Honors: NARRATIVE SELF PORTRAIT
The narrative concept is used in visual art so the artist can creates a story in his or her
image. Tell the viewer something about yourself by the way you create your self portrait.
It can be what you love to do, how you are feeling, what you dream about, what you hope
to do in ten years, etc. The image will likely contain other visual cues besides your face—
it could be the setting (the room you are in), a prop you are interacting with, an imagined
vision, etc. Use the media of your choice. You may use photographs as a reference for
this project.
CASE STUDY: ARTIST GAELA ERWIN
Erwin writes about her work:
Self-portraits are a recurrent theme in my work. This motif allows me the luxury of working from life without the worry of
mounting model bills and the ease of working whenever and however long I feel without scheduling conflicts. After all, I am
always available to model. Self-portraits also afford the possibilities not only of mirroring my own physical characteristics
and psychology but, if the painting is truly successful, also a glimpse of the interior landscape of the viewer’s own psyche.
Themes of mortality are often evident in my work. Not unlike a vanitas, my paintings are often evocative of life’s
companionship with death. Formal concerns such as black borders; painterly, abstracted backgrounds; and a muted tonal
palette reinforce this theme. Framing devices that are often seen in my work function on this level as well, but also play with
conditions of illusion, creating a sense that the viewer is looking into a mirror. It is a mirror that does not reflect the
viewer’s gaze; in fact, the face looking back may not even be looking at him/her. Ultimately, this repulsion of the viewer
encourages a looking inward, sparking a resonance that often results in an uncomfortable recognition of a familiar emotion
or feeling.
Recent self-portraits have taken the theme of various saints as catalysts for symbolic imagery evident in many of the
works. Borrowing from the lore of celebrated saints allows me to explore the near spiritual path every artist must tread in
order to pursue their artistic convictions. Though no one would argue that the lives of artists are as arduous and tortured
as those that the saints endured, the question of faith for artists in the face of adversity and self-doubt is a torment that
perhaps the saints would have appreciated.
Gaela Erwin, 2001
Self-Portrait as St. Poulette
Other artists you may want to research are Frida Kahlo and Max Beckmann. Both are
well known for their narrative self portraits.
Also, here is a website that you might find helpful:
http://www.portrait-artist.org/face/index.html