Jacob Edward Lopez – Artist Statement

I am an aspiring illustrator and graphic designer. My concentration and specialties include 2D hand drawing and computer graphic design using varying software. I am a full-time student of Stony Brook University majoring in Studio Art and a graduate of Suffolk County Community College where I received an Associate’s Degree in Computer Art. My experience in Adobe Applications and Computer Art applications stems from the years I spent studying at Ithaca College, Suffolk, and Stony Brook. 

I started drawing from comic books as a child, and have always been fascinated by animation and illustrative art growing up with children’s television such as Nickelodeon, Marvel Comics, and Walt Disney animated movies. Recreating cartoon characters I admired, and absorbing aspects of pop culture and media around me proved to be fascinating influences in addition to integrating color theory and visual conception in my art.

My work reflects the impression mass media and pop culture has on my mindset and creativity. I attempt to reflect the ideas of characters and recognizable imagery into my own motif and identity. The images here are digitally designed artworks displayed in a series titled: “Caffeine Addiction”. This is a recreation and re-imagining of masterworks throughout art history used to reflect the nature of capitalism and marketing in the art world. The masterworks are all artworks easily recognizable to the public, created by famous artists. The following works re-imagined are The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci, The Scream by Edvard Munch, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. By bringing these masterworks into the digital software of modern graphic design, I have eliminated the master techniques and brush strokes from the subject itself; only leaving the recognizable image more commonly known by the general public. 

Subsequently, each masterwork is paired with labeling and colors that refer to familiar soft drink brands and corporations. This juxtaposition compares the consumption of overly marketed artworks in the art world to corporate advertising of common products. My own unique motifs are also incorporated  into each modified face. My identity and influences from media exposure are unavoidable; I embrace it in my work.

Stony Brook University Senior Seminar Undergraduate Online Art Exhibition Spring 2020