Photoshop.
• POSCA pens - using them more often and experimenting using more layers and colours with them. Seeing how they can produce texture and be altered digitally.

Potential Content/Outcomes:

• Large body of experimental/playful development before producing finalised pieces of work. 
• A series of prints in a Folio Society inspired format for American Psycho brief.
• Quick responses to editorial briefs that have been produced in a small amount of hours/days.

Old Red Bus Station

Towards the beginning of the module Gaby organised an exhibition at Old Red Bus Station that I had the opportunity to participate in. There was no limited brief meaning I had the choice to make ANYTHING. 

I stuck with something I'm passionate about - HALLOWEEN. 

The exhibition opportunity warmed me up for the upcoming module and allowed me to continue practicing my digital skills. It was also a good opportunity to get my work seen by the public and increase possibility of finding clients/making sales.

Who Am I? Pitch

Proposal - Continuously Ongoing

Intent/Tone of voice:

• Naive, funny, childish, need a slightly dark/dry sense of humour to understand the content.
• Make people laugh/see light of a dark situation or theme. 

Themes/Subjects:

• People's conversations/lives/ways of seeing (listening in on what other people are saying and watching/drawing their actions).
• Made up characters around that (make light of situations) 
• Simple naive ideas/objects that go through my head 

Audience/Context:

• People with a dry/dark sense of humour.
• Mostly younger adults who are more likely to understand the lightheartedness behind the work (feel like older people may be confused)
• Picking up on things that people say, reading books, looking further into things I already enjoy.

Goals and Ambitions:

• Make myself and others laugh 
• Create a strong body of work for my portfolio to work towards my future 
• Work more with animation 

Practical Skills/Media/Formats:

• Print (especially screen printing)
• Digital (making the aesthetic of screen print faster and more efficiently than physical print).
• Development - coming up with quick ideas which will be useful for picking up on people's conversations.  

Potential Content/ Outcomes:

• Large amount of work being playful/experimental (development process).
• Quick responses on any medium available to work on.  
• Finalised refined pieces of work that have been developed quickly considering the naive nature of the work.
• Prints (both digital and screen). Consider scaling up the designs. Would they suit large scale?

Studio Brief 2 Reflection

Last year I said I wanted to focus more on veganism, so Studio Brief 2 being a self-directed brief allowed me to do this. Being able to focus on something I am passionate about inspired me to work hard in this brief. 

After writing my proposal my ideas seemed too broad making the start off point a bit slow, as well as being caught up in Studio Brief 1 as the live brief had a later deadline than some others. This slowed my pace down massively which has affected the amount of work I could have put into my self-directed brief.

Originally, I planned on making a set of screen prints although, with the time space I had left after development it seemed inappropriate. I decided to use a digital approach to save time, which is something I am not overly confident with. However, I am pleased with the outcomes and I understand that improving my knowledge in Photoshop will be useful in the future when I don’t have access to screen-printing facilities, as well as most editorial work being fast briefs. 

If I was to do the brief again then I would pick up my pace massively so I didn’t feel rushed when making my final designs as well as having more time to cover the other subjects that I intended to cover at the start of the brief such as the horse meat scandal and the Yulin dog meat festival. 

However, one of my strong points is coming up with ideas that come across as funny but have a sinister meaning behind them meaning I can produce ideas quickly that still have a kick behind them. The ideas that I came up with are a bit of a kick in the teeth to companies like Impossible Burger that claim to reduce the consumption of animals (which might be true in some respects) but still support animal testing. This is what I intended to achieve, the rat sat at a dinner table appears to be light hearted at first glance but when looked into further and the viewer reads the article, it is clear that Impossible Burger isn’t so innocent after all. 

I hope to be able to continue this idea in my own time and possibly look further into the horse meat scandal and the Yulin dog meat festival to further improve my knowledge on the subjects.

UPDATED Studio Brief 2 Proposal

Leeds Arts University BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	05
LAUIL504 ILLUSTRATION 4: Applied Illustration	Credits	40
Module Brief   Title: Product, Range & Distribution

STUDIO BRIEF 2: Individual Practice Project Proposal

Project Rationale

What do you intend to do and why?

I intend on making a minimal of 4 editorial illustrations using a digital/screen approach to go alongside an article in a newspaper or magazine. I am going to focus on controversial plant-based/vegan ideas and products that have come out recently. Specifically, the vegan burger that ‘bleeds’. As well as looking into lab grown meat, the horse meat scandal and possibly the Yulin dog meat festival.  Making a set of illustrations that go alongside an article will make me consider the layout and content of the design as it will have to be appropriate to the newspapers audience. Although, I still want to have a satirical approach to my work that reveals the darker truth of eating animal product and even supporting plant-based companies that still use animal testing to create their ‘vegan’ products.

