Dominic S

Artist Statement

            The assignment for this project was to make a relief print about a type of conflict. It made me think about my family history and the good and bad in the world. Before I started on this art project I had to make a mind map of ideas I had for conflict. I constructed the overall layout of my print in my head. The steps in making this work of art that were most important to me were finding out exactly what the conflict was that I was making the art about. This was also the most difficult part of this process.

            My yin yang approach represents the balance between good and bad. The main theme is the Asian style white dragon that is in the middle of the print. This theme is important to me because dragons are a fairly large part of my Japanese heritage. I used the rule of 3rds to bring most attention to the dragon. The dragon is the light part of the yin yang and I put a dark hacky sack on the other side. The meaning of this is to show the balance between good and evil. I incorporated personal stuff from my life to give this artwork more meaning.

            When I was doing my artwork I made sure that I used juxtaposition. I also used the rule of thirds to create emphasis on the dragon. The use of these elements and principle helped me create visual emphasis by attracting the eye to the dragon and emphasizing the yin yang.

            I really enjoyed doing this project. It was fun and helped me think deeper into my heritage. I want to improve on making smoother cuts in the linoleum and giving things a more lifelike appearance. The best part about my piece is how everything just sort of comes together.