Last self portrait

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone because I am the person I know best."

"They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality"

I got inspired by Frida Kahlo because she was forced to stay home for a long time due to a bad injury caused by a car accident and she was always alone so she decided to paint self-portraits since she was always alone.

Now, and during the pandemic, all of us were forced to stay home, and sometimes we were alone and depressed and I thought that we can use this time to sit with ourselves and think about all the good things in our life that get us to this point.

For my final project, I was thinking to do of taking some of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits and edit them so anyone can use his pictures in it and it may inspire people to explore themselves and know more about their identity during this pandemic while they were setting alone.

Last Selfie Protrait

 

"The spectacle presents itself simultaneously as society itself, as a part of society, and as a means of unification. As a part of society, it is ostensibly the focal point of all vision and all consciousness. But due to the very fact that this sector is separate, it is, in reality, the domain of delusion and false consciousness: the unification it achieves is nothing but an official language of universal separation."

last self portrait

 

“Everything that was once lived has become a mere representation” -society of the spectacle  

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Kathleen DaSilva

Professor Cacoilo

Art Self Image

April 21, 2021

        When we think of artist, it’s clear that the first thing that comes to mind is how their pieces might have touched or moved us in some way. Two artists that were influential and inspirational are Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Andy Warhol having been diagnosed with Sydenham’s chorea at a young age, maintained much of his time confined to bed. In that time in bed rest, he drew, listened to the radio, and collected pictures of movie stars. The Warhol family had few luxuries due to the Great Depression-era. However, his parents bought him his first camera when he was eight years old. Andy Warhol years later, started his career with consumer ad designer by painting items that were used throughout most days and those commercial ads were created to devoting more attention to the concept of “pop art”. His artwork theme also revolved around money, time, death and without a doubt, celebrity. It was clear that Warhol had an obsession with different celebrities and fame. “I’ve got to do something different, that will be very personal, that won’t feel like I’m doing exactly what they’re doing” (Andy Warhol Documentary Film Part 1 of 2). Much like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat also focused on abstracts and his theme also reflected on the idea of wealth and how it compared to poverty. On the other hand, Basquiat’s work seemed to be on the darker note of reality. His pieces expressed the struggle of segregation that blacks would endure. 

Despite their rough upcoming, their own experiences are placed in their work. Both having come from tough situations of life; they present the idea of not having the finer things life had to offer. With Warhol and his family going through the Great Depression and Basquiat having left home to live on the streets at a young age at a time where racism controlled everyday life. Both artists demonstrate the harsh reality and cruelness the world could potentially offer. I also strongly believe that from their work you can see bits and pieces of themselves. In Basquiat’s artwork, it can be described as different, raw, curious and maybe even somewhat weird. However, all those descriptions about himself, reflect in his work. His work is messy but creative, strange but clever, odd but colorful. “Jean was doing a much more intensely radical, bohemian style” (Jean Michel Basquiat / The Radiant Child, 2010) Overall, his pieces have hidden meanings that I think bring out his character, much like Warhol. Warhol was described as being bright and unafraid of what others would think of his work. Both Basquiat and Warhol carried that confident characteristic. With Warhol, he was also different and unique which clearly reflected in his eye-catching and lively portraits. I believe these incredible artists became synonymous with their work. As mentioned previously, each one of these artists have different styles but the overall meaning behind their work falls hand in hand. In the era of Warhol, he become infatuated with drawing celebrities. This concept played a role in his work because growing up, he was not able to afford the luxuries of life. The irony of not being able to live lavishly but painting those who could such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor. In the eyes of the media, Basquiat’s pieces were in a sense a representation of the current social injustices and inequality. It seemed as if he was trying to paint a portrait of how others viewed the black community. 

    His portraits not only were unique but were meant to send out a message to the public. For their techniques, each artist has their own style. Andy Warhol preferred the form of acrylic painting on a canvas, photography and screen printing. Jean preferred painting on paper or canvas but even painted on materials he found on streets such as doors or scrapes or foam rubber which became relevant to the time he spent living on the street. “He used to make the joke that you date his work by the different sneakers he wore over the years” (Jean Michel Basquiat / The Radiant Child, 2010). Yet another way he made sure to bring his struggles into his pieces. From living most of his life on the streets, sometimes he would walk all over his pieces and leave behind his footprint physically on his artwork. In conclusion, both of these artists left their mark on the world through their work and it still moves and relates to individuals today. 

