Self Portrait 2
Exhibition Text
This self portrait is a self reflection on my cultural and national identity. Although being American means being an eccentric when compared to other cultures and nationalities, I am neither of these things. My nationality may affect my culture, but it certainly does not make me the same as every other American. I stand out. We all stand out.
This self portrait is a self reflection on my cultural and national identity. Although being American means being an eccentric when compared to other cultures and nationalities, I am neither of these things. My nationality may affect my culture, but it certainly does not make me the same as every other American. I stand out. We all stand out.
Planning
Inspiration
One of the inspirations for this piece is Mao FS 97 (1972) by Andy Warhol and my culture / nationality. I am hyper-aware that my nationality greatly affects my culture. I wanted, somehow, to express my identity, but also reflect my culture. This is where Warhol comes in; his work in the Pop Art movement is very significant in American culture. His work draws attention to his subjects and gives them importance through repetition. I want my piece to reflect American culture, but not re-purpose nor emphasize a famous figure. His bold and vibrant color schemes and make colors important which is what I want to be the true subject of my self portrait. The other inspiration for my self portrait is Green Stripe (1905) by Henri Matisse. The fauvist piece inspired my painting technique and encouraged the blending of colors. This style evolved my idea about my culture and nationality. I thought Matisse's style of not blending all the solid colors encourages an analysis of color to understand what the meaning is of the piece. |
“Warhol, Andy: Fine Arts, After 1945 in America.” Fine Arts, After 1945 in America | The Red List, theredlist.com/wiki-2-351-861-414-1293-1236-1290-view-pop-art-1-profile-warhol-andy.html#photo.
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Critical Investigation
The essential knowledge on Any Warhol is that he was a pop artist emphasizing cultural aspects of groups such as idols and figures. In his prints of Mao, Warhol emphasizes the famous dictator in response to his huge cult of personality. I wanted to exploit this trait of the Mao prints to emphasize my culture and nationality. Green Stripe is an experiment in color. The piece was originally intended to depict Madame Matisse's personality through color and brushwork all while continuing to respect the elements of art and principles of design. Gradual gradation and different values were transformed into patches of color to maintain the three dimensional aspects of a face. There is also balance between warm and cool colors because of the green stripe. This division emphasizes and unifies the lighter and darker part of a face to create the three dimensional form. |
Matisse, Henri. “Green Stripe, 1905 by Henri Matisse.” Henri Matisse, www.henrimatisse.org/green-stripe.jsp.
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Planning Sketches
Details about sketches are written in the margins.
Details about sketches are written in the margins.
Process
Steps:
- Stretch the canvas
- Apply an even layer of gesso to the stretched canvas including the sides
- Apply a background color before starting to paint
- This makes it so the gesso doesn show through if a spot is missed
- Transfer what is intended to be painted on to the canvas
- I projected my image onto the my canvas and traced it with a pencil
- Begin paint
- Think about the natural order of things when you paint
- For example, paint a face before the hair is painted because hair very often lies on top of a face. Itś a lot harder to paint skin between hair than it is to paint hair directly on skin
- Think about the natural order of things when you paint
Experimentation
In the picture below, the transition from layered hair to blended is obvious. Multiple times, I went over the hair deciding what is best for showing me immersed in my origins. I did like the first way of doing the hair in bold layers, however, when it was blended there was not a lot of contrast between the background. I wanted to decrease the contrast in hope of showing that my culture and I are blended together.
In the picture below, the transition from layered hair to blended is obvious. Multiple times, I went over the hair deciding what is best for showing me immersed in my origins. I did like the first way of doing the hair in bold layers, however, when it was blended there was not a lot of contrast between the background. I wanted to decrease the contrast in hope of showing that my culture and I are blended together.
Evaluation
This project was successful, however there are some aspects that I want to acknowledge because they stray away from my artistic inspiration. The first aspect is the amount of blending seen on the left side of the portrait. Matisse does not blend in Green Stripe because he is acknowledging the bold and pure colors to create values on the face. I decided to blend on the left side and the hair to accentuate me since the piece is about identity. Decreasing contrast between the background and I better communicated the meaning behind the piece. On the other hand, one part I think I did well was show appreciation for Matisse's work by using wild brush strokes and patches of not blended color. This is evident in the picture below.
Reflection
Overall this self portrait was a success. I believe that my meaning was communicated and that I exhibited understanding of Matisse's painting style through my work. My intended meaning for the piece deals with my identity and my realization that I cannot be separated from my culture and origin. I think this is shown through the blending of colors as well as how the form melts into the background with just enough contrast to separate them.
Mimicking Matisse's painting style was somewhat difficult because his style in particular was not what I was looking for, however, his separation and emphasis on color allowed me to interpret a new meaning for his style which included slightly more blending. An example of how I evolved his style can be seen on the red half of the face. Some of the red and white were blended producing a new pink color and other parts were very red. Matisse primarily layered pure colors to show this kind of change in value whereas I just blended some near the lowlights.
Mimicking Matisse's painting style was somewhat difficult because his style in particular was not what I was looking for, however, his separation and emphasis on color allowed me to interpret a new meaning for his style which included slightly more blending. An example of how I evolved his style can be seen on the red half of the face. Some of the red and white were blended producing a new pink color and other parts were very red. Matisse primarily layered pure colors to show this kind of change in value whereas I just blended some near the lowlights.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My inspiration cause me to approach the self portrait with self identity and culture in mind. Warhol was especially inspirational for this.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overalll approach of the authors was analytical and thematic. They explained what the pieces mean and the techniques used.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I have discovered that people are very fond of the famous figure and often create cults of personality.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was discovering the techniques used to paint by Matisse.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the assumption that Andy Warhol did not paint and only printed which initiated my idea about large areas of color instead of value.
My inspiration cause me to approach the self portrait with self identity and culture in mind. Warhol was especially inspirational for this.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overalll approach of the authors was analytical and thematic. They explained what the pieces mean and the techniques used.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I have discovered that people are very fond of the famous figure and often create cults of personality.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was discovering the techniques used to paint by Matisse.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the assumption that Andy Warhol did not paint and only printed which initiated my idea about large areas of color instead of value.
Bibliography
Matisse, Henri. “Green Stripe, 1905 by Henri Matisse.” Henri Matisse, www.henrimatisse.org/green-stripe.jsp.
“The Art Institute of Chicago.” Mao | The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Modern/Mao.
“Warhol, Andy: Fine Arts, After 1945 in America.” Fine Arts, After 1945 in America | The Red List, theredlist.com/wiki-2-351-861-414-1293-1236-1290-view-pop-art-1-profile-warhol-andy.html#photo.
“The Art Institute of Chicago.” Mao | The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Modern/Mao.
“Warhol, Andy: Fine Arts, After 1945 in America.” Fine Arts, After 1945 in America | The Red List, theredlist.com/wiki-2-351-861-414-1293-1236-1290-view-pop-art-1-profile-warhol-andy.html#photo.