Ana Swanson

My artwork Rodger, Annie, Fifty, and Fallon is a set of four prints that demonstrate four different types of intaglio processes: dry point, hard ground, soft ground, and a combination of hard ground and aquatint. My goal with this piece of art was to explore intaglio printmaking with animals that I usually do not draw or illustrate. With this said, I also wanted to combine some aspect of realism and science in my prints. While I am currently pursuing a BA in art and design, I am also a student on the premedical track and being able to incorporate both STEM and art into one another is very important. Therefore, I decided to depict these animals in a scientific illustration way with their taxonomic names written below. 

Scientific illustration is an essential part of both art and science as it can help communicate complex ideas and concepts in a comprehensible way. Being able to visualize difficult ideas or images is needed in order for individuals to comprehend science fully. To put this idea into context of my artwork, I am depicting anatomically and visually correct illustrations of these animals: a rabbit, armadillo, fox, and deer. Without a scientific illustration, there would be only written descriptions of the animals, which would make identifying and studying an animal much harder. 

With my prints, I also want to convey the ideas of ecology and the idea of identification and types of consumers. In science, there are so many different types of organisms and being able to have a system of classification to name different species is very important. Therefore, I wanted to show the idea of classification and taxonomy in my art (taxonomy: the study of the general principles of scientific classification – Merriam Webster). I also wanted to convey different types of consumers in my prints. The herbivores depicted are the rabbit and deer – they eat mostly plants. Additionally, the armadillo and fox are omnivores – they feed on both plants and animals.