Alex Snepvangers' Stylism : 2013

Monday 3 June 2013

Techniques I've Learnt and My Culture

Techniques:

I learnt the process of etching.

Firstly, I drew my etching, with a needle, onto a plastic plate.

In order to achieve a print, I spread ink onto my etching and pushed it into the etched grooves; I then whipped the surface clean with cloth, leaving only the etched areas retaining ink. The actual impression is made with a copper plate press which is similar to an old washing mangle with a large plank or `bed’ between the rollers. The plate is placed on the bed, covered with dampened paper and backed with three or four felt blankets.

These are then passed through the press under high pressure, the malleable paper is forced into the cuts and ridges in the plate and thus picks up the ink. When the paper is finally peeled off, it reveals a mirror image of the etched drawing.

This inking procedure is then repeated for each print.

I also learnt techniques from Kathe Kollwitz, to show something or an issue through my artworks. I am trying to show the issue that refugees still have to face in Australia. I have also learnt to inform my artworks, like she did. I did this by looking up articles on refugees, and pictures of refugees, as well as other etchings. Kathe Kollwitz did this by looking at people around her community, and the social experience that they experienced as well as herself.

How is my artwork reflective of my chosen culture?

My artwork refers to refugee culture in that I have used a portrait of a person, to show the suffering in a person faces, when they do not have very much in life. It shows the depression and hardship they have and have delt with, and that it still hasn't stopped, once they have come to Australia. Like Kollwitz's work showing poverty and the social conditions in her life my work is also black and white and emphasizes the eyes staring out at you. The eyes are the darkest part of my artwork, so that you look there as the first point. The cross hatching of the lines also emphasises different textures and ways of showing the face peering out from the blackness of life. The light and dark contrast in the different ways that the lines have been etched show that there is some hope for the person, as some light is shining on the face.

Asylum seekers were not as much of a problem in the time of Kathe Kollwitz, and thus serve as a contemporary influence.

My Prezi (Kathe Kollwitz)

This is my prezi on Kathe Kollwitz and her works.
Link: http://prezi.com/extm8zgkqhk3/

Kathe Kollwitz' Work

Kollwitz’s artworks are about her feelings towards life as she observed it in Germany at the time of

the First World War. She is an artist who focused on the social conditions of the time in which she

lived and she used poor people, current events and the dark European landscape as the main subject

matter of her works. To convey the desperate poverty of many of the people she observed around

her she used dark tones and mainly black and white in her drawings, prints and lithographs.

She liked trying new and innovative techniques especially in printmaking to convey different

monochromatic tonal effects in the artworks. To emphasise the suffering of the people she also

took ideas from German Expressionism, for example, heavy dark outlines around figures

and distortion of certain features as she was interested in creating artworks that distorted the

proportions of the people to emphasize their suffering.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Critical Analysis

Overall I was quite happy with my etching.

However I would have done some things differently. First of all I probably would have changed the background that I etched. It is just plain straight lines, at diagonals. I believe that I could have done a different background, with more detailed and unique lines to represent Kathe Kollwitz’ technique. I would have made the face a bit darker, if my background was different. My face is also not symmetrical; I could have made it a little bit more life-like, however this works in a way, as Kollwitz’ emphasised cerain featuresand distorted her figures, which is what I was trying to accomplish. Also my hair is not very distinctive against the background, and probably needed to stand out more.

In addition, with my etching process, to avoid the smudges that I have, I will next time work in a cleaner workplace.

What I did well in my artworks

I believe that I used Kathe Kollwitz lines effectively throughout my artwork. I used her style of drawing a figure, shrouded in shadows, instead of creating something with intricate detail. I also believe that I used an effective amount of positive and negative space well through my material.

Finished Etchings So Far...

Etching Process

This is a part of my etching process.

Youtube Video

Please take a look at the video, on the very bottom left of my blog. It ia about Kathe Kollwitz, an influence of my art making.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Statistics of Asylum Seekers Arriving in Australia

Onshore asylum applications lodged, 2001-02 to 2011-12

Year	Protection Visa applications *(non-IMAs)**	Protection requests from IMAs*	Total onshore applications
2001-02	7,026	2,222	9,248
2002-03	4,960	60	5,020
2003-04	3,485	87	3,572
2004-05	3,062	146	3,208
2005-06	3,191	101	3,292
2006-07	3,723	23	3,746
2007-08	3,987	21	4,008
2008-09	5,027	668	5,762
2009-10	5,986	4,579	10,565
2010-11	6,337	5,174	11,511
2011-12	7,036	7,379	14,415

*Irregular Maritime Arrivals

Primary grant rate (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year	Grants	Refusals	Total decisions	Grant rate
2006-07	896	2,719	3,615	24.8%
2007-08	1,295	2,413	3,708	34.9%
2008-09	1,598	2,982	4,580	34.9%
2009-10	1,708	3,039	4,747	36.0%
2010-11	1,389	4,105	5,494	25.3%
2011-12	1,467	4,325	5,792	25.3%

Refugee Review Tribunal outcomes (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year	Affirmed	Set aside	Withdrawn	No jurisdiction	Total decisions	Remit rate*
2006-07	2,202	629	52	199	3,102	22.2%
2007-08	1,661	422	33	202	2,318	20.3%
2008-09	1,787	468	29	178	2,462	20.8%
2009-10	1,540	514	21	82	2,157	25.0%
2010-11	1,814	626	53	110	2,603	25.7%
2011-12	1,899	748	86	69	2,802	28.3%

*Excludes cases which were withdrawn or in which it was found that the RRT had no jurisdiction to review the case.

Final grant rate (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year	Grants	Refusals	Total decisions	Grant rate
2006-07	1,692	2,651	4,343	39.0%
2007-08	1,898	2,107	4,005	47.4%
2008-09	2,173	2,618	4,789	45.3%
2009-10	2,365	2,271	4,636	51.0%
2010-11	2,101	2,739	4,840	43.4%
2011-12	2,272	2,887	5,159	44.0%

Primary grant rate (IMAs), 2008-09 to 2010-11

Year	Grants	Refusals	Total decisions	Grant rate
2008-09	209	0	209	100%
2009-10	2,133	732	2,865	74.5%
2010-11	2,001	3,217	5,218	38.3%
2011-12	2,721	1,104	3,825	71.1%

Independent review outcomes (IMAs), 2009-10 to 2011-12

Year	Affirmed	Overturned	Total decisions	Overturn rate
2009-10	55	28	83	66.3%
2010-11	929	190	1,119	83.0%
2011-12	2,224	474	2,698	82.4%

Final grant rate (IMAs), 2008-09 to 2011-12

Year	Grants	Refusals	Total decisions	Grant rate
2008-09	209	0	209	100%
2009-10	2,151	28	2,179	98.7%
2010-11	2,719	190	2,909	93.5%
2011-12	4,766	474	5,240	91.0%

Asylum seekers arriving by boat, by financial year, 1 July 1975 to 30 June 2012

Year	Number of boats	Number of people	Year	Number of boats	Number of people*
1975-76	1	5	1994-95	21	1,071
1976-77	7	204	1995-96	14	589
1977-78	43	1432	1996-97	13	365
1978-79	6	351	1997-98	13	157
1979-80	2	56	1998-99	42	921
1980-81	1	30	1999-2000	75	4,175
1981-82	0	0	2000-01	54	4,137
1982-83	0	0	2001-02	19	3,039
1983-84	0	0	2002-03	0	0
1984-85	0	0	2003-04	3	82
1985-86	0	0	2004-05	0	0
1986-87	0	0	2005-06	8	61
1987-88	0	0	2006-07	4	133
1988-89	0	0	2007-08	3	25
1989-90	3	224	2008-09	23	985
1990-91	5	158	2009-10	117	5,327
1991-92	3	78	2010-11	89	4,730
1992-93	4	194	2011-12	110	7,983
1993-94	6	194	Total	689	36,706

*Excludes crew.

Asylum seekers arriving by boat, by calendar year, 1 January 1976 to 31 December 2012

Year	Number of boats	Number of people	Year	Number of boats	Number of people
1976	-	111	1995	7	237
1977	-	868	1996	19	660
1978	-	746	1997	11	339
1979	-	304	1998	17	200
1980	-	0	1999	86	3,721
1981	-	30	2000	51	2,939
1982	-	0	2001	43	5,516
1983	-	0	2002	1	1
1984	-	0	2003	1	53
1985	-	0	2004	1	15
1986	-	0	2005	4	11
1987	-	0	2006	6	60
1988	-	0	2007	5	148
1989	1	26	2008	7	161
1990	2	198	2009	60	2,726
1991	6	214	2010	134	6,555
1992	6	216	2011	69	4,565
1993	3	81	2012	278	17,202
1994	18	953	Total	836	48,856

Information found at: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/r/stat-as.php

Drafts of My Etching

Examples of Etchings

These are some examples of some etchings that I could use to influence my artworks and art making.

Name: Copper Plate Etching of a snail eaten leaf
Artist: Unknown