Nicoleta Musteata
“What is your favorite artwork?”
Curatorial Rationale
My theme is animation, which although it seems like a narrow theme, I have managed to extend it a lot and push towards different points of view regarding it. By using techniques such as: stop motion photography, flip book drawings, and paintings, this theme has helped me distinguish the different challenges and relationships in this art making process, and how I can create smooth on going motions which do not look out of place. I chose this theme because it seemed like something that I haven't explored much in our art class, therefore I wanted to work towards learning by myself about the topic more in depth but also constantly using the techniques which we had learned before.
When it comes to my inspirational artworks, I did not necessarily have a constant artist that I was looking at, or style, but I would specifically search for whatever my idea was, and then follow the inspiration as a guideline for the project, especially when it came to how I am planning on positioning things. These inspirational works are very important to my final artworks because they not only help me with my rough sketch but also my color scheme and sometimes my media. I chose these artworks because I think that they resonate most with my theme and what I want to convey in the art show, because a lot of it is personal, and it resonates with the way that I see the world, and how I would draw it if my life was an animation. I decided to arrange them this way because I felt that the monitor with the animation videos should be in the middle because it shows the main point of my theme, and then the other stands by it can reinforce that. The artworks around the monitor may also be seen as important pieces which strengthen the theme and other artmaking techniques which I used.
When it comes to the gallery itself, I want the audience to see my artworks in a different light because I feel like most of them are personal, or took an extended amount of time because of the amount of work which has to be put into a well flowing animation. I made my works so colorful and unrealistic so that it draws the audiences eye towards them because it is different compared to the other exhibitions due to the different techniques established. Because my exhibition will need a monitor with the videos of my different artworks, I think that it gives the audience a different experience where they can see these pieces which I had worked on for a while in motion. I want the audience to discover that although today we have a variety of AI and CGI constantly seen in modern day movies, which make it seem as if the process of animation is a lot easier, animation by hand, step by step has not died, and it is a creative process which should still be done. I hope for the audience to go home and want to recreate something like that, or at least appreciate the elongated process which old film makers had to go through to make these amazing animations seen in movie theaters.
Nicoleta’s Art Work
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The Unforgettable Wedding, 2023
Acrylic paint, pen
36cm x 27.5 cm
September 2023
The artwork “The Unforgettable Wedding” is inspired by wedding settings, and by olden weddings in the Republic of Moldova. The setting represents my grandparents current house which was a traditional setting for Moldovan weddings. It was done with acrylic paint which helped with layering the important colors to the artwork. The colors are essential to “The Unforgettable Wedding” because they represent a sense of happiness and unity which is felt through a wedding with the bright, warm colors. -
Stomach Twister, 2023
Marker and pencil on paper
11cm x 6cm
September 2023
Stomach Twister is a flip book which consists of 30 different flashcard pages which is an animation of a girl going down a roller coaster through 2 different perspectives. With different markers and colors I tried my best to recreate the idea of summer and adventure parks. The animation was made on purpose to be unrealistic to represent old styles of animation, and how they used to be done, through different motions which are put together to make a smooth animation. -
Spring’s Arrival, 2024
40cm x 60cm
Acrylic, marker, canvas
January 2024
“Spring’s Arrival” is based on a traditional Moldovan story, which discusses spring fighting winter for the start of the new season. It is a comic strip which tells a story constantly through the different facial expressions, background, and style. The two characters distinguish the idea between bad and good and that good always wins. This story is celebrated in the Republic of Moldova on March 1st, which is considered the first day of Spring. -
The Feel of Lilac, 2023
Acrylic, Paper, Marker, Stitching Thread
20 cm x 28 cm
May 2023
My artwork “The Feel of Lilac” was made in order to create a distinct understanding of the flower lilac, and how it stands out through the small flowers which make it full. The hands in the artwork are meant to represent the feeling of getting closer to the flower and being in its natural habitat. The pastel colors used are meant to bring out a peaceful feeling about the painting and also make the individual lilac flowers stand out. -
Childhood Park, 2022
Watercolor, Acrylic and Sharpie on Paper
30cm x 45cm
November 2022
The theme for my artwork was “Childhood Park” because it represents the part that I grew up in and childhood memories. I used watercolor for most of the artwork, creating a flow of natural colors throughout the artwork, and mixing multiple together. I also used a sharpie, and acrylic paint for more details. It is made up of mostly cool and analogous colors, and used the rhyme and repetition for my composition. -
Blooming, 2022
Clay
10cm x 6cm
December, 2022
I named my pinch pot Diwali lantern “Blooming” because the carving inside of it presents a flower through different stages of blooming into something bigger. I was really inspired by the art of henna because I wanted to have something more culturally ethical for my piece. I intended to make my piece really pop with the inside carvings and I believe that they really are the focal point of my pinch pot lantern. -
Rolling Around, 2024
32cm x 18cm
Paper, Markers, Cardboard, Tin, Metal stick
February 2024
Rolling Around is a zoetrope which is an animation of a little girl catching a ball and then throwing it away, with a butterfly flying around. It is supposed to be a coherent animation which by spinning fast you can see the well flowing movement. The outer black paper is to help break the different motions and make the eyes focus on a certain point. The animation is also built to spin around with the help of a tin lid attached to a metal stick, and being held together by two cardboard sticks. -
Racing Motion, 2023
Modeling clay, acrylic paint
15cm x 6cm
October 2023
“Racing Motion” is an artwork where I wanted to represent the idea of racing cars in our culture and how they are represented. Through this artwork I used the colors red and blue to show two different cars, with different symbols and represent a more feminine side (red) against a more masculine side (blue). By using clay which does not dry it helped me shape the two race cars, and helped me in modeling them nicely in “The Race” animation. -
Start Your Engines, 2023
Canvas, acrylic paint, popsicle sticks, paper, air dry clay, beads
50cm x 30cm
November 2023
The artwork “Start Your Engines” is the second part of a three part animation project. It was made to pop out and catch the eye of people as an actual race track. Details such as bleachers, lamp posts, and barriers were mainly made out of popsicle sticks which were a large contributor to this project. The arena was very much a mixed media, between pencil, markers, acrylic paint and air dry clay, it made the piece seem more alive.
The Race, 2023
Canvas, Popsicle sticks, Clay, Acrylic paint, Legos
December 2023
“The Race” is a stop motion made out of 160 different pictures which show the cars in motion. The colors are made to be radiant and coefficient with each other on purpose to feel like a true animation. The change of view is made to show how fluent and changing animation and perspective is. Also the side character legos are put there to give an outside point of view and make the animation more entertaining.