Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Kevin Boyd - April 1st Update

First of all, I hope everyone is safe, healthy, and overall OK. There has been a lot of extremely depressing news spreading nonstop throughout mass media and at Duke so PLEASE if you need help with literally anything, reach out to people who care for you. If you feel that no one around you is available to you and feel you have no one to reach out to, I would GLADLY talk! My phone number is 8433029622! Don’t think it’s awkward because it isn’t, I promise!

Given that, for the first drawing I wanted to convey a lot of emotion especially using individuals involved in healthcare. You may have recently heard of the suicide of a nurse in Italy because she had been accidentally spreading the virus. Healthcare workers are on the front line of keeping every single person in our country and globally safe, so I wanted to convey my respect and the importance of their profession in my first drawing.

The first sketch shows two nurses, one visibly exhausted, crouched over, and the other standing over them, consoling the other nurse. This drawing I did in rough marker to show that I intend to use color in some form or another for the main protagonists of this piece. Likewise, with an emphasis on these two characters, the background would most likely be negative space in either black or white.

The second sketch shows a portrait of a male nurse who is gowned and wearing a face mask. In this period of time, masks have become a super symbolic image of the pandemic so I intend to have a photorealistic depiction of this image with the mask being in color (marker, colored pencil, pastel, I’m not sure what exactly yet). The background for this sketch could be color (likely a neutral one to contrast the surgical green color of the mask), or I have also played with the idea of using minimalistic lines that are 6inches in length to represent the 6ft social distancing rule.

The last sketch shows two hands reaching for the hands of a nurse holding a mask. It is hard to interpret in this sketch but if I was to choose this sketch for my first drawing I would make the mask much more obvious. This drawing, like the others, plays on the symbolic nature of protective equipment during this pandemic as well as the interdependence of humans. Many people have chosen to become more selfish (hoarding/panic buying, ignoring social distancing laws, etc.) during a global crisis which is uncharacteristic of the ideals of mankind; therefore this image is meant to represent the more positive aspects of disaster responses.

In general, I want the first piece to really emphasize emotion, especially in reference to first responders. Most people are quarantined and can remain safe in their homes, but healthcare workers put their own lives and families at risk to help others. That is the message I intend to share with the first of the 5 pieces.

Thank you! Stay safe everyone and don’t be scared to reach out for support!

Kevin


1 comment:

  1. Hi Kevin,
    Thanks so much for offering to talk to anyone who is feeling down or depressed. Its super important that we support each other during this crazy time!
    Focusing on the front line health providers in your drawings is terrific! They're playing a critical role in all this and documenting them and their equipment - the mask - will be an excellent reflection of this time. I look forward to seeing how you develop the concept - especially the way you use color.

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