Homework Assignment #3, due Monday, February 6

EXPLORING "DRAWING WITH SCISSORS"

Taking our cues from Henri Matisse’s cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes, this assignment is about exploring the concept of drawing by means of cutting. You will be using one sheet of your white sketch vellum and several sheets of colored paper of the same color (all art supply stores sell cheap sheets of colored paper made by Canson, but you can use anything, as long as it is a solid color). You may use whatever color you’d like, but choose something that is dark enough to contrast sufficiently with the white of your ground and something that has some special appeal or meaning to you. The color you choose should contribute something to the meaning of your piece (i.e., form and content are not separate!).

Using either one of your figure drawings from class, a live model (clothed is fine), or a compelling photograph as reference material (no working from the computer!), begin by studying your subject/s and seeing simplified shapes instead of the real-world objects you are looking at. Next, cut your colored paper into interesting shapes that reflect your analysis of your subject/s. The shapes can be large or small, organic or geometric, abstract or representational, or any combination thereof. Be sure to cut out a lot of shapes before you start affixing anything to your paper. You will want to spend a lot of time considering your arrangement of elements in order to make a composition that is both visually exciting and suggestive of some kind of narrative or emotional content. When you arrive at a final composition, attach your elements to the paper with glue – or else sew them in with needle and thread, staple them on, or do something else that seems fitting with the content of your work.

In making your composition, be sure to give equal consideration to both the elements and the white ground. Remember that the negative space shapes you create and the way your shapes “cut up” the picture plane are important parts of the narrative you’re constructing. Because you’re only using one color, you’ll want to avoid layering your elements too densely; instead, concentrate on exploiting the whiteness of the ground to give definition to your shapes.