Studio 1: Printmaking as a Social Force Part 1

The Studio 1 classes studied how printmaking has been used as a social force to communicate and advocate for change. We looked at examples from the past, such as the Taller de Grafica Popular, as well as contemporary artists, including the Just Seeds cooperative and Luba Lukova. The students chose a social, political, or environmental issue to research and then created a linoleum relief print.

After creating the prints, the students created Photoshop posters.

Shreya B, Grade 12

The issue that my artwork presents is rhino poaching in Africa, where they are being hunted down in large numbers for their horn and skin. The message that everyone should hear and understand from this piece is that rhinos should be preserved as they are soon going to become extinct creatures like dinosaurs and dodo birds. It has already been listed as one of the most endangered species. There has been a steady decline in the rhino population of Zimbabwe from 500,000 rhinos in the 20th century to 20,000 at the present. This decrease in the rhino population was mainly caused by the poaching of this animal. If their poaching continues at this rate, soon there will be no more rhinos left for our future generations to see. Rhino poaching will also affect the food chain and will create imbalance in its ecosystem. The rhino poaching should be completely banned and this rule should be imposed very strictly. This will help the rhino population to grow back and prevent this specie from getting extinct. 

Siddharth G, Grade 12

Skateboarding is a famous action sport, which has been trending a lot and his been a lifestyle for many. It is high flying sport where you are riding your skateboard, which is basically a plank of wood attached to four small wheels. Many people say skateboarding is not a sport but a lifestyle, and there are many stereotyped and orthodox people who hate skateboarders and think all of them are useless and jobless punks trying to act cool and destroy things. It is not sure know who were the few rotten apples on the bag that spoilt the image to people for skateboarding for, being rebellious, anarchist and spraying graffiti everywhere, which lead to many places in the world to skateboard publicly.

I chose my print work to represent how skateboarding is not a crime and how not the majority of the skateboarders are not hooligans but some passionate people trying to enjoy and build career out of skateboarding. Skateboarding has been my passion and I wanted to be a skateboarder since a child, but when I said people I wanted to be a skateboarder, people viewed me differently. They asked me why do you want to be part of those hooligans? Why do you want to do something illegal, which made me very mad and I always wanted to tell them that Skateboarding is not a crime and that skateboarders are not Hooligans.

Inhyuk P, Grade 11

Bullies are not exactly the biggest, strongest guy in the world. They just think of themselves as really cool. – Tom Felton. For the past few months of my school life, I’ve been hearing lots of this word “Bully”. Before getting into the story, what is bully anyway? The definition of bully is someone who shows aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Just to make themselves feel superior over one, and to achieve that satisfaction, people bully the person weaker than them.

Tsewang S, Grade 11

The roof of the world, Tibet, was invaded by their so called “friendly” neighbor, China, in 1949. This conflict went on for the next 10 years as the Tibetans struggled in their own homeland under harsh oppressions. In 1959, China finally took over the country as the spiritual and former political leader, H.H the 14th Dalai Lama took flight over the Himalayas, and took refuge in India. Here the Dalai Lama, along with other Tibetans set up the Tibetan government in exile which still cries out for an autonomous, democratic state. After imposing strict control in Tibet, China has restricted and demolished many traditional beliefs. In the process of conquering the land, China destroyed over 5000 monasteries, taking all the valuable items, such as statues, back to Beijing, and using the metal for other purposes.

The issue I explored for my artwork is the restraints Tibetans are facing in their own home country. The picture depicts the harsh conditions they have to live against and death resulting to one of the many punishments for disobeying. I think that people should know the strict implications China has put on Tibet, and how people are refrained from voicing out their opinions. I chose this because I am a Tibetan and this issue expresses what I think. No one should live in fear of consequences, but do what they do because they want to. 

Yangla L, Grade 12

America declared a global ‘War on Terror’ in 2001, the year when its World Trade Centers were attacked by Al-Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden, the leader of this organization, who had orchestrated the entire attack was eventually found and killed in 2011, a decade after the attack, proving after years of fighting that this war was finally a success. However, was it truly a victory? The costs and casualties of the war have by far masked the benefits of ‘winning’ the war. Its negative impact on the portrayal of Muslims and their religion have helped to push forward then number of violent acts against the. The ‘War on Terror’ or the Iraq War have not helped America or the rest of the world in its attempt to combat terrorism, instead they have made themselves terrorists by the methods that they have chosen to deal with this global issue.   

