The 1960s was a time blossoming with creativity and color, and I wanted to convey the influences that the era has on today’s culture. There was an outburst of music, art, literature, and political events that created deep roots of discontent and unrest which sparked a want for change in the hearts of America’s youth. The influencers of that generation paved the way for the millions of protestors, politicians, and artists of today. 

 

For this piece, I used many different mediums including acrylic paint, ink, pastels, newspaper, and magazine cutouts to create texture and variety. I looked to some of the biggest artists between 1950 and today for inspiration such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Bob Ross, Picasso, and many different street artists. I tried to create a combination of pop, psychedelic, and contemporary styles (while keeping my own twist!). Two of the most important aspects of this piece are the deeply saturated colors, and the somewhat chaotic Dali-inspired clock covered in a collage with many different images. 

 

I believe it’s necessary to look back in history often to appreciate both how things were, and how things have changed. The right-hand side of my clock is covered in elements from the sixties and is balanced with the left, current side. I chose to include many different aspects of America’s culture: political cartoons, smoking ads, music artists, images from all sorts of different protests, and literature. This design sets up an obvious comparison and contrast of the two sides to reveal that, at the core, we are still fighting against systemic racism and misogyny, as well as an overbearing and untrustworthy government. Yet the colorful counterculture has proven strong, and we are met with powerful protests with numbers bigger than ever before on multitudes of issues, countless pieces of relevant artwork, and millions of songs with commentary on the world today. While many changes still need to be made, our culture has shifted to be more accepting and loving, and that is thanks to our peaceful predecessors. 

One of the most beautiful things about art is to be able to derive your own meaning from it, and there are many different elements to focus on with this one!