Sharing Old Work: Foundation Year

The foundation year at SCAD allowed me to improve tremendously through rigorous projects and studio class instruction. Here, I will share one of my favorite projects.

The final piece

This is a graphite and charcoal portrait of Franz Kafka, a writer from Prague who is often considered one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. The portrait, composed of objects I felt described his work and persona, was my final assignment for my first-trimester drawing class. I spent a lot of time figuring out the piece's composition. I was overall happy with how it turned out, and my professor liked my concept. 

My introduction to Kafka’s writing was in my senior year high school literature class, where we read and analyzed his novella, The Metamorphosis. It details traveling salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes up transformed into a giant insect. As he grapples with his grotesque form, he is alienated from his family and society. The novella explores themes of absurdity, isolation, and dehumanization. The story focuses less on the transformation itself and more on the family's gradual rejection of Gregor, at the cost of his own self-loss, ultimately revealing societal cruelty and the fragility of human connection. I sought to focus on these themes in the portrait, considering which objects (beyond insects) could represent the heaviness of isolation and dehumanization. 

Completing this project took many cups of coffee. But it transformed my ability to analyze and develop symbols, elevating my thinking in preparation for the years ahead as an illustration major and creative writing minor.

Lineart

In Progress

In Progress

The Final