The cost of this war was over 4.4 trillion dollars and the death toll, nearly 900,000, four fifths of them innocent Muslim civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan that are now branded as ‘terrorists’. In December 2001, America bombed Afghanistan for allowing the ‘terrorist’ network Al Qaeda to stay there. 3500 people died that day, more died in one day of the decade long war than in the huge calamity of 9/11. Over 6000 American soldiers were killed in the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq along with thousands of journalists and academics. The continuous violent attacks in the two countries have made them two of the most dangerous places to live, hazardous for both foreigners and its inhabitants. The war has hurt more innocent civilians than the members of the Al Qaeda

This war, also known as the Global War on Terror, has had participants from all over the world proving its importance and stand against terrorism. Yet, has this war actually managed to eradicate terrorism from this world or even lessen it? Or has it managed to do the exact opposite. The US has been fighting terror with terror, violence with violence and while doing so has managed to achieve nothing at all except the destruction of all. 

Yesua J, Grade 11

No statement.

Yohan C, Grade 12

Female infanticide is still a burning issue in India. Many of the local people usually in villages, because of their culture feel that female children are a burden on the family and having a boy is a lot more beneficial. So if they have a female baby they kill it or abort it when they find out the sex.The reasons for these atrocities are that females are generally less valued in  Indian society, as a result of the fact that most people still do not view them as being capable to become bread-winners, and support families, therefore having a male child is much more desirable, while having a girl is seen as being an unnecessary burden on the family. The negative impact that this is currently having on India’s population is that there are currently much more men than women in India today, which is leading to a situation in which it ia hard for many young men to find someone to marry. Thus, the rate of rape has also gone up corresponded.  

Zarina M, Grade 11

The concept of the poorer people being under the rich people, and wanting to be more like them is what I am trying to portray in this picture. The skeleton hand in the center is reaching up to a necklace. The hand is a skeleton because it depicts the poor people, and the necklace is the symbol of the rich, who are above the poor people. The hand not being able to touch the necklace is a depiction of being ‘untouchable’ which is a common theme in India’s class system. The lowest caste people are called the untouchables, and if anyone touches them, they have to be cleaned with ashes and made ‘pure’ again. 

I addressed this matter because I have been influenced by different books that discuss this separation between human beings. The separation between castes as well as simply different people has made me think a lot about what different people think of each other. I think it is important for people to know that it’s wrong, and that it does not help anyone.  

Anub P, Grade 12

No one exactly knows when racism started or where but what recent history points to is the European thrive of taking over the whole world. Different European countries conquering nations across the world with the faith that they have to save them or introduce them to education and technology led to the initial cause of looking down upon people of different ethnicity. Now, that we have come out of the dark ages where racism was spread across the globe and slave trade was a common thing, we still haven’t been able to cut the roots of this issue completely and thus it is spread across different fields of sports, work and social life.  As the citizens of this new modern world, it is our duty to work together and stop racism. After all, we are all equal and should not be bound to discrimination.

Bidhushi A, Grade 11

Eskom is an electricity supplier in South Africa that is one of the factories that gives off the most carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The monster crawling out of the chimney of the factory is a pollution monster that is slowly “eating” the Earth from the bottom. It is dark and scary, and represents the destruction caused by pollution on our Earth. The plant growing on top of the Earth represents the environment and the overall health of our planet. It is young and fresh and needs a lot of caring and protection to grow into a big, healthy tree. However, the monster is slowly approaching the plant and will soon swallow it if we, the inhabitants of the Earth, don’t do something about it. Overall, the two pieces are to warn people of the danger that we may engulf ourselves in if we do not think about our environment and take actions to save it. 

Dechen T, Grade 11

The topic of my print is about how women have started to break through the chain of society, men and culture oppression. Men and society’s opinions on women have become more liberal, however you can still notice some amount of oppression in today’s lifestyle. For example, women are still not trusted enough to rule or become Presidents in many countries and places. However, every once in a while, there are women who break these prejudice thoughts about women. The courage these women show is remarkable and this is why they are more remembered than most men. They fight for their rights, dreams, stand grounded for their beliefs, and prove their societies wrong in that women are strong, smart, clever, courage’s, and they can be someone successful in their lives.

            My print shows that women will not stand by and just let society and men through them around. It shows the growing power of women, there are unique women all over the world but if all women combine their power (which they have started doing), then women will rise and break away form oppression. My print is to give hope to these rising women. It is to give them courage. It is to give them strength. It is to fight against any type of oppression in women.

Gojen R, Grade 12

I chose human trafficking as my theme for my printmaking project. I chose this theme because I want to remind the people in this world about the forbidden activities that takes place mostly in underdeveloped countries where humans are tricked, sold and transported off somewhere in the world and made to do something out of their will. Where people are given a price tag and are forced into lifestyle for someone else’s pleasure.

            People know that almost every city has brothels, which increase the activity of human trafficking but we still do nothing about it. People should discourage those activities and should pay more attention to stop it.  For instance such slogans that I created for my print can be used to advertise about the exploitation of humans through illegal trade.

