Introduction
Throughout my semester, I was given a project where I was to create my own costume with the inspiration of multiple artists that were provided on a long list. Doing my research on each and every single artist and observing their art work and styles, I found the perfect one that I felt was the most fitting for me. This particular artist sparked the most interest and I was truly in awe when I saw the style of art. My artist that I chose was Barbara Kruger.
Materials
- Grey Gildan Crewneck
- Grey Jogger Shorts
- Paint Brushes (Large and small brush sizes)
- Acrylic Paint
- Masking Tape
Creative Process
When researching Barbara Kruger, I found that her art style was very simple. She uses a photograph (usually in black and white) for the main background, and writes a text in bold white on top of a simple red box. You may have also seen this style from a famous clothing brand called "Supreme". Just like Kruger's simple artwork, I wanted to imitate the same style onto my costume. Here are some examples of my research and examples of Krugers artwork.
When it came to figuring out what clothing item I wanted to make for my costume, it wasn't hard for me to walk over to my closet and pick out 1 of the many clothes I have stuffed into boxes. I picked out a simple grey gildan crewneck so that I have a large surface area to create my art work.
A side view of my nicely folded sweater.
As a format for my main piece, I used masking tape to make a layout of a rectangle towards the upper part of the sweater. Trying my best to make a perfect rectangle, I measured out the length and height.
I then painted the structured box with red acrylic paint. I painted multiple layers to get a nice bold red box. (3 layers to be exact).
My next step was to use masking tape to make a layout of a larger box around my first red box that I painted. I also placed the red box on the higher side of the outer box so that I have space to paint my main black and white portrait.
For my background on my main piece, I chose a photo of a TV show character name Bubbles from the show 'Trailer Park Boys'. Bubbles is a lovable character. Bubbles is a loyal, big hearted person who cares for all the abandoned kitties around the trailer park.
Using a mixture of black and white paint, I created a replica of the self portrait of Bubbles and placed it onto the centre underneath the bold red box that I painted before. I also used darker paint to create shadows on the face and used white paint to highlight the glasses, eyes and parts of the face.
After contouring the face with highlights and shadows, I finally printed the word "LOVER" in bold white onto the centre of the box. I painted multiple layers of white to make it pop and show as much as I can.
*CLOSE UP*
*CLOSE UP*
My next clothing item that I chose to match with my grey crewneck is a simple pair of light grey jogger shorts. Just like the first bold red square, I used making tape to make an outline of the square and used red acrylic paint in multiple layers to paint on top of the taped layout.
After the red paint dried, I painted the word "LOVER" in bold white on top. I painted multiple layers to get it as bold as I could.
*CLOSE UP*
Here I am modelling my final costume! As you can see, it is very comfy. I would totally rock this look on a regular day.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. At first I thought that this project was odd, but as I researched every single artist on the list, it was very interesting and inspired me to create a decent looking costume. Through working on my costume, I didn't go through any hurdles. This was a very fun project where I felt like my selected artist but using my own image. It was interesting seeing how my artist creates her art work and I enjoyed doing some extra research on her as well. After wearing my full costume to class, I think that I would even wear my costume outside of class as a regular outfit. If I had the opportunity to do this project all over again, I would definitely add a pair of socks and a hat to rock with my fit.
