My project is an art piece based on Gawain and The Green Knight as The Hanged Man. Gawain is made of Bristol board and acrylic paint, cut out and glued to a water marbled green page. The other elements are also Bristol board and acrylic paint. It is an armored knight with brown hair hanging upside down on a green water marble background. He is suspended by a green vine and has a serene expression and glowing green eyes. On Gawain’s chest is a five pointed star. On either side of him are two giant green axes. He has a golden halo as well.
I wanted to do something that would be poignant and related to the story. The tarot card The Hanged Man seemed like a perfect candidate for this project. Right side up, this tarot card represents sacrifice, surrender, uncertainty, lack of direction, and trials. This is similar to the attitude Gawain exhibits throughout his story. He is hesitant to get his head cut off and he is metaphorically and physically lost for a good portion of the poem. He does eventually surrender to his fate and kneels before the Green Knight. The Hanged Man reversed fits him even more. It represents stalling, stagnation, and avoiding sacrifice. This is related to the end of the poem where he flinches a few times out of fear. He is stalling and avoiding sacrifice.
The color palette was green, red, and gold. This was not an accident. Gawain is usually associated with these colors. The green is due to the story this project is about because he interacts with the green knight and gains a green girdle out of the encounter. He is associated with red and gold. The Hanged Man also has red pants in the original card design as well as the golden halo.
My process while making this art piece was quicker than I expected. I had the idea to do something Gawain and the Green Knight themed because it is a favorite of mine. At first I was going to do an illuminated manuscript page but that seemed a little bit too difficult for my artistic ability. I instead went for a tarot card themed piece. I have been wanting to do an art piece inspired by The Hanged Man for a while because it is a card that calls to me for some reason.
The sketch came out better than I had expected it to. I do not have a lot of practice with figure drawing but I did inherit my family’s ability to draw things with surprising accuracy with a reference. I am happy with how the anatomy looks; it is realistic while still being stylized. I won’t lie, his face is mostly blank because I don’t like painting faces but it also gives him an air of mystery. His armor also defies gravity because it would have been harder to figure out how it works with gravity. The armor reference I used was actually women’s armor because it looked cooler and I think Gawain is worthy of some gender non conforming vibes.
I thought this story conformed well to the format of tarot cards. Gawain and The Green Knight has the same status of folk tales and that goes hand in hand with tarot. This project was a great opportunity for me to stretch my artistic muscles after a long time of putting off doing art.
Works Cited
Fyodor Pavlov Tarot Gallery, http://www.marytcusack.com/maryc/decks/html/Tarot/Fyodor.html. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.
“The Hanged Man Meaning – Major Arcana Tarot Card Meanings.” Labyrinthos, 21 Nov. 2022, labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-list/the-hanged-man-meaning-major-arcana-tarot-card-meanings.
“The Hanged Man Tarot Card Meanings.” Biddy Tarot, 14 July 2023, www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/major-arcana/hanged-man/.
“Medieval Knight Female Costume Steel Armor Lady Cuirass Skirt.” Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/listing/1532815491/medieval-knight-female-costume-steel?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_a-clothing-womens_clothing-costumes&utm_custom1=_k_Cj0KCQjw1aOpBhCOARIsACXYv-cN-Voo6IM1ILtZoID26lD29q-3iyFRQ6fTV7mn0YfOhPJlkmVev24aApTyEALw_wcB_k_&utm_content=go_12563203918_118750453159_507233057651_aud-2087868701203%3Apla-299204138590_m__1532815491_12768591&utm_custom2=12563203918&gbraid=0AAAAADtcfRIBOC0_DviVtVZS9YA6S6bgx&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1aOpBhCOARIsACXYv-cN-Voo6IM1ILtZoID26lD29q-3iyFRQ6fTV7mn0YfOhPJlkmVev24aApTyEALw_wcB. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.“Universal Rider Waite Booklet.Pdf.” DocDroid, http://www.docdroid.net/9gYUbsR/universal-rider-waite-booklet-pdf#page=11. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.
Sprockets and Springes 