How do you depict an identity?
Artists
Pablo Picasso
Joy Hester
Pablo Picasso was born in
October 1881, in Málaga. He
married Olga Khokhlova, but
separated from her until her
death. He then married
Jacqueline Roque in 1961. He
died on 8 April, 1973.
Joy Hester was born in August
1920, in Melbourne. She
married Albert Tucker in 1941,
and had a son. Three years
after his birth, Hester was
diagnosed with Hodgkin’s
lymphoma. She died in
December, 1960.
Faces
- Joy Hester
‘Faces’ is actually a collection
of inked pictures by Joy
Hester. This one, I think, is
particularly good. It relates to
the subjective frame as the
face seems contemplating, as
though she is thinking deeply
about something. The angle
of the head is looking up are
something, and the eyes look
big and serious.
Girl Before A Mirror
- Pablo Picasso
This is Pablo Picasso’s ‘Girl
Before A Mirror’. He has used
bright colours and obvious
cubism to define the girl and
her reflection. It relates to
the structural frame because
he focuses on the colours,
lines and shapes more than
the deep meaning or
symbolism of the artwork.
Faces – Joy Hester
This picture is a picture of a woman thinking deeply
about something. I think it is particularly striking
because of the woman’s direction. She is looking up at
something, or maybe because she is thinking over
something. Her eyes seem tinged with worry, and she
looks indecisive.
This picture could be expressing what Hester herself felt,
or maybe what she saw other people feeling. All her
artworks in this series seem to be very emotional.
Girl Before A Mirror– Pablo Picasso
This picture – Girl Before A Mirror – is very eye catching.
Maybe because of the way her expression is: she seems
both sad and resigned at the same time. But I think it
is the way Picasso has combined colour and bold
shapes that makes this picture truly interesting. The
girl’s reflection looks different to the girl herself,
signifying change or maybe dreams. I see it as a way of
expressing self-doubt and the fact that what you look
like is not necessarily all you are.
Tools and Techniques
Pablo Picasso
Joy Hester
Picasso was very interested in
cubism and colour. His
artworks were often bright in
colour and defined in shape.
Because of this, he is often
associated with the structural
frame, because he preferred
how a picture looks to what it
means or expresses.
Hester primarily used ink for
her pictures and artworks,
and centred her pictures
around the face. A lot of her
pictures show most of the
emotions in the eyes.
Hester used sure, confident
lines as well as softer ones,
and combined outlining with
fading to create stunning
works.
Materials
Pablo Picasso
Joy Hester
Picasso experimented in a wide
variety and range of
materials in his artworks and
pictures. It was not
uncommon for him to be
using multiple materials in
one artwork.
He preferred to use paint,
however, and he often
painted very cubist paintings.
As said before, Hester favoured
inking. She used inks of
various colours, primarily
black and dark blues, greens
and browns.
Often she sat on the floor and
produced her artworks very
quickly and confidently,
inking straight onto the
paper.