            People fall into these traps because of poverty as they trick into these activities by promising them good jobs and opportunities to life. Later, they are just taken away and are forced to do what they want them to do. I truly feel that just by advertising and creating slogans will make even a small difference that will help people make this world a better place. 

Hadisa W, Grade 12

 In comparison with many of its predecessors and competitors the Society of HumanKind can claim to be unique in the extent to which it actively seeks and enthusiastically encourages both unity and diversity among and between its memberships. Others have too often asserted that human communities and organizations cannot be both unified and diverse. Indeed, some commentators claim that the one must be the enemy of the other. How is it then, that the Society of HumanKind is able to reconcile these two very different principles of human social life?

     The answer begins with an understanding of the Aim of the Society and the effort to maintain and promote the social conditions that make an achievement of that Aim possible. The Dogma of the Society sets out the social conditions required for the achievement of the Society's Aim. It asserts that if the human species can survive into the infinite future under conditions that allow continuous growth in human knowledge and skills, then humankind will discover a means to extend life beyond death. On that Dogmatic base the Aim of the Society of HumanKind is then developed by the addition of a commitment by the Society to extend that new gained freedom from oblivion to all past and future generations of humanity. 

Jin Young P, Grade 11

No statement.

Kathryn V, Grade 12

Over the past couple decades, governments and the media have been constantly throwing the words global warming and climate change at us. They expect MY generation to do something about. So they go into classrooms, and teach about ways to change what’s happening instead of going out and changing it themselves. What the system has taught students is that global warming is caused by a rise in greenhouse gases that trap the heat of the sun in the atmosphere, raising the temperature over a relatively short period of time. This heating causes a lot of problems that are more worrisome than the actual temperature.

The rise in temperature has led to the melting of the ice caps and glaciers in particular. This melting of water from its solid form has raised the levels of sea water and has messed up the ocean currents and the water temperature. Several separate studies have found the average temperature have been increased my about 1 cm in the last 50 years; which is actually a big rise. This messing up of the ocean can and is destroying marine ecosystems all around the world. Soon there won’t be any coral reefs to marvel at or fish because the world around them is changing too fast for them to adapt.

Not only has global warming affected the ocean and its inhabitants, but it also has affected the land animals as well. Too little rain in many parts of the world will lead to dehydration, starvation and death. An example would be the savanna in Africa. That biome has a very long dry season, and only a few months of water. If global warming persists, that dry season could lengthen even more and many of the animals would die without the water they need.

As can be seen, many species are at risk of becoming endangered, and some are even going extinct because of the changing of the climate too rapidly.  The adults of this world have put it squarely on their children’s shoulders to fix this problem and that really isn’t fair. This problem should have been on the mend years ago when it was first realized as to BEING a problem. The great-grandchildren of Earth will have nothing to look forward to if global warming is not looked after now.

Louie C, Grade 11

Depression is a sad facet of life. No one really considers depression as an illness. To many, depression is just a feeling of sadness, unhappiness, or misery in the dumps; most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. However, I say that depression is an emotional disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for a longer period of time. Just because symptom of depression is not as clear as other “accepted” illnesses such as cancer and typhoid, we cannot conclude that depression is just a lack of willingness and enthusiasm. Through my artwork, I want everyone to understand the actual meaning of depression and treat depression with the same tolerance and compassion as accepted illnesses.

Mokyoung K, Grade 11

Recently, water wastage has become one of my major concerns. Every day I see people wasting water by keeping the tap running while they brush, not closing the tap properly, taking extra long showers, etc. Through my print, I wanted to spread the message that every drop is precious. The water drop has the image of a globe in it, showing that it is a global issue and everybody needs to contribute in preserving water. I think the center of the image with the hands that are almost holding the water drop speaks for itself. I carved the smaller hands in the corners to show what the consequence of water wastage might be like in the future. Like the hands stretching out desperately for the single drop, if we carry on wasting water, we will be in the same situation.

Namsay N, Grade 11

John F. Kennedy once said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” It is the nemesis of an individual, it constricts and forces one to oblige to its directions. It instills fear in the hearts of individuals thereby erasing any possibility of retaliation. It truly is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

Through my artwork, I wish to send a message of urgency, for individuals to embrace their uniqueness. My artwork has an extremely bi-polar representation of conformity: the darker colors engulf the conformers whose expressions are that of longing and ennui, whereas the cooler, lighter colors dance around the calm, collected, individual who refuses to comply with society’s norm.   

In modern society, most individuals are restricted by the expectations laid on them by society. Society pushes these individuals to submit to its will. The fear of repercussions immobilizes individuals from breaking free of the chains cast on them by society. Therefore, through my artwork, I urge people to work towards a better future and to stand and be firm in their resolution; to break through society’s expectations and pursue their own goals without the burden of conformity.  

