 Image created by DRHSART student, Taylor Moore (class of 2011)  Image created by DRHSART student, Sunny Kim (class of 2008)  | GO BEYOND THE OLD MASTERS THE BIG IDEA: STUDY THE PAST → UNDERSTAND IT → TRANSFORM IT Artists do not create in a vacuum. They study other artists. They borrow, respond, remix, reinterpret, reject, and build upon ideas that came before them. For this assignment, you will begin by closely studying a drawing by an Old Master. Your job, however, is not to simply copy it. Instead, you will investigate HOW the artist drew, learn from those decisions, and then transform the original artwork into a contemporary mixed-media drawing that demonstrates both the Old Master's influence and your own artistic voice. The challenge is simple to describe but difficult to accomplish: How can you take something that is centuries old and make it feel like it belongs in a contemporary art gallery while still retaining the integrity of the marks made by the original artist? This project is an introduction to appropriation and reinterpretation, important practices used throughout the history of art and contemporary art. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES Every successful artwork in this project must accomplish BOTH of the following: 1. MASTER THE MARKS Before you transform anything, you need to prove that you have really looked. Study the Old Master's drawing closely enough that your own work demonstrates an understanding of the artist's visual language. When we talk about mark-making, we mean things such as:
Ask yourself: If my drawing were placed beside the original, would someone see visual evidence that I carefully studied how this artist made marks? If the answer is no, you need to keep looking and drawing. 2. TRANSFORM THE MEANING Once you understand the original artist's visual language, your second responsibility is to make the artwork your own. This is where you must GO BEYOND THE OLD MASTER. Changing the color, adding a background, splattering paint, or attaching collage does not automatically make an artwork contemporary. Those things change the appearance. I want you to consider changing the context, meaning, narrative, or point of view. What does my artwork mean NOW that the original artwork did not mean before? You might transform:
DON'T JUST DECORATE IT Adding flowers, paint drips, collage, doodles, text, stitching, photographs, or bright colors can create interesting visual effects, but those additions should contribute to the idea of the artwork. Do not simply draw the Old Master and then decorate around it. Your contemporary additions should feel integrated into the composition. Think about: overlap • scale • cropping • repetition • transparency • layering • negative space • visual hierarchy • movement • contrast • texture • balance The viewer should feel that the historical and contemporary elements belong in the same visual world. BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR FINAL DRAWING Do not immediately begin working on your final Fabriano paper. Strong artwork usually develops through investigation, not through the first idea that enters your head. Before beginning your final piece, you should investigate: MARK-MAKING Create at least one small study in which you attempt to reproduce the Old Master's line quality, hatching, shading, textures, and other marks. COMPOSITION Experiment with different arrangements before committing to the final design. Consider scale, placement, cropping, focal point, negative space, and movement. CONCEPT Generate multiple possibilities for transforming the original artwork. Ask: Why am I changing this? What am I trying to communicate? Why does this material belong here? What might the viewer think or feel? Is my idea actually transforming the original—or simply decorating it? Your first idea does not have to become your final idea. Artists revise ideas before they revise artworks. MATERIALS + EXPERIMENTATION You will receive one sheet of Fabriano handmade 90 lb drawing paper. This is beautiful paper that responds well to drawing, staining, wet media, collage, and many mixed-media processes. Experiment. Possible materials might include: graphite • charcoal • ink • colored pencil • watercolor • acrylic • collage • stitching • transferred imagery • markers • found materials • text • unconventional drawing tools You are not limited to this list. However, remember: Using more materials does not automatically make an artwork more sophisticated. Choose materials because they support your concept and visual language, not simply because they are available. Meaningful experimentation involves uncertainty. You should be willing to try something when you don't completely know what will happen. PROPORTION + THE GRID Proportion is part of the evaluation for this assignment. You may use the grid method, but you are not required to. The grid system was used during the Renaissance and is a completely valid method for accurately transferring proportions. If you choose to use a grid:
Whether you use a grid or work through direct observation, you are responsible for carefully considering: proportion • anatomy • placement • scale • structure • cropping CRAFT THE IMAGE, DON'T JUST LET IT HAPPEN There is an important difference between experimentation and simply accepting whatever happens. Accidents can become wonderful parts of an artwork, but artists still make decisions about whether those accidents belong. Throughout the process, stop and look. Ask yourself: What is my focal point? Where does my eye travel? Is something becoming too visually heavy? Is an area unnecessarily empty? Are my proportions believable? Do my materials feel connected? Are the Old Master's marks still visible? Is my contemporary idea becoming clearer or disappearing? What needs to be added? More importantly, what needs to be removed? FINISHED DOES NOT MEAN "I FILLED THE PAPER" One of the most important habits you can develop as an artist is learning the difference between stopping and finishing. If you believe you are finished early, that does not mean your responsibility to the artwork is over. It means you have earned something extremely valuable: TIME TO REFINE. Look again. Correct awkward proportions. Strengthen important marks. Resolve unfinished areas. Adjust contrast. Reconsider cropping. Integrate materials. Remove unnecessary information. Strengthen the focal point. Photograph the work and look at it on a screen. Ask another artist what they notice first. Then return to the artwork. Strong artists frequently spend as much time refining decisions as they do generating them. WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR Your work will be evaluated according to the strength of your: Observation Is there convincing evidence that you studied the Old Master's actual mark-making? Proportion + Structure Are the forms carefully observed and intentionally constructed? Composition Does the arrangement of visual information guide the viewer effectively? Contemporary Transformation Have you meaningfully changed the context rather than simply copied or decorated the original? Concept Is there an idea, question, narrative, or point of view behind your decisions? Mixed-Media Integration Do the materials interact meaningfully rather than appearing pasted onto separate parts of the artwork? Experimentation + Risk-Taking Did you move beyond familiar solutions and allow yourself to investigate something uncertain? Craftsmanship + Refinement Does the artwork demonstrate patience, revision, control, and attention to detail? Intentionality Can you explain WHY you made your major artistic decisions?  Etching by Albrecht Durer titled "The Draughtsman's Net" |
Use This List of Old Master's Names To Find Your Inspiration Renaissance:
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