This idea also expresses the idea of reaching out and trying to be noticed, as we see two people reaching out to each other. but, neither of them are able to cross over the boundary that we can see. i think this idea would look really effective if the two people were created using dark tones (ie. black and white or greyscale) and the splashes were bright colours. i believe this would emphasise on a depressing emotion. i also feel this would be quite a simple, but effective idea. i would relate this idea to the Two Fridas portrait as its two seperate identities, trying to connect with each other.
Interim Review - Unit 1: Anatomy - 06/10/09
ReplyDeleteHi Ethan,
Firstly - your essay question; you do seem rather too vague and generalised still; perhaps you need to unpick your ideas further; for instance, the use of portraits to construct 'celebrity' is one strand; in this sense, the portrait is highly constructed, managed and designed to transmit a fiction. The notion of re-touching etc. is part and parcel of this construction, because celebrities are 'supposed' to be perfect; however, a consequence of these constructed personas is that, for some people, they represent the 'truth' or ideal, and then people begin to emulate 'fictions', changing their own bodies to resemble them; of course, celebrites are chameleons; think of Madonna, who changes her 'identity' every five minutes to stay contemporary and current; if you look at the photographs of Cindy Sherman, she does the same thing, but for artistic purposes. You need to figure out what you mean by 'celebrity/identity' and then structure your argument accordingly.
Regarding your portraits; I was hoping to see a bit more mixed media explorations (drawing + Photo + painting + Photoshop) of your ideas; currently, while all 4 of your ideas have points of interest, the way in which your communicating them visually isn't helping to solidify them; you talk about colour in your posts, but don't use any; I can't see from your sketches how might be planning to execute the portraits; are you using photography, or painting? I also want you to consider your composition; there seems to be a lot 'empty space' on your pages; remember to use the edges of your canvas too; in short, I think you need to be more bold, more striking and develop your visual strategy more confidently; there is something timid about your preparatory drawings, and I want to see a much more muscular and experimental approach to your image making. I think you need to commit to a single idea, and then really push it, in terms of aesthetics, composition and meaning.