The objective of this research was to choose one illustrator from a given list.
Visit their websites, blogs and any articles I find about them in books and online and make a list of keywords in my learning log that reflects the visual language of their commissioned work.
Consider:
Use of media and mark making
Whether their commissioned or professional work is political, dealing with issues, interpretative, reflecting narrative , representational, decorative or stylised. Is it 2D or 3D or 4D?
Write a short statement (no more than 200 words), to describe their work and visual language.
What connections, in my opinion, exist between their sketchbooks and their creative identity or illustrative style?
Task
What is "Visual Language"?
"It is a system that uses mostly images or symbols to convey meaning. Because of their patterns, the visuals can be understood by a large group of people "
"Visual language can be defined as a system that communicates through visual elements. It is perceived by our eyes and interpreted by our brain, which receives the signal and transforms into sensations, emotions, actions, and thoughts."
Visual language manifests in anything that our eyes can see by the means of shapes, colours, lines and patterns which are arranged in an array of combinations which then our brain decodes giving meaning to what it sees.
I’ve chosen the Illustrator Peter Kuper as the object of my research as I feel more connected to his work and also for his experience in Graphic novel making.
Here's some links for his work:
Website: https://www.peterkuper.com/
Pinterest: https://pin.it/4LEf3kp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuperart/
Sketchbook: https://www.peterkuper.com/sketchbook
Connection between his sketchbook and his creative identity illustrative style?
Based on his published sketchbook "Diario de Oaxaca - A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico" as well as other sketchbook pages displayed on his website, his pages appear to have generally a travel journal format where he sketches his experiences on that country, filling whole pages with cultural elements mixed with landmarks existent on the location that he's sketching. The art is more representational and light toned with less intensity of contrast compared with his illustrative style. Also he seems to experiment more in his sketchbook, often uses watercolour, does some collage, coloured pencil, and does comic panels at times, the material he uses are more portable, typical for someone travelling and sketching.
His Diary of New York, has a similar format, in line with a travel journal but has a darker tone by using more black ink.
Pertaining to the question, "what is the connection between his sketchbooks and his creative identity illustrative style?" , he uses those experiences printed in his sketchbook to aid him in the creation of his fictional, more imaginative work, as he mentioned in an interview which you can find in https://www.printmag.com/post/peter-kuper , where he says the following:
"How will your approach to Ruins be different?
Ruins is a very different book for me. It will be my longest graphic novel, at about 300 full color pages. And it is a work of fiction, though I’m applying my experiences in Mexico and my interest in entomology. Nobody will mistake it for autobiography."
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I believe that the point of this question is to prove that one of the main purposes of a travel journal or some sort of visual journal is that it helps to enrich your personal visual library database thus aiding in the creation of more imaginative drawings/illustrations,. And following this path, an artist gets to develop a more "authentic" artistic voice as a result of sketching his everyday. Sketching what's around you definitely helps to produce more imaginative drawings, from my experience at least.
List of keywords that reflect the visual language of his commissioned work(in no apparent order):
- Political satire
- Social issues
- Visual Journal
- Classic literature adaptations into Graphic Novel
- Travel Journal
- Cartoons
- Autobiographical
- Wordless comic strips
- Irony
- Humor
- Lighthearted/Serious
- World issues
- Black Ink
- Fiction
- Experiences
- Connections from sketchbook to illustration
- Design
- Stencils
- Spraypaint
- Pastel
- Scratchboard
- Watercolour
- Coloured Pencil
- Collage
- Mixed-Media
- Drug use and abuse
- Homelessness
- Art as a form of rebelion
- Sketches
- Photographs
Write a short statement of no more than 200 words to describe Peter Kuper's work and visual language.
What initially struck me about Peter Kuper's work in relation to other artists in this research task was his choice of materials and his work in comics and the themes of his illustrations. His illustration work deals with political satire and social issues which he portrays with sarcasm, creativity and a witty humour.
His illustrations are predominantly made with spray paint and paper cut stencils as well as scratchboard with black ink. His work is highly stylized, typically distorting real world subjects into more abstract and simplified shapes which are adapted and arranged to suit the message he's trying to portray.
He has an incredible sense of design and composition by the ability to portray abstract and metaphysical concepts like social injustice and world politics, having a clear focal point and able to build a narrative with the arrangement of simple shapes.
Furthermore, his wordless comic strips are read very clearly without the aid of words because of his compositional skill and has a single and clear focal point, he uses very expressive gestural cartoony character full of dynamism and he can adapt to the tone of a story by using materials and colour palletes that better adapt to suit the narrative, In "Metamorphosis" he uses black ink and has more rough marks with hatching delineating the sharp contrast between the black and white. In his book "Drawn to New York" he uses so stencil cut paper and spray paint which creates a more gentle contrast of dark to light.
I really enjoyed researching this artist because of how he can abstract to an extreme degree for the benefit of a narrative and his experience of sequential art and storytelling skills which is a highly valuable for someone learning that area of illustration,
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