The challenge of this assignment was to select any non-political members of the rich and famous who continue to flaunt their excessive wealth during current societal hardships. We were then instructed to include at least 6 different, recognizable, interacting head/upper torso studies of these respective figures. We were to include at least 6 different, interacting, mostly full figures, of recognizable people that fell in the aforementioned category and then place them in opulent settings to set the background stage. We were allowed to use biting humor or irony whenever possible and to try and capture each portrait with a different type of media both traditional and non-traditional. Lastly, the layout should be that of a magazine spread including a headline, subhead, and one column of text and set the margins and page layout to that of an existing magazine.
Our instructor was quite a character and instructed our process as such: Brainstorm and begin Thumbnails and Media Experimentation: Please yourself. Go directions that interest you including sports, fashion, Hollywood, Nashville, TV, pop music, chefs and famous restaurants, financial world, etc. Examine money itself: Dollars, Euros and Yen etc. Consider rich and famous from other countries including Russia, China, England, France, Italy, India etc. Begin thumbnails on unlined paper. Really make something of this. Besides faces and figures include symbols of wealth such as gold bars and coins, jewelry, designer sunglasses, fancy hats, shoes and ties, furs, limos, private planes, first class travel, servants, agents, body guards, penthouses, expensive labels of food, drink, cigars and all other manner of opulent excess. Research faces/figures on line, and in magazine and books. Employ humor. No black. Other colors only. Create your darks as the Impressionists did. After 25-50 thumbnails investigate your portrait/figure studies with a dozen or more wet and dry media. Colored pencil, graphite, scratch board, wood cut, water color, acrylic, markers, gauche, collage, and, experimental media such as tea, coffee, needle work, dirt, shoe polish, chocolate syrup. Experiment with a variety of smooth and textured surfaces such as tracing paper, cardboard, brown paper, clear acetate, wood. Work size comfortable for you. We can always reduce or enlarge. Consider full color, analogous and monochromatic. Scan into computer: Manipulate images and color in artistic and creative ways. Combine images with required headline and text in 11" x 17" horizontal spreads. Use spread layout and page details of appropriate magazine. Think and work! That sums up our process quite nicely and boy oh boy do I miss my mentor and professor Phil.
The final outcome was a visually true Babette's Feast of excessive opulence. We intentionally avoided politicians since we had just completed a major political project the semester before. The "Let them Eat Cash" was our theme title and applied to the final magazine spread tagline. The characters I chose to use are still relevant today, more than we may like. I had a lot of fun with this project and enjoyed being pushed out of my comfort zone to produce creative illustrations from non-traditional mediums.
Years later the impact of this project resonated as one of my chosen characters somehow was elected President. Baffling the lasting impression these modern day Antoinettes still hold on our society. If we made good humans famous by their good deeds rather than terrible humans because we are fixated on their opulence, perhaps the world could start to be a better place.
One foot deep in creative and one foot deep in the alpine. Designing solutions to solve big challenges & suffering in beautiful places.
