"Concious Vibes"

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW)
Medium(s): Micron Pen, Pen & Ink, Sharpie
October 9, 2008




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USD -Design 1- project #2 required to collage images we find, then interpret value and shading using a variety of lines, designs and shapes. Concious vibes relates to the overall composition thats supposed to represent the power of music, and depending what is put out from it, how it can change and unite people for righteousness, and teach them about their own roots and the culture they come from.
Starting from the top, is the Star of Judah, with the lion created in the center of it, which can be referenced back in the description in "Jah is Forever". From the star, come rays extending in every direction. These have a few symbolic reasons withtin themselves. The rays can represent the calling to all displaced African people throughout the world to return to their homeland and regain their culture. Also, they could be causeways, the music in a way is a bridge for people to see things differently and learn something new. The causeways extended outward to all directions on the planet, giving displaced Africans a direct road and path back to their homeland. The rays can also represent the power concious reggae has, as it effects everyone all over the world and has become an international music. Teaching those who may not even be apart of the culture such as I, but have many parallels. The same "outreaching" rays can also be represented in the waves and lines coming off and extending outward off the coast of the continent.
My favorite part of the composition, the heads of an unindividualized Rastafari, a representation of a non-conformed African who is very proud of his roots and culture, and all that which is in him from where he comes from. The happiness he express relates to this, also in Bob Marley's belief that Love itself could literally cure the "sicknesses" such as Racism.
Again in the center appears the Lion of Judah, silhouetted using negative space and a dark background.
Behind the lion is the word "Revolution"..which reggae itself displays on many levels, from a person's individual inner revolution, breaking the robotic way of living in "Babylon" to living a more cultured life...to a global revolution, that which there are true people of Jah (God) versus those that aren't. In the word revolution is the word love (r-EVOL-ution), and with the greatest acts of revolution, are always rooted from the greatest feelings of love. A true revolution cannot exist without fighting for something that a person loves deeply. Before you assume a person or group of people are terrorists, look at their culture and know overall it is based on a love they have within themselves, a love so great they are willing to die for it. Overall in this piece, it is is hidden for that fact, the fact that people usually do not see revolutions are driven from love, that something so opposite from what they feel is right must be straight evil and terrorism.
Below is a soundsystem, with a center speaker blasting through the center. It expresses the power bass has music-wise, but also how many barrers and walls music has the ability to break down and go through. The bottoms of the soundsystems are shaded green, gold, red, using the words themselves as the pattern and color value. Depending on how close I made the words shows the color value. Gold is very bright compared to green and red, so I spaced the word and made the letters bigger, versus red where the word is much smaller and more compacted into each other. The effect is when seen far back enough, the visual is simply shades of value.

"Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war, me say war

That until there are no longer first class
And second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance thanthe colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights are equally
Guaranteed to all, without regard to race
Dis a war
That until that day
The dream of lasting peace, world citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion
To be persued, but never attained
Now everywhere is war, war

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, South Africa sub-human bondage
Have been toppled, utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war,
me say war
War in the east, war in the west War up north, war down south
War, war, rumours of war
And until that day, the African continent
Will not know peace, we Africans will fight
We find it necessary and we know we shall win
As we are confident in the victory
Of good over evil, good over evil, good over evil
Good over evil, good over evil, good over evil"

"War" - Bob Marley and the Wailers




--Artist's Critique--

A collaging composition is definitely my comfort zone, so the assignment was very easy and enjoyable for me. I also havent been able to express my new love for this music on a scale of my artistic talent (not including "Jah is Forever"). Using designs and shapes for shading was also a very new technique, and I enjoy the outcome to the point of it has influenced me to do another piece common to this with similar designs. The fact also I've been wanting to express many things I've learned more deeply in this music through art, and I feel this was a good venting of that knowledge.
I haven't really done any serious composition before using symmatry also, so I treaded new territory in many ways with this project. A thing I would change would be the left face for some reaosn is less appealing to me than the right face. It is somehow different, perhaps the outer-edged shading or what not..perhaps I'll take tracing paper to discover what it is thats so different about the other.
In actuality, the bottom corners seem to pop out because they literally do. I covered to be what I thought was a mistake using ink in a more painting technique to create some cool effect. I was very displeased with it though and thought I had ruined it, until I remembered this was my second attempt, and had an extra canvas board lying around. I cut out the overall shape of the mistake and covered it. As much as it adds to my meaning of "breaking barriers", the piece perhaps now is too static with the technique and the style. Perhaps the painted flowing ink would have given it a more visiual appeal.
Other than that thought, I thought this was a very well-developed and designed composition, using new techniques to create the same effects I've always done before. This project was very fun and interesting, and I'll enjoy doing another like it.