American image

Rochester Institute of Technology

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8-1-1990

American image

Eun-Hee Jeon

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ROCHESTER

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

AThesis Submittedto the

Faculty

of

The College of FineandApplied Arts in

Candidacy

for the Degree of

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

AMERICAN IMAGE BY

EUN-HEEJEON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. EAGLE 1 5

III. EAGLE 2 8

IV. EAGLE 3 11

V. CONCLUSION

13

ILLUSTRATIONS

1 ). Lake

2). Road

3). Grass Land

4). Rock

5). Sunset

6). Night of Desert

7). Rochester Weather Bra

I. Introduction

In this

thesis,

I will describe

my

deep

impressionsabout "The Image ofAmerica" through the eyes ofaforeigner. Mywork

is

usually

an expressionof

my

inner

self, my

feelings,

_experiences,

concepts,

dreamsandhopes. An idea or

thing

is the source of

my

expression. The purpose of

my

thesis to present

my

ideasonthis image ofAmerica. Toprojectthese

ideas,

I used various metals and design elements such as

line,

shape, color,

andform which offered mea widerange of characteristics. Tobreak thoughthe limitations of colorin

using metal,

I introduced the techniqueof oil painting.

Having

tried toexpress

my

feelingsaboutAmericasince I

startedto

study

in this

country

twoyears

ago,

I decided to base

my

thesis onthesethoughts.

WhenI began

my

thesis

work,

I intended toreflect on

"AmericanImage". "What is America?".

My

first ideawasthe

image of an eagle. The eagleis the symbol of

America,

which

representsstrength andfreedom. With this thought in_my

mind,

I

used

my

feelingsand intuition to createthe design. The shape of

my

work is

very

abstractand austere. I simplifiedthe eagleformto

reflect

my

inner

self,

and

my

happinessand hardshipswhile

serving

inaforeign country. The use of colorin_mywork helps to

portray

these feelingsmore vividly.

Theabstractionof

my

work allowsdifferent images to form

in peoples'

minds.

My

innerselfpresents itself in

many

different

ways. Whether itappears as an eagle or

rocket,

themessage of

powerand strength isstillapparent.

I divided

my

thesiswork

by

shape into three parts.Thefirst

The shapesofthe eagles are

very severe,

two dimensional

works.

They

exist on

only

one

plain,

and act onthe

body

merely

as ornamentation.

The secondpart ismore

abstract,

and whilethe shape of the

eagle design is not yetthree

dimensional, they

have some volume

to them.

They

still exist _verycloseto the

body

and describe it.

The third part containsthe largest pieces of

my work,

whichare

completely

three dimensional. The forms exist

separately

from the

body,

sculpting

the human form to

my

desires.

The oil paintings on ofthese

jewelry

pieces show American scenery.

All ofthetitles of

my

pieces arisefromthe

scenery

I have painted on

small metal areas.

I have traveled to

many

places in thismassive

country,

but

could not

fully

realizehow it looked untilI startedtopaintthe scenic

impressions from

my

memories as part of

my

jewelry

pieces. The

abouttherepresented symbols of places with whichI was most

impressed with.

Painting

on metal is

very

interesting

because it breaks the

II. Eagle 1

In this phase of

my

workthe pieces are _simplified, less abstract eagle shapes in comparisonwith other pieces.

The forms used have the eagle withinthemand

they

have

been put into an almost cubistic

style,

sothat

only

the

feeling

of "eagle" isapparent.

Painted landscapesare used on these

jewelry

_pieces,

which isthe consistant part of

my

pieces.

A. Lake (illustration 1

)

The entire eagle image is represented

here,

emphasizing

softerfeelings and a sense offreedom. I

conveythese thoughts

by

using curved linesand rounded

forms.

I was impressed

by

boththe size and peacefulness of

Lake Ontario. This large lake is one ofthe Great Lakes in

the United Statesand hasthe blue color ofthe United States

flag. I symbolizedthis peacefulness withthe

deep

blue

The materials are

silver,

gold,

gold

leaf,

stainless steel

and oil

paint,

and it functionsasa pin. The size is 7" x 5"

x

0.5"

. The techniques I used are die

forming,

marriage of

metal,

open

work,

gold leafand

painting

on metal.

B. Road (illustration

2)

My

first image ofthis

country

was one of strength and

power,

which I have represented with straight lines.

My

work

titled_Lake(illustration1

)

hasa

very

feminine

quality

comparedwiththe themoremasculine Road piece.

With this piece have I expressed

my

feelingsaboutthe

many

freewaysand highways in this country. Thereare so

many,

andtheyaresovast.

They

go everywhere with speed

and thrust. Theabilityto travel isatrue expression of

freedom.

The materials are

silver, nickel,

gold

leaf,

stainless

steel,

oil

paint,

and it functionsas a pin. It's size is 9" x 3" x r . The

techniques I used are die

forming,

kum

bu,

and

painting

on

metal.

C. Grassland (illustration

3)

The entire shape ofthis piece is the representation of

the eagle's

wing

and

beak,

and thewing's shape in the sky. I

alsoattempted a sculptural effect in this area with erect

zigzag

lines..

One

interesting

aspect ofthe United States is that

really

wide fields of grass are everywhere. I paintedthis

from

my

memories of a huge field I had seen when I first

arrived in this country. In

my country,

such a

thing

does not

exit. Thereare

many

peopleandtoo little space. The vast

empty

land was a shocktome and when I went

home,

I

found that _{my country}had shrunk and become crowded.

Thematerials are

silver,

24K

gold,

stainless

steel,

and

oil

paint,

andfunctions as a pin. It's size is 1 0" x 3" x r.

