History of SILHOUETTES
What are silhouettes
an the definition of a Silhouette is an outline drawing filled in with black, Very common examples of this are profile portrait where the entirety is filled with one color. A silhouette can also occur when when a figure or object is blocking light casting their entire form in shadow. Think about trees at a sunrise, those trees are silhouetted. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, silhouettes became popular as cheap, quick ways of capturing likenesses. Often created by amateurs, especially women, they are now known as sentimental keepsakes of the Victorian variety, sweet mementos of anonymous everyday people from the past memorialized in ink, paint, or cut paper, and even painted onto porcelain. Shadow Puppetry Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out shapes of the puppets are then turn into silhouettes to the viewers. Puppeteers then make the puppets move and tell the story action and imagery. Shadow play is popular in various cultures, among both children and adults in many countries around the with both western and eastern alike. Puppet theater is one of longest and oldest forms of theatre . States.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_play This is a unique type of story telling and performance as the actors/ puppeteers relied not on expressions of faces but by the placement of backgrounds and figures silhouetted to tell the story. |
Kara Walker and her Shocking Silhouettes
Kara Walker Fresh out of graduate school, Kara Walker succeeded in shocking the nearly shock-proof art world of the 1990s with her wall-sized cut paper silhouette narrative scenes. At first, the figures in period costume seem to hearken back to an earlier, simpler time. That is, until we notice the horrifying story that she was illustrating: nightmarish vignettes illustrating the history of the American South. Drawing from sources ranging from slave testimonials to historical novels, Kara Walker's work features mammies, pickaninnies, sambos and other brutal stereotypes in a host of situations that are frequently violent and sexual in nature. for more work by kara walker http://sikkemajenkinsco.com/index.php?v=artist&artist=4eece69f3eb4e Turning silhouettes into illustrations Kara Walker is one artist whom uses silhouettes to illustrate a concept or story. Olly Moss a working graphic designer, creates innovative movie posters and graphics that depict amazing scenes using silhouettes or minimalist Technics. Minimalism: A school of abstract painting and sculpture that emphasizes extreme simplification of form, as by the use of basic shapes, so its basically its a step up from basic silhouettes. using Minimalism or silhouettes we are create illustrations that depict a scene of concept from your chosen story. |
Minimalistic or sillouette Illustrations
AssignmentStudents will create an illustration based on a narative their choosing. Students will use the shape of a key componine of their story to tell the story inside of. Students must use at least 7 or more vectored images to tell their story.
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