Hey, sometimes all that creative energy you’re keeping to yourself is there to “make some noise”. Srsly, don’t be shy; if you’ve got something to SAY, then SAY IT BANG OUT LOUD!
Still confused about what you’re doing here? Read this…
Your TURN to DRAW!
- Activist art and art in activism: think of a “cause” you feel strongly about and make a poster to convince someone to join your cause. Or just for fun, create a favourite saying or quote in “ransom note” style.
- Experiment with visually “noisy” drawing or painting, e.g., with lots of jarring contrasts or more imagery or marks than would would seem necessary.
After Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’, 2011, digital painting
Collage of a random experimentation of brushmarks, 2009, acrylic on cartridge paper
Portrait, 2013, digital painting
After Cezanne’s ‘Bathers”, 2011, digital painting - Explore “rhythm in drawing” which could be in terms of repeating patterns, varying line/mark-making (thickness or darkness), colour (high contrast in hues or tones).
Rhythm here is apparent in the repeating patterns, e.g., in the tree trunk, the grass in the foreground, the tree line in the background
Here the rhythm is one of gentle curves throughout the drawing
Sketch of a Greek temple with ‘rhythm’ appearing as randoms platters of white paint, light and dark lines of varying lengths, darkness, and thickness.
In this linocut print, the subject (plant) and its shadow share the same quality of one – where rhythm is made possible in the ‘staccato’ marks in the background surrounding the plant like a halo and suggesting movement.
The rapid and repeated pattern ofmarks especially in the background offers a kind of ‘movement’ or ‘rhythm’, as does the figure’s pose, appearing to be frozen mid-gesture. Following the contours of his body is another sort of ‘rhythm’. - Here’s another idea to try: Draw something “quiet” like a flower, landscape, or still life. Now, draw the same subject/object and this time, try to make a lot of NOISE when making your drawing (slamming the pencil down, yelling while you draw, or maybe even draw that thing after it has noisily been destroyed. Maybe even put on LOUD MUSIC and draw that same thing). How does drawing something “quiet” loudly compare to drawing something “loud” quietly?
Maybe this Ransom Note gives you a different idea? Let me know!
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<<<<< click to share your creativity – @beware.of.artists
Not only does your creativity need YOU, but here’s a surprise, the world needs your creativity, too! By sharing your response to a Ransom Note, we are building a community who will enjoy, be inspired by, and learn from each other. Who knows, maybe some of us will “find our tribe” or even make the world that tiny bit more pleasant to be in than it was 15 minutes ago!
Other artists who GOT THE NOISE and BRING the RIOT
- Passion for Freedom Festival is a “a tight-knit sisterhood dedicated to their shared values of free expression, and the power of art to inspire, awaken and shake the world.”
Passion for Freedom Festival 2018 in London. - Every June, Pride in London and locations all over the world put on an annual memorial of the historic Pride march and riot that took place in June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, which was a critical turn in gaining LGBTQ+ rights. Half celebration, half protest, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary “Pride Jubilee” celebration with events, activism, and of course, a colossal and colourful march-slash-parade through the centre of London.
- Since 2017, as a response to misogynistic comments by USA’s then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump (which included calling his opponent Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” during their third national campaign debate), Nasty Women global art exhibitions and activism “…serve to demonstrate solidarity among artists who identify with being a Nasty Woman in the face of threats to roll back women’s rights, individual rights, and abortion rights” in the USA and globally.
What other artists or techniques can you think of? Let me know!
Beware of Artists 