III. Eagle 2

Compared

with Eagle I, Eagle ii iscloserto

being

three

dimensional. It contains muchmore

volume,

but still exists

on a single plain.

A characteristic ofthis piece is that the lines bend

around the

chest,

the

shoulder,

and the neck. The

materials,

the

sizes,

andtechniquesare similarto Eagle I.

A. Rock (Illustration

4)

Rock isa chestpin that I designed from

my

concept

ofthe eagle's beak. It is supposedto be placed right in the

middle ofthe

chest,

sothat the line goes withthe side of

chest

line,

and its height is the same asthe chest height.

The subject is the Grand Canyonwith huge cliffs and

gaping valleys, large enough to swallow entire cities. I

rememberit was

very

windy

that

day

when I wasthere. I felt

as though ifI was not

careful,

I would be sucked

up

by

the

wind and swept

away

into the void. I described it in painting:

The wind

by

brushing techniques,

and the huge rock with

color. The formsalso echothe

windsock,

showing my

desire

to restrainthis

threatening

wind.

Thematerials are

silver,

ivory,

1 4K

gold,

24K

gold,

and stainless steel and it functionsas a pin. It is size is 6" x

3"

x 1 . The technique used is

painting

on metal.

B. Sunset (Illustration

5)

This piece uses two parts ofthe eagle'swing. I tried

tomake it more

interesting by

avoiding

similar patterns or

size. I made it to go overthe shoulderline from the front of

the body. It fits the shoulder perfectly. When people wear

this

pin,

the

feeling

is

very

comfatible.

The subject ofthe

painting

is the sunset. I am sure

that sunsettime is themost beautifultime in

Rochester,

no

matterwhich season it is. I usedthe colors ofthose sunsets I

have observed.

Thematerials are

silver,

24K

gold,

stainless steeland

oil _paintings, and it functionsas a pin. The size 1 2" x 3" x

1 . Thetechniquesare die

forming,

kum buand oil

C. Night ofDesertfIllustration

6)

Night ofDesert reflectsthe eagle's

body,

the

beak,

and the tail. Therearetwo

soaring

eagles depicted in a

semi -circularfashion so it fits the upper part ofthe chest

and also hasthe characteristic of a necklace.

In this

painting

I triedto capturethe image ofthe

desert in New Mexico. The first attempt reflectedthe

burning

desert

during

the day.

By

accident,

I

really

burned it

withthe

soldering

torch. It came out much better than I

initially thought,

and gavemethe impression ofthat desert

night in New Mexico.

Thematerial is

silver,

24K

gold,

stainless steeland oil

paintingand it functionsasa pin. Its size is 1 0" x

6"

x 1 .5".

The techniques I used are die

forming,

kum bu and

painting

on metal.

IV. Eagle 3

This piece hasa

very

sculptural

intent,

withthree

dimensions. Thismeansthat it hasafront

view,

side views

and back view. I designed itas

clothing

and notjust as a

jewelry

piece. The braand arm pin in this sense of are

my

interpretations ofthis idea.

A. RochesterWeatherBra (Illustration

7)

I tried toavoidthe usual idea of

jewelry

pieces

by

the

design of a biggerpiece. I tried to create afashionwith

metal.

My

intentionwastomake a pieceto function as

clothing

as well asjewelry. I transformed threewings and

gavethe impression ofa sculptural effect.

The subject ofthe

painting

is Rochesterweather. I

stayed in Rochester for two_years, except

summertimes,

and most ofthose dayswere _snowywith

gray

clouds and

very

coldwinds. I expressed

my

dissatisfaction withthe

weather

by

_using symbolic colors such as

gray,

black,

brown

and white.

Thematerial is

silver,

brass,

stainless steel and oil

paint,

and it functionsas a pin. Its size is 1 1 x 1

2"

x 1 0".

The techniques I used are die

forming

and

painting

on metal.

B.Vtove (Illustration

8)

Forthis piece I simplifiedtwo ofthe _eagles,

juxtaposing

their images. Thiswork goes aroundthe edge

ofthe

shoulder,

a little bitabove the flow onthearm.

This piece is _veryunique compared with

my

other

work because I haven't used

any

paint. Instead of

painting,

I

used 24K gold

sheets,

trying

to expressthe hugewaves and

sunshine onthe Pacific Ocean shore in California.

Thematerial is

silver,

24K gold and

brass,

and it

functions as an arm pin. The size 1 0" x 5" x4" . The

techniques are die

forming

and kumbu.

V. CONCLUSION

From thepointof view of a

foreigner,

I have tried to

express

my

impressions ofthis

country

during

my stay

here. I

usedthe shape ofthe eagle as a physical

feature,

because it isthe

symbolofthe United States. I have incorporated small paintingsto

express

my

feelingsaboutAmerica.

Themost important element in

my

thesis is theshape ofthe

lines. The straight

lines,

to

me,

symbolize

strength,

andthe

curvedlines symbolizethe freedomofthis country. In

America,

the

environmentinfluencesnot

only

life,

but also creationfreely.

Therefore,

my

work willbe touched

by

America forever.

I created

my

workfrom

my

point of viewas a

foreigner;

I feel

my

vision is differentfrom thatofan

American,

butI hope that

my

interest isaccessibleto all. I haveexpressed myselftruetomywork

andthiswork is part of myself.

bHU

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1

Hornung,

Clarence

Pearson,

THE AMERICAN EAGLE IN ART AND

DESIGN,

New

York,

Dover publication

inc.,

1 978.

2.

Herrick,

Francis

Hobart,

THE AMERICAN

EAGLE,

New

York,

Applition

Century

company,

Inc.,

1 934.

3

Isaacson, Philip M.,

THE AMERICAN

EAGLE;

NEW YORK

GRAPHIC

SOCIETY, Boston,

1 975