PROJECT: OUT OF THEIR TIME

Helping Student Expression

OBJECTIVE:

Artists throughout the ages have been commissioned to immortalize their patrons in portraits, document
current events of the day, & pay homage to times & places far in the past, oftentimes using their talents
to sanitize/idealize their subject matter. Take a page out of an illustrator’s handbook and revisit part of
the past to make it seem new and relevant to an audience here & now. Consider it the equivalent of
“what’s old is new again”, while also taking the opportunity to provide some commentary on some
present-day socio-political narratives. Make some new statements and tell some new stories!
ASSIGNMENT:
Transplant some figures/characters from out of their designated art-history era and into ours, in 2
separate illustrations: one being a positive scenario, and the other, a negative one. To do this, first choose
a small # of famous pieces of art from past decades/centuries to research thoroughly. Learn the stories of
their creation; who commissioned the work? What does it represent/display/symbolize? What is
significant about the artist’s style? What parallels to today’s society can you find in any aspect of the
piece?
REQUIREMENTS:
• 2 illustrations: one must be positive in nature, and the other, negative.
• No limit on the # of figures you incorporate, but be aware of the time you have to complete things.
• Each transplanted figure should “carry” at least one element from its original source; this can be literal
or metaphorical. (For example, the style in which the figure was originally rendered can be this
element, contrasting against your own).
• The same figure(s) need not appear in both pieces, BUT- both pieces should look related.
• Your work should be completed in full color, unless you can convince me your concept is better
realized without it.
REMINDERS:
• Obvious route is to look at portraits, but consider other options.
• You may wish to play up a “fish out of water” context for the benefit of your narratives. (For example,
might these transplants be wearing something that makes them stand out? What is their reaction to
their new environment? What might other figures’ reactions be to them?)
• The statements you and your classmates wish to make through your illustrations should be as diverse
& individual as you yourselves are. Don’t worry if your approach is totally different from everyone
else’s ideas
• Don’t feel like you have to be super-serious with the subject matter… fit your illustration style to your
own personal tastes. (Can you see some potentially humorous solutions?)
PARAMETERS:
SIZE: 12” x 16”, each Illustration. Horizontal or vertical format.
MEDIA: Open. Consider a mixed-media approach.
SCHEDULE: