Self-Portrait
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Exhibition Text
Title: Reflections
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 91 cm x 91 cm Time of Completion: October 2017 Reflections is an acrylic on canvas self-portrait that has been inspired by the Fauvism movement, with specific artists such as André Derain and Diane Bolinger providing major influence for the painting. The usage of various contrasting colors and a reminiscent Impressionist style from Derain and Bollinger's work helped my piece convey the idea of self-reflection, as well as the gradual change within an individual. This change is shown through the differing appearance between the two subjects. |
Critical Investigation/Artistic Inspiration
A large majority of my artistic inspiration originates from the Fauvist art movement, of which primarily took place between the years of 1899 and 1908. This twentieth-century movement is heavily characterized by a combination of vibrant colors, simple shapes, as well as harsh brushstrokes, of which are commonly mistaken for Impressionist work. Fauvism is typically classified as being an extensive and extreme post-Impressionism movement, as there are several shared artistic aspects between the two movements. Yet, the Fauvist movement is also commonly compared to the German Expressionism movement, as the two movements primarily took place during the same time period. Yet, the Fauvist movement - unlike the German Expressionism movement - predominantly took place within France, and is generally only associated with a few select artists. These artists, although also referred to as “Les Fauves” (the wild beasts), heavily focused on presenting abstract representations of emotion through various bright and emotive colors, as well as simplistic designs. Well-known artists from the Fauvist movement include: André Derain, Diane Bolinger, Henri Matisse, and Vincent Van Gogh.
It was this peculiar and abstract presentation of emotions that ultimately influenced me to further investigate the Fauvist movement. Coincidentally, this idea of an abstract representation of emotions is also an overlapping theme throughout several different pieces of mine, and I felt that the message within my self-portrait would only become more vibrant if I was able to connect it to an artistic movement with a similar message. Additionally, during this investigation process I consistently focused on the idea that this would be my first large-scale painting. Furthermore, I focused on the idea that I wanted to provide some leeway for myself to explore this considerably new medium, while simultaneously ensuring that I would be able to create a visually appealing portrait for the class. This repeated thought only strengthened my desire to investigate the Fauvism movement, as I felt that the simple shapes within my inspiration pieces would provide some level of flexibility within my work, while also allowing me to explore the manipulation of these shapes in order to create a successful painting. Following this decision to use the Fauvism movement as my primary artistic inspiration, I began to investigate individual artists from the movement. This was done in order to intensely explore the different trends, styles, and techniques presented within the various works of artists that specialized in the movement, as I wanted to gain a good grasp on what I would be capable of creating during the time provided to complete this project. Ultimately, I decided to take primary inspiration from works created by artists: André Derain and Diane Bolinger. André Derain - of which was born in 1880 - is commonly associated with his Fauvist portraits, yet a majority of his pieces are considered to define the Fauvist movement itself, as he was a heavy contributor to the initial ideas presented within the movement. Diane Bolinger, on the other hand, is a significantly newer artist, of which similarly focuses on using Fauvism within her paintings. |
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Planning Phase
Possible Reference Image #1
Possible Reference Image #2
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These three images were my initial choices I desired to use for my self-portrait piece. Since I knew I already desired to present an idea of reflection on yourself as a person, I already had an idea of what my final image should look like. The first image shows broken glass, and is intended to showcase the differing personalities within an individual. Although I enjoyed the look of this piece, I ultimately felt that it didn't connect with my theme in a strong enough way. This lead to me eventually scraping the idea altogether, and I moved on to other ideas of how to represent my theme successfully.
The second image shows me standing in front of a vandalized wall. This was intended to show growth, and in addition to this: reflection. Yet, I ultimately felt the piece looked generally unbalanced, while I also began to question how strongly it represented my desired theme. In the end, I decided to keep searching for a better image to use for my final painting. The third image is the one I ultimately used for my final piece. I believe it strongly shows a connection to my theme, and furthermore, I feel that it looks interesting visually. The combination of these two things lead to the decision to use this piece for my self-portrait. Possible Reference Image #3 (Final)
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Experimentation
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Throughout the creation of my self-portrait, I heavily experimented with line, shape, and color. My primary motive within this decision was to closely follow the trends presented within my inspiration movement: Fauvism.
During the planning phase of this project, I would take sketches of my self-portrait and alter the way the lines look. In my final piece, the lines are short and jagged. Yet throughout my planning phase, I experimented with the use of wavy lines, smooth lines, and even attempted to follow a Cubism style. These differing lines ultimately altered the overall mood presented within my piece, and I additionally was able to determine which lines would help me create the most successful piece possible in the time given. During this process, the overall shape of my self-portrait also frequently changed. Although the change in shape was not intentional, I found that the way the lines segmented the piece (of which ultimately altered the shape) contributed to the mood within my painting. |
Reflection
Overall, I feel considerably happy with the final appearance of this self-portrait piece. Considering the fact that I have never created such a large-scale painting before, I feel that this was a very experimental process. Yet, despite this project primarily being an experimental process, I feel that my piece still heavily captures the theme I desired to present, while it also efficiently incorporates the various aspects of my two inspirations. Generally, I enjoyed having the opportunity to explore the Fauvist movement, as well as the painting techniques within it; although - to put it bluntly - I feel like my self-portrait makes me look like a muppet. However, despite this odd opinion I have on the final look of my piece, I try to remember that I’m still learning how to properly use the medium with the best succession, and that my self-portraits will continue to improve in quality as I continue to practice. Additionally, I feel that my canvas itself is considerably successful, as it has not warped and does not have any ‘dimples’ along it. Ultimately, it was with the help of a few seniors that I was able to observe and learn certain tricks that can result in a sturdy canvas.
Aside from the physical work, I feel that my self-portrait website is also considerably successful. Yet, I do specifically feel that my website is lacking enough visuals to benefit my process description. Although I took various pictures throughout the process of creating my self-portrait, I feel that a large majority of them are too blurry to be used efficiently. Yet, in consideration to the description of both my process and my inspirations, I feel that my website successfully captures the step-by-step procedure needed to complete this project. I would like to begin paying more attention to the ‘Planning Phase’ portion of my websites, as I feel that there is a lot more to be documented considering the brainstorming of my artwork. However, this desire to further showcase my planning phase applies to all of my websites, not just my self-portrait website.
Aside from the physical work, I feel that my self-portrait website is also considerably successful. Yet, I do specifically feel that my website is lacking enough visuals to benefit my process description. Although I took various pictures throughout the process of creating my self-portrait, I feel that a large majority of them are too blurry to be used efficiently. Yet, in consideration to the description of both my process and my inspirations, I feel that my website successfully captures the step-by-step procedure needed to complete this project. I would like to begin paying more attention to the ‘Planning Phase’ portion of my websites, as I feel that there is a lot more to be documented considering the brainstorming of my artwork. However, this desire to further showcase my planning phase applies to all of my websites, not just my self-portrait website.
Connecting to the ACT
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
4) What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions based on your evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
- It was primarily through the use of color, shape, and contrast I was able to establish a series in-depth connections between my self-portrait and my inspiration pieces. Specifically, it was through the use of these Elements of Art - as well as various Principles of Design - that I was able to capture the themes and general the general appearance presented within the Fauvist movement. The vibrant colors create distinct visual connections to my inspiration pieces, while the idea of using these colors and shapes to showcase emotion in abstract ways also captures a common trend in the Fauvism movement.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- Throughout my researching process, the authors I referred to typically focused on discussing the trends surrounding the more popular artists from the Fauvism movement, as well as their relationships with one other. This is in opposition to the discussion of common characteristics within the movement itself, and furthermore the discussion of the factors that specifically influenced the start of the Fauvism movement. This lack of information negatively impacted the overall success and effectiveness of my researching process.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- Primarily, I have come to the conclusion that the Fauvism movement was a considerably short, and furthermore that this movement frequently took aspects from other movements and altered them in new ways. This can be observed through the colors from the Impressionist movement, and the harshness of line from the German Expressionism movement. Furthermore, I have realized that the Fauvism movement only consisted of a few artists, opposed to it being a wide spread movement.
4) What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
- The central theme that I focused on investigating throughout my inspirational research was the abstract presentation of human emotion through various artistic elements such as shape and color. This idea is presented within certain Fauvism pieces, of which ultimately lead to me using the movement as my primary source of inspiration.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions based on your evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
- Throughout the process of conducting research, I concluded that color, line, and shape have much larger impacts on art then I initially thought. In most paintings, we tend to overlook Elements of Art such as color and line, yet through my investigation I was able to observe how much it affects the overall appearance of the Fauvism pieces I used as my inspiration.
Bibliography
“André Derain Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-derain-andre.htm. Accessed 17 Oct. 2017.
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“André Derain (1880–1954) | Maurice de Vlaminck | 1999.363.83 | Work of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1999.363.83/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
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Bolinger, Diane. “Diane Bolinger Artist & Photographer.” Dianebolinger.com, www.dianebolinger.wixsite.com/bolinger/about. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
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Dan. “The Fauvism Art Movement: Wild Beasts and Colorful Paintings.” Empty Easel, www.emptyeasel.com/2007/04/10/the-fauvism-art-movement-wild-beasts-and-colorful-paintings/ Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
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“Fauvism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-fauvism.htm. Accessed 17 Oct. 2017.
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Tate. “Fauvism – Art Term.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fauvism. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
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“André Derain (1880–1954) | Maurice de Vlaminck | 1999.363.83 | Work of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1999.363.83/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
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Bolinger, Diane. “Diane Bolinger Artist & Photographer.” Dianebolinger.com, www.dianebolinger.wixsite.com/bolinger/about. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.
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Dan. “The Fauvism Art Movement: Wild Beasts and Colorful Paintings.” Empty Easel, www.emptyeasel.com/2007/04/10/the-fauvism-art-movement-wild-beasts-and-colorful-paintings/ Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
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“Fauvism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-fauvism.htm. Accessed 17 Oct. 2017.
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Tate. “Fauvism – Art Term.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fauvism. Accessed 14 Oct. 2017.