Piece 3

My third piece in my concentration is a work portraying the way the media promotes alcohol use. I wanted to show that the media glamorizes the idea of alcohol, making it seem as if alcohol is a pathway to being accepted, fun, and is a beneficial hobby. However, as many teenagers and young adults are targeted by these false messages the media's influence can actually lead to the exact opposite outcome. So for my piece I wanted to represent this issue by contrasting the bottle in the foreground with the sick girl in the background to contrast what the media is selling versus the real results of the product. I began this work as a watercolor pencil drawing but after critique I was encouraged to add layers of imagery and other medias on top of my drawing. I did so by adding CitraSolved images and layering with more watercolor pencil and Sharpie pen. I think by work incorporates the principles of movement, contrast, and balance in the composition and the mark-making of the piece. I feel that this piece is a good representation of my message through mark-making and design.

Piece #2

For my second concentration piece I decided to focus on the message of vanity the media projects onto society. I wanted to portray the emphasis the media puts on outer beauty, vanity, and the image of perfection. I took a similar approach as my last piece by making a collage of images from magazines showing up close, models with a lot of make-up and retouching. Then on top of the collage I drew a portrait of a girl influenced by those messages on tracing paper. I wanted the portrait to represent the influence of the messages of beauty. After the critique in class I decided to emphasize the make-up of the girl and make her look at superficial as possible. I hope my piece generates a reaction from the viewer in order to mirror the strong influence the media has over society.

Concentration #1- Critique Response

For my first concentration piece in my focus on media I am portraying the idea of body image. I first assembled a background for my work out of images of women in fashion and advertisements torn from magazine and collaged together. Then on top of the collage I drew a charcoal drawing of a girl looking insecure and uncomfortable. I wanted the portrait of the girl to express the uneasiness she feels when she sees the images portrayed in magazines and advertisements that try to dictate how she should look or act. I tried to make the expression of the portrait as accurate as I could in order to display the message of body image I am trying to present in this work.

After having a critique in class I received a few suggestions I worked into my piece. My classmates thought the collage/portrait combination was a successful idea and composition and encouraged me to keep working with that idea. I was also encouraged to make the portrait as uncomfortable and insecure as I could in order to emphasize the message. I took these criticisms into account when finishing my piece. As my first concentration piece I think this is a good start to my investigation of the influence of the media.

AP Concentration Statement

For my concentration I want to investigate the media's powerful affect on people. I want to explore the ways in which different outlets of the media ( television, tabloids, magazine, internet, music, etc. ) influence people's daily lives, views, and beliefs. In particular I want to present the ways in which the media distorts certain issues so that the way the public perceives their messages is incorrect or exaggerated. For example, I want to delve into the way the fashion industry presents it self to its readers and how unhealthy activities are often encouraged by the media. To complete my 12 pieces I will be observing coverage and advertisements on television and in magazines, noticing distortions of "reality", and investigating other ways the media presents false messages to the public. As I work through my concentration pieces I want to portray bigger ideas about media- the larger affects the media has on society and the lasting affects it has made on American family and social life.