Research Task 1:
For this research task I was asked to research 18th century political satirists’ work, I need to look at the elements and analyse how certain aspects could be reworked for a more contemporary context.
I need to choose a eighteenth-century political satirist and pick out examples that I think could be successfully re-worked for a contemporary audience. I will strip away the layers of eighteenth-century meaning to establish the core symbolism and metaphors that make the satire work. I will also identify what I would replace with what to make this work for a contemporary setting.
James Gillray:
The selected the three etched pictures below because I felt as though they could be reworked for a contemporary audience.
The Plumb-Pudding in Danger – State Epicures Taking un Petit Souper – 1805
Core symbolism & metaphors: Napoleon and Pitt taking large slices of Europe and the ocean, illustrating the respective areas of power in the ongoing war between Britain and France.
What I would replace to make this contemporary: I would replace Napoleon and Pitt with Putin and Kim Jong-Un cutting the world apart through the threat of nuclear war. The decor and outfits would also be contemporary.
Temperance – Enjoying a frugal meal – 1792
Core symbolism & metaphors: The King sits in an armchair bending forward to eat a boiled egg, the Queen sits opposite him, stuffing salad into her mouth. Everything in the room denotes the desire to save money (frugal), the King has tucked the end of the table-cloth into his collar to protect his dress; his breeches are patched; his chair is swathed in protective coverings, his feet rest on a mat which protects the carpet.
What I would replace to make this contemporary: I would replace the king with Margaret Thatcher and instead of being frugal about herself I would show her eating expensive food whilst others outside struggle to pay for their home and food. I would change the decor and outfits to those of the 1980s.
Sad sloppy weather – 1808
Core symbolism & metaphors: A well dressed man walks along a pavement in rainy weather. He is upset by the poorly maintained pavement as one of the bricks has slipped and a squirt of muddy water has splattered up his stockings. This is either making a joke of Britain’s weather or making a joke of Britain’s unkempt pavements.
What I would replace to make this contemporary: The only part that I would chance would be the outfit that the man wears to an outfit that people would wear today. The rest of the image could stay the same considering Britain’s payments haven’t changed! He also looks like Boris Johnson!!
References:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/367748
Research Task 2:
For this research task I need to find examples of contemporary caricature and identify the elements of the drawing that help with the character recognition and where the caricature takes place. I will answer the questions: From the information contained in the drawing, how do I know who this person is? How has the illustrator exaggerated or embellished this visual information to provide a caricature? What are the connotations of their exaggerations?
I chose to find contemporary caricatures of Donald Trump:
Donald Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. (Just in case you don’t know who he is!)
Rockstar by Andre Carrilho:
“Give Trump a microphone and you’ll have a show! His controversial statements are every journalist’s dream” – quote from CaricatureMaster
“I disagree” by Gary Locke:
“Quite often, Trump uses his Twitter account to comment and disagree on many of the World’s complex political and economy questions”. – quote from CaricatureMaster
Presidential Doll by Marzio Mariani:
“Controversies are normal when you have a billionaire and new president of America on one side, and adorable model from Slovenia on another. Many people feel her smile as a First Lady is far from warm and natural and that it’s dictated by her husband’s politics”. – quote from CaricatureMaster
QUESTIONS:
From the information contained in the drawings, how do I know who this person is?
You know that the illustrations are of Donald Trump because of the Hair (Toupee), Small thin eyes, Pouty Mouth, Fake tan face, Black suit, White shirt and Red tie seen in all three images.
How have the illustrators exaggerated or embellished this visual information to provide a caricature?
The first image shows Donald in a golf pose, as he is closely associated with the sport and has owned golf courses since 1999. Instead of a golf club though he wields a microphone in the way that a ‘rockstar’ would do. It almost looks like he’s doing karaoke. Also the posture looks like there should be an audience in front as if he’s on stage.
The second image shows Donald with his finger pointed upwards as he interjects, his tongue is curled as he speaks revealing his long thin teeth. He also has a big head implying that he is ‘big headed’. As the quote says he likes to comment and disagree on complex world issues that are bound to spark off an argument!
The third image shows Donald in all his fake-tanned glory! With the same expression as the other two images. His wife is included in this image and he has her bound in rope with her fake breasts popping out the top. She is depicted having an equally tiny thin eyed expression. He is shown forcing her to smile with his hands pulling two golden chains attached to her cheeks, showing her greed for money and jewelry and the control that he has over her as if she is a puppet. I also like the small detail of his hand movements because even though he is shown pulling the chains this is also a very known movement for him, he is seen in many photos and videos with this hand movement.
What are the connotations of their exaggerations?
“incompetent,” “arrogant,” “idiot,” “egotistical,” “ignorant,” “great,” ” racist ,” and “narcissistic.”
References:
https://www.caricaturemaster.com/donald-trump-caricature
Exercise 1 – Caricatures and Characters:
For this exercise I need to pick a well known television celebrity and create a caricature of them. The caricature will focus on the celebrities reputation (and what they are known for).
I chose to experiment by creating caricatures of two different celebrities two see how they both differ and their comparisons.
I am going to use Procreate for both illustrations.
Kim Kardashian:
Sketch:
Process:
Final Image:
Donald Trump:
Sketch:
Process:
Final Image:
Evaluation:
I felt as though this exercise went well and the outcomes are strong. I decided to record my design process as I found out how to use screen record on my iPad (I didn’t know I could also capture my drawings! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner!). I am going to record my design process from now on when I draw using my iPad.
I think I captured Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump’s look well. For Kim I exaggerated her large boobs and bum and showed her in full makeup. For Donald I drew him in his usual sneering expression with him fake tan face and suit. I also decided to show Donald wearing dollar sign earrings to symbolise what he is known for or what is important to him. I showed Kim wearing a snazzy sparkly expensive outfit as she is known for them.
On the Donald one I made the annoying mistake of drawing the line art on the sketch layer on Procreate and didn’t notice I had done this until I was about to colour it in! Every illustrators nightmare on Procreate! I ended up warming to the look of the blue sketch lines on the Donald one as it gives the illustration a colder feel overall, especially on his face.
Exercise 2: World Affairs:
For this exercise I need to work with a contemporary news event and create an illustration that comments on it from
a satirical perspective. I need to think about how I will structure this image and what information I need to give the viewer in order for them to understand the context in which the image should be read.
Title of News Article: Vladimir Putin says military cooperation with Kim Jong Un a possibility
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66783384
Idea and Initial Sketch:
Linework:
Design Process of Linework:
COLOURED ILLUSTRATION:
I tested my illustration out by showing it to my Mother and asking for critique. She knew who both people were at first glance and what the symbolism was in the illustration. She advised me to make Putin’s face darker as in comparison to Kim, Putin’s face looks ‘too normal’. I took this advice and added more wrinkles to Putin’s face and added some dark rings around his eyes which is what he has in photos.
ammended Coloured illustration:
Evaluation:
I really enjoyed this exercise. My final piece really stands out and I am pleased with it. I can see it being used in a newspaper or online articles.
I wanted to show an image of Putin and Kim joining forces and their obsessions with Nuclear weapons, especially targeted at the West.
I tried to add a lot of detail into this illustration including the way that both people are wrapped around the Earth like babies, symbolising greed. They are both looking into each others eyes, and blushing almost as if they are attracted to each other, which they are but instead of in a sexual way, it’s in a powerful way! They both have big heads…this is self explanatory. The nuclear warheads that both are holding show the colours of their countries flags, just incase you didn’t know who they were!
I again showed my design process of creating this illustration on Procreate, it was interesting to look back on.
OCA Learning Log 