Paul Insect: Butterfly Face Hoodie (2012.)

One of Paul Insect’s pieces that stood out to me straight away was the “Butterfly Face Hoodie.” This piece is extremely eye-catching in terms of colour, and I feel that is also something to do with the purpose of the piece.

The purpose of this piece, I think, is a spoof/mockup of contemporary fashion illustrations, mixed in with a street art style. I feel as though this is a rebellious piece, aimed to humiliate the rather eccentric styles usually found in the fashion (recently turned “Grunge,”) culture. I feel as though the purpose of this piece of art would influence my work highly, as far as ideas go, I’ve very much kept within the lines of controversy and have never even thought to make something in protest before. And I also feel that expressing anger visually is much better than what I usually see, where “Artists,” take stereotypically pretty pictures and write vulgar language over them.

The style of the piece is very peculiar, the medium seems to be spray paint/ acrylic paint on a piece of wooden grain. This gives a very independent vibe and a resourceful/thoughtful process when it comes to use of materials, which I think is a very inspiring aspect. The use of spray paint (reminding me of Banksy,) also implies an almost propaganda fueled piece.

The techniques used in this piece are rather simple, even upon first glance. This is because of the simple black and white, photograph type print that has taken the form of a hoodie, showing an immense amount of texture on the piece. Another technique used in this piece is detailed acrylic painting; this technique is very effective because it is such a contrast to the other technique. This way is colourful, bright and detailed, where the other is stark, bold and simple.

I think the style and technique of this piece could influence me a lot, as when I am doing art by hand I tend to be rather detailed, and this is not so apparent when I am doing digital work, and I feel I could combine this kind of technique to my style of both kinds of art to create a truly great effect.