THEMES / SUBJECTS What Themes/Subjects will form the content of your work for this module? This should include theoretical and non-creative based content and concerns. This section should identify your consideration of the social, cultural, ethical and creative concerns of contemporary Illustration practice.

GENERAL THEMES: ·       Veganism/plant-based products ·       Controversy  ·       Social Issues SPECIFIC SUBJECTS: ·       The vegan burger that ‘bleeds’ – being aware that this product isn’t exactly designed for vegans but instead making a plant-based diet more appealing to meat eaters. Is it really going to work? How could it be made appealing? Impossible Burger fed the soy leghemoglobin to rats before human consumption so is it really vegan? ·       Clean meat – lab grown meat is definitely not targeted at vegans, but again reduces the environmental issues and the treatment of animals in the meat industry as animals will no longer be needed. However, the animal cells are grown in the blood of the blood from calf fetuses, so what are they really achieving? ·       Naïve art, outsider art, primitive art – research from the last module feedback made me look into these kinds of practices and made me consider painting again (especially suitable for this brief involving animals and perceptive). ·       Screen-printing – experimenting with print methods (both traditional and digital) to work out different outcomes for the brief and develop my practice and interest/skills in screen-printing further. ·       Digital work – during this brief I am going to try and work out how to give digital designs the appearance of screen-print which will be useful in the future when I don’t always have access to printing, as well as saving time.

PRACTICAL & CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION What areas of Illustration do you intend to investigate in relation to the practical and conceptual, production/ distribution of work in response to selected briefs?

SPECIFIC DISCIPLINARY AREA: I intend on challenging myself by using a digital approach to create the designs to mimic the aesthetic of screen print. This will be a useful skill to have in the future as screen-printing facilities won’t always be available to me when I leave university and want to continue my practice, as well as it being a time saver, meaning I can produce more outcomes at a fast pace. I am going to look further into naïve art to become more aware of my practice and possibly start painting again to develop my designs. AUDIENCE/CONTEXTS: ·       People who generally read the newspaper/political magazines, focusing on more left wing orientated such as The Guardian and The New Statesman.  ·       Young people (18-21) who are socially aware and will possibly share my posters. ·       Contextual research will involve using the internet to find existing articles and facts about the specific subjects that I’m looking into. ·       Vegans who aren’t aware of the Impossible Burger being tested on animals to bring it to light and continue spreading their awareness. PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION METHODS: I intend on screen-printing the designs, or just making a digital piece that has the aesthetic of a screen-print to save time and make more possible outcomes. Placing the designs in an editorial context will help me consider the layout of my designs and how it would fit into the article.

CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES Identify areas of professional/creative practices that will inform the contextualization of the work that you produce. This should include specific illustrators, studios, practitioners and products as well as broader creative disciplines and methods of Production/Distribution.

ILLUSTRATORS / DESIGNERS / STUDIOS: ·       The New York Times ·       The New Yorker  ·       The Guardian  ·       The New Statesman  ·       Nobrow Press ·       French Protest posters 1968 ·       Naïve, primitive and outsider art ·       Stewart Mackinnon  ·       Henryk Tomaszewski  ·       Cobra Movement  ·       David Shrigley ·       Henri Rousseau ·       Henning Wagenbreth ·       Bill Rebholz ·       Sophy Hollington  ·       Stephanie Unger

CREATIVE SKILLS What practical skills do you intend to further develop and apply during your project? What do you intend to use the skills for? Consider extending the use of skills that you already have in order to deliver work of a higher standard as well as identifying new skills that you will need to develop.

Monoprinting will help me to produce different textures that can be used in my digital designs to create the screen-printing aesthetic. Monoprint is one of my weaker points so using the print facilities with ideas from the staff will help me gain knowledge. As well as focusing on my digital skills to work on how to give digital work the appearance of print which may be a challenge for me as I am not the best on Photoshop. I will use my existing skills in printing to get a strong starting point and interpret new skills into my designs to strengthen them further.  Working on my digital skills will help develop my practice in the future as I will have the ability to make digital designs at a fast pace to meet any future fast deadlines to a professional standard.

KEY TEXTS List a selected number of books, articles and texts that are central to your proposed area of practice. These should include a combination of design and non-practice based books, theoretical texts as well as visual publications. You should include a list of relevant websites.

·       http://culture.pl/en/artist/henryk-tomaszewski ·       https://www.itsnicethat.com/categories/illustration ·       https://www.nytimes.com/section/opinion/editorials ·       https://www.newstatesman.com ·       https://www.greenpeace.org.uk ·       DIY Culture: party and protest in nineties Britain – Emily Stein and Celia Willis  ·       DIY: the rise of lo-fi culture ·       In Loving Memory of Work – Craig Oldham  ·       https://hyperallergic.com/272933/the-urgent-protest-art-of-the-berkeley-political-poster-workshop/

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

I plan on doing further research into my subject area to make sure my designs are consistent and thoroughly considered throughout the brief.