SELF PORTRAIT PROJECT

Anna Mendieta

Perspective vs. reality

Jean- Michael Basquiat 

    While creating this piece, Jean- Michael Basquiat and Anna Mendieta inspire me in as both artists have a different way of expressing their art. While looking at Anna Mendieta's art gives me the idea of her expressing her situation at home with her art, which inspire me to take pictures of how I’ve been feeling since we started quarantine. For me personally has been like a nightmare not be able to see people, to communicate face-to-face, to go out, and between others. On the other side, Basquiat gave me an idea of enjoying the art to have fun with it. This is the first piece of art that kind of make me feel express, the idea of how I have been feeling vs how I’ve been projecting myself to others. Making this piece was kind of fun my sister helps me to take the pictures, she was very supportive but strict at the same time. She also helps me to get the material as she is the artist in the family.  

Quotes:

"The heavily coded image with its plethora of visible clues signalled the inauthenticity of the kiss and dulled any frisson suggested by the act." (pg 187)

"The birth of fashion coincides with other changes in society and heralds an era in which individual desires are made into realizable pursuits." (pg. 192)

"The importance of fashion cannot be underestimated as an influence on the everyday world we inhabit." (pg.192)

"Being able to read the surface for insights into the interior, and be- coming adept at constructing surface appearances through the control of detail, are processes fundamental to contemporary social relations. Since the late twentieth century fashionability in clothes, cosmetics, body shape and material possessions have all become loquacious as more personal attributes are attached to them." (pg. 195)

Janissa’s Self Portrait Project

 

I would like to start off by saying that I am not the best at drawing realistic faces and I tried my best, Ive only drawn animated characters my whole life so this was something a little new to me. In my self portrait I tried to incorporate idea’s from a few of the artist. I loved Amy Sheralds use of graphite for the body of the portrait and then using color for the clothing, so I drew myself and shaded it in pencil and then painted my hoodie. Fun Fact, the hoodie is actually a Keith Haring hoodie and I painted that one not only because it is my favorite hoodie but because he is also an artist so I thought it was cool (I ran out of white paint so the blue of the hoodie is very off it is supposed to be a very pretty light blue :/ ). My background is inspired by Jean Michel Basquiat by the drawing that is in the squares, also inspired by Andy Warhol by using a repeated image with bright pop out colors in boxes. For the background I used Milo markers and paint markers, the hoodie is painted with acrylic paint, and the face is drawn with pencils and shaded with shading tools. 

Ava's Self Portrait Project

 

Amy Sherald and Andy Warhol inspired me to create my self portrait piece. Both artists' work are very different from each other but I wanted to incorporate ideas from both of them as a way to show myself in my own self portrait. I loved reading about Sherald's work and admiring her art. I thought her art was empowering because she always displayed women to be powerful, beautiful, and strong. I found it important to have art published demonstrating women as leaders because we live in a world where women do not receive the same equalities as men do. When drawing my portrait of myself, I tried to use solid, bright colors and draw myself simply, the same way her art is. She often showed the women in her portraits to be standing tall and confident. Most of her portraits showed women in pretty dresses, which inspired me to create my own. I used colored pencils to color in the dress, my hair, my face, and the background a contrasting, solid color. Once I drew my picture, I took a picture of it and uploaded it onto my phone, where I created a collage of the same image four times. Then I changed the colors in three of the pictures to resemble Warhol's pop art. Warhol stuck out to me from every artist we learned because I admired how much he struggled with growing up, such as his Sydenham disorder, and how he chose to use that struggle in a creative, beneficial way. I have struggled my life with many mental health issues and trauma that I would use to express myself through music and acting. Warhol's story is very moving because of how successful he became and continued to never give up. Taking something bad and making it something great is a hard but amazing thing to do. Because of this, I felt a connection to Warhol and made my portrait a repeating image with different, bright colors to resemble Andy Warhol.