Silhouettes
A silhouette is the outline of a person, usually filled in with solid black.
The History of Silhouettes The art of silhouette cutting originated in Europe in the early 1700’s. Prior to the French Revolution, silhouettists were hired as an amusement for the the royal class. The featured artist would attend extravagant balls and cut out the distinguished profiles of the Lords and Ladies capturing the latest fashions and elaborate wigs.
History con’t While the aristocrats were having their silhouettes cut out and eating like kings much of Europe was starving, especially in France. In the 1760’s the Finance Minister of France, Etienne de Silhouette, had crippled the French people with his merciless tax policies. Etienne, oblivious to his people’s plight, was more interested in his hobby of cutting out paper profiles, the latest fad.
History con’t Etienne was so despised by the people of France that in protest the peasants wore only black mimicking his black paper cutouts. To this very day the black profile cutouts are called silhouettes. Silhouettes predate photographs and were a way for people to capture a recognizable likeliness of themselves.
Artists that work in Silhouettes Karl Johnson Tim Arnold Kara Walker
Our Silhouettes Our silhouettes are unique to us Set us apart from others as individuals with unique characteristics
What are we going to create? Autobiographical Collage Silhouettes with a common theme What is a collage? An artistic composition made of various material What is a common theme? A central idea in a piece of artwork
What is the theme of this silhouette? In terms of positive and negative space, which space do the watches make up?
What to do to begin… 1. Make a list of things that you identify with in your sketchbook. Sports, music, art, literature, fashion, etc. List as many things that you can think of... psst it is part of your grade...
From this list, How you will be graded: 2. Choose one to be your theme. You will collect a variety of magazine images to fill your silhouette. How you will be graded: Good work habits Specific theme to fill in your silhouette Silhouette that resembles you Neatness and clarity Variety within objects to add interest (size, color, etc…not variety in what the actual object is) Homework: Collect images from home sources