Ogen T, Grade 12

Homosexuality has been a taboo in society for as long as we can remember. Just recently, nations are recognizing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and, Transgender (LGBT) community. For centuries homosexuality has been looked down upon and people were even killed for committing such “crimes.”  Activists all around the world have protested for equality among the LGBT community. Even though many countries recognize homosexuality, homosexuals are forbidden to get married, adopt, apply for specific jobs, and basically they are forbidden to live normal lives. Everyone deserves equality so why not the LGBT community?

I chose to do this topic because I feel that this is an issue that is present in every country. Countries should acknowledge homosexuals and not treat them as an outcast. I come from a very traditional family and so my parents dislike the idea of homosexuals because they think that it is against nature. This mindset is slowly changing as our world changes everyday and maybe that is why I support the LGBT community. Although I am not an activist or a strong supporter, I agree with the LGBT cause because everyone has the right to live their own lives as they want.

Human beings are all Homo sapiens no matter your race, background, gender, or sexuality. If we are all the same, discrimination should not be present because we all belong to the same ancestors. Yet, the world still has major problems with discrimination. Homosexuals should be given the right that all humans have because in the end we are all the same. Law makers should understand that the LGBT community does not harm anyone, so why forbid them. It would be understandable if the LGBT community was posing a threat to the others lives, but clearly they are not. People should stop the discrimination against the LGBT community because each individual has the right to make their own decisions about their own lives. 

Pema C, Grade 11

Tigers have been an endangered species for years now, and it’s not getting any better. For the past decade, numerous tigers have been shot and killed for their well known attractive, warm, and soft, excellent quality fur. Their fur is used in households for their attractive designs. It is also made and used as blankets and even coats. They say that the tiger fur is one of the warmest as it can withstand the cold weather. Then another thing that tigers are pouched for is for their teeth and claws. Their teeth make impeccable necklaces, pendants and even designs for shirts, hats and even bracelets. The reason they are pouched is for the numerous and various qualities like the fur and the teeth.

Tigers now days, are being used in circuses for entertainment and even in zoos. I would suggest that tigers should be placed in a wildlife sanctuary to prevent their extinction. Tigers are also a part of the life cycle of the world. They are known to be worshipped in some religions and devilish to others. They have been also known to be used in numerous films and movies like Aladdin, Jungle Book, Tarzan and many more. They have been in our memories as great heroes when we were kids. This is also the reason why I also chose to make the tiger printmaking.   

I chose the tiger as it is one of the most endangered animals in the world, like the white tiger/ Bengal tiger of India. I chose the tiger as it is common and everyone knows about it, but not much care about them being endangered.  I chose the tiger also to represent every other cat like species that are extinct, like the Puma. The tiger is cool and a beauty of nature. Just like any other living thing, I think they have the right to live peacefully. 

Nutchakrit P, Grade 11

The theme of my artworks is “Deforestation”. The reason I chose this theme is because one of the world’s current issue is global warming.  Global warming occurs because people are cutting down trees, which causes negative effects on the environment. In my artworks, I compare the cutting down of trees as cutting the earth in half. This is because I wanted people to know that trees are the heart of our earth, if we’re destroying trees, we’re destroying our earth as well. Basically, mankind will never be able to live on without trees, so let’s “SAVE THE WORLD, STOP DEFORESTATION.”       

  

Rowan L, Grade 10

My artwork is protesting two different issues that are all connected.  First it addresses the issue of the increasing amount of influence that television has over people.  Americans spend hours a day watching TV and it influences their thoughts, actions and lifestyle.  Most TV shows are mindless entertainment meant simply to keep masses of people occupied so they can be fed advertisements.  I have chosen to show this in a negative light by comparing the public to sheep.  The image of a sheep brings to mind a stupid herd animal. A sheep does not think for itself; instead it unquestioningly follows whatever is in front of it weather that is another sheep or in this case a TV.  The TV itself is set above the sheep shining down on them as if it were the authority imposing its will on its subjects. 
        Another trait that is associated with sheep is their lack of individuality which is the second issue addressed by my piece.  Social standards, mass media, fashion, self consciousness and in some cases school, all diminish a person’s uniqueness until they become just a small part of the massive system we call society.  Similarly, sheep are nearly identical and are merely interchangeable parts of a herd.  The use of sheep also comes with another strong symbol, the black sheep.  The black sheep is the opposite of the white sheep and represents an outsider in the group and an individual who will think independently.  The black sheep in this image is shown rejecting the group and the authority by tuning away form the TV.  The term black sheep is sometimes applied to people with a negative connotation.  This image shows it in a positive way but it also gives the viewer a way out of the image.  Calling people dumb sheep may call attention to the issue, but by including the black sheep, I give people a way out of the image.  It is like saying, if you don’t want to be a dumb sheep just think for yourself and walk away.