Docent Tour Packet The Reflected Self: A Cultural History of PortraitureSeptember 15, 2017 - October 22, 2017

Exhibition Synopsis

Capturing images of the human face, or portraiture as it is formally known in art, is both a timeless gesture and a common act that we take for granted. The desire or record or represent someone's likeness as a means to communicate meaning has existed since antiquity. In contemporary society, capturing one's likeness has become routine in both the ease of photographing yourself or others with your phone, and presenting those images on a social network such as Facebook or Instagram.

The Reflected Self invites visitors/tour groups to consider the many ways which artists ( including themselves) have represented the human face in different time periods, visual styles, and social contexts, and how those images function in various networks.

Presented in the exhibition are works by contemporary artists: MArzia Ransom, Adrian Coates, and Patryk Stasieczek, and selections from the Pensacola Museum of Art’s permanent collection. These represent the diversity of portraiture and the variety of approaches taken by artists in addressing the genre.

Red Head, n.d. 20th centuryRichard LinderPMA Permanent Collection, Gift from Samuel Dorsky, 1973.11

What is a Portrait?

Portraiture is a mode of image-making where faces are manipulated visually by artists in order to craft particular images of the self that are presented in a particular way. The persistence of portraiture as a genre in art, and the persistence of imaging our likeness as a common social gesture is ties to the close connection between our identity and images of our face.

We largely communicate through our faces, through speaking and the use of our eyes and expressions. As such, images of faces trigger many unconscious assumptions, which are tied intimately to how we interact.

Have your group try to tell a partner a funny story without using facial expressions. It is very hard! We use our face to communicate ideas and communicate the way we view ourselves.

In portraiture, the style in which an artist's renders the face is used to convey meaning. Every detail from the use of color, light, composition, iconography, choice of setting, medium etc. shape our perception on the subject and our interpretation of the face represented.

The manner in which faces are presented in portraiture is a product of the values and social and historical contexts of a particular time period.

Example: Look at Bird Watcher, Irving Amen. (picture Below)

Study her face and posture. What emotions do you sense from her? Is she happy?Sad? Longing?

What artistic choices did Amen make to help convey her emotions?

Bird Watcher, Irving Amen, n.d. Woodblock on paperPMA Permanent Collection

Maria I, Maria IIAlex Katz PMA Permanent Collection, Nicole Marie Hatfield Blue Book Fund, 2016.01

Portraits were used for many different reasons: representation of social status, to document, to commemorate or memorialize an individual, for political or propaganda purposes, or to record.

One example of a portrait to represent status would be Portrait of Peter Higbee, attributed to Gilbert stuart. How does this portrait compare to Alex Katz Maria I and Maria II?

Interactive Components:

The Project Space is an active space for participants to create their own portraits through various media and become a part of the exhibition through our Selfie and Portrait Sitting Stations. Individuals can use any of the three ipads at our Selfie station take a photograph of themselves. These will be placed inside the exhibition on our monitor. At our Portrait Sitting station participants can dress up in clothing, use props, or whatever they would like to sit in front of the golden frame while another person uses charcoal, pencils, or a camera to capture their image.

The two long tables are full of books on drawing, portraits, and artists to use pencils and coloring pencils to create their own portrait in they style they

desire. These can be taken home or added to our wall. The other long white table has abstract facial features and head shapes for participants to glue together. Encourage all tour participants to engage with the space!

Curatorial staff and interns are researching information about pieces in the exhibition. Below are some facts and interesting information about select pieces on display.

RICHARD LINDNER (1901-1978)Redheadn.d. 20th century (identical print at MOMA dated 1971)PMA Permanent Collection, Gift from Samuel Dorsky, 1973.11

A version of Redhead is in the collection at MOMA, dated 1971.

Lindner was born in Germany. His style was influenced by Berlin’s cabaret culture of the 1930s, evident here in the garish colors & harsh outlines of Redhead

Lindner moved to New York City in 1941, escaping Nazi-occupied Paris. In NYC, he was a successful illustrator for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar

NAHUM TSCHACBASOV (1899-1984)Portrait of a Rabbi1947Etching on paperPMA Permanent Collection, Gift from the Artist, 1966.07

Tschacbasov’s expressionistic portraits are reminiscent of Byzantine and Russian Orthodox religious icons. Tschacbasov would have seen these images during his childhood in Russia.

Tschacbasov was a friend of Mark Rothko, painting alongside him in the group, The Dissenters Ten. This group protested the Whitney Museum of American Art and rejected the traditional American “literal” painting style,

promoting instead a more avant garde style closer to the European modernist aesthetic.

A Russian Jew, Tschacbasov immigrated to America in 1907 at the age of 8. He later studied in Paris until 1935, when he returned to New York City permanently.

HENRY L. WHIDDON (1930-2010)Woman Seated at Tablen.d. 20th CenturyWatercolor on paperPMA Permanent Collection, Gift from Samuel Dorsky, 1973.11

The flattened and elongated face of the woman in this portrait is reminiscent of Modigliani.

Henry Whiddon lived in Pensacola for four years while serving in the Navy.

ALICE SCOTT (1924-2005)Crabbing1977WatercolorPMA Permanent Collection, 1977.01

Alice Scott captures a moving portrait of an elderly African American woman collecting crabs. Scott masterfully overlays color on top of color to create a rich, dynamic image of a woman hardened by work, but softened by age. This is a sympathetic portrait, imbued with a mixture of admiration and pathos.

Alice Scott was a South Carolina artist, living in Charleston from the 1940s on. She depicted scenes from the American South and is particularly known for her images of African-American women flower sellers.

IRVING AMEN (1918-2011)Bird WatcherWoodblock technique on paperPMA Permanent Collection

Born in New York City, Irving Amen was a prominent American artist renowned for