Surrealism has had a profound effect on all art following the movement. Now that I am taking a surrealism class, I recognize more and more the surrealistic nature of my own work. I have been attempting to grasp a solid description of what the term actually means since the beginning of the class. To me, surrealism is when an image does not filter through my mind smoothly. Rather, bits and pieces of juxtapositions get caught in the cogs of my mind, and trigger something deeper that I can't quite articulate. Although, I feel it. So therefore, surrealism is not just when it is labelled by art critics, historians and artists as surrealism. There are moments of the surreal everywhere. 

The illustrator Ben Shahn plays with some of these surreal juxtapositions throughout his work. It is in the way the plays with proportions and scale. The way that his bold lines clash with gritty color that creates an almost collage effect. Shahn had a keen ability of meshing the expressive with bold and clear forms. It is a perfect balance for an illustrator. He brought all kinds of elements to the table including the surreal in a compact and registerable image. It is something that I as an illustrator, strive for in my work. 

I have witnessed some of David Lynch's work. And I have heard about his work even more. The only comparison to "Eraserhead" I  have is "Straight Story". "Eraserhead" is about as far away as  you can get from it. I think one of the first things I realized about this movie was its absense of music. It is the light droning atmospheric noises that keep you interested, and I feel more fully alert of what is happening visually on the screen. The world seems vacant and the characters appear almost cut off from society. The movies awkward juxtapositions add an extremely surreal element to the film also. The shot of the father yelling about his knee with the sound of loud pistons in the background really got into my head. The moments importance seemed escalated  far above what I expected. And then it was never spoken of again. Themes of disease and supernatural higher powers are threaded throughout. I feel like I was waiting intensely for these foreshadowed moments and themes to be unravelled in the movie at some point. However, they never were. I was a little disappointed when nothing was revealed at the end. But it was also the mystery that kept me interested and locked in. The answers aren't always what is needed. Overall I found the movie pretty interesting. Something I think I should watch again to clear some unfinished thoughts.

Illustration in todays day and age has seen some pretty dramatic changes. It seems that if you want to be working successfully as an illustrator, proficiency in at least photoshop and illustrator are essential. I have dabbled with these programs, but havent gotten comfortable enough to use them to my full advantage. On one hand I see the digital age as a great tool for exploration and more freedom in the sense that there is the option of working in layers. So why haven't I taken advantage of this exciting way of working? It's a question I've toiled with for some time. Maybe I just haven't had a class that's really pushed me to use it. Although I am pretty self-motivated and usually have full access to these programs. It's almost as if I have a phobia to the adobe suite. Working on the screen makes me feel cramped and confined, even with all the layers. It's a phobia I need to get over though. It's also one of my biggest fears about going into the industry after school. Don't get me wrong. There are countless numbers of illustrators that are still working with brush or other mediums outside the computer. And I think I will definetely be working that way the majority of the time. I see the computer as a helping hand. A way of making changes and sending files to clients. A way of becoming a self-sufficient illustrator in the modern world. 

persepolis reading

I had the book persepolis sitting in my house back in mass for a long time. I meant to always pick it up and read it, but i just never had the time or motivation. This reading assignment was good for me, seeing as I finally was forced to analyze it. I think a part of the reason I hadn't, was the style of the book. I was never astonished by the artwork, which plays a big role in which graphic novels i actually flip through. Although, as I read through the book, the style began to grow on me. It made more and more sense that it would be a bold black and white imagery. The story parallels the style. The content was intersting, and informative. It reminded me of Epileptic by David B. which doesn't get nearly the publicity that Persepolis gets. In my opinion, I found the layouts and storytelling to be better then Persepolis. But Persepolis is covering a more encompassing topic, that effected more people. I think this says alot for its popularity. I'm not putting the book down, because I thought it was a nice read. I just find it interesting what filters out to the masses, and why.