Touch Assignment

 

Beach Day, 2021

7 x 10 in.

Pen on paper

“And, though some of us like adventure travel, most prefer to sit in the sun like a rack of spareribs, basting ourselves regularly with sauce, and quietly frying, taking care to turn over so we’ll be cooked on both sides”.

-Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses, page 92

This quote created such a vivid image in my mind that I wanted to recreate the scene in comic form. I chose the simple medium of pen and ink to achieve a classic comic book look. I wanted this piece to be a commentary on the separation we make between animals and humans. We cook and season animals, but we ourselves bake in the sun, “basting ourselves with sauce”. I thought putting pieces of meat in place of suntanning beachgoers would create a humorous representation of Ackerman’s metaphor. 

Hand Candle, 2021

7 x 10 in.

Pen on paper

“In the sand-swept sprawl of the panoramic film Lawrence of Arabia a scene of quintessential machismo stands out: T. E. Lawrence holding his hand over a candle flame until the flesh starts to sizzle”.

-Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses, page 101

This piece is mainly about the sensation that fire evokes in our brains. The chapter talked a lot about how we discern different types of sensation and how our brain categorizes them. I drew a hand with wicks protruding from the fingertips. One is lit and you can see the fingertip is beginning to melt and drip. I wanted this piece to cause a sensory reaction. Seeing someone’s fingertip on fire is something that would cause distress. We can almost feel the heat as if we ourselves caught on fire. However, I added a base to the hand, showing that it is not connected to a human and not in fact causing anyone pain. This takes away any aspect of goriness because that is not what I wanted to portray.