Final

For the final project I really wanted to emulate Basquiat's hand and social commentary presented in his work. I deemed it appropriate to comment on the presidential race and highlight some of the issues certain candidates have addressed. I focused on making the artist hand very noticeable but this was difficult for me since I tended to want to make it clean and even. I also wanted the piece to have a child-like feeling to it since that was represented in his pieces.

In this piece, the first thing that catches my attention is the face on the one billion dollar bill. It's distorted and gives off an eerie feeling from the uneasy eyes and smile. The next thing that grabs my attention are the two big and green dollar signs on both sides of the face. My eye then goes to the writing on the bill. On the top it says "UNITED STATES OF STUDENT DEBT," which is crossed out in red, and at the bottom "ONE BILLION DOLLARS." There are many colors painted on the page and I find myself jumping around to each color. Even though there are many colors, the entire piece seems dark since the black background peaks through the color. At first glance the artist hand is very noticeable. Each brush stroke is visible as if one can almost mimic them to recreate the piece. It seems balanced since the focal point is directly in the middle and there is almost an even amount of color on both sides. From the wording and the visual of money, it is clear that this piece is responding to the great amount of debt students face in the U.S. The distortion of the face on the bill also represents the corruption that occurs.