Sanchez Dre - Worst Job FINAL VERSION

"Slave At An Early Age" by Dre Sanchez.

Final Iteration: Worst Job - Child Labour. Geometric Structure.

Original sketch.

Essay:

My name is Andres "Dre" Victor Sanchez-Bustamante. The title of my work is "Slave At An Early Age." It is a digital creation that originated as a 4" by 6" sketch and was later reproduced in print at 12" by 18." This particular piece went through three iterations. It was finished February Fourth, 2012.

As noted earlier, the piece was created first as a simple sketch on an index card over grid paper. This was later scanned into Photoshop and recreated in a RGB mode using a combination of the Lasso, Wand and Paint tools. Textures and drop shadows were added in the final design to give more weight. It was then converted into a flattened CMYK image for print. The work was then mounted on a black board featuring the same size dimensions. The subject matter tackled the idea of the worst job. In this case, I chose to focus my talents on the social problem of child labour in third world nations - hence the slave part of the title. I looked at the innocent playful work of Disney designer Mary Blair for inspiration in terms of design and color. The cut-out style of Saul Bass was also helpful. This piece utilized a geometric structure as its foundation. The work uses diagonals to create the illusion of depth. The typography was handmade but carefully laid out to activate the empty space not touched by the illustration.

The issue of child labour is one I take quite serious. The original assignment was to take a mundane job from my past and showcase how horrible it was. All of my jobs were beyond tolerable and thus I had nothing to complain about. Instead I wanted to address the idea that no matter how bad one may think his or her job maybe, it pales in comparison to those child workers whose childhoods have been wasted to put food on the table for their families. I think the turmoil these children face everyday is one I would wish on no person. No one should have to work that young for measly compensation - but it happens. I researched many articles and videos describing this international problem in depth. Compare to other students in my class, my work was one of the few that contained original artwork. Most of my other classmates relied heavily on typography and photography to showcase their worst jobs. It is hard to legitimately compare my work to others since it is very different in all aspects - color, design, type and content.

Unlike most of the students in this class, my illustrative style was self-taught. I have not taken an art class since middle school. Instead, I focused myself originally for a career in lawyering. In my undergraduate schooling, I studied political science, criminology, psychology and sociology. This has opened my mind to be more aware to things that really matter in life - like the social problem of child labour. This coupled with my experience on the streets in my youth has kept me in touch with these often neglected issues. I feel a lot of college students live in a bubble sometimes, unexposed to the reality of the crime and poverty that run rampant in our society. It is my hope those moved by my work will venture out for themselves to find the truth about our world, past the Real Housewives and the Jersey Shore. There is only so much television can tell you, I feel.

In the end, my purpose is wake people up to the harsh reality of child labour. Behind every pair of Nike sneakers and Apple computers and so on, lies the blood, sweat and tears of people less fortunate than you and I. We live in a shallow society that conveniently decides when and who to care about at a given time. It's sad that we let biased media outlets like CNN and Fox dictate which stories matters today. I only hope that those impressed with my work throw my art out the window and really explore this issue on their own time. As I have said in class before - I create what I view as disposable art. Nothing I make is meant to be timeless, only the viewer can classify so-called art as such. With that mentality in mind, we should strive to use our talents to create work everyday and push our minds critically to activate what's dead inside our audience and bring it back to life. I pray my work's success may push people into stop thinking about their own selves and start putting into action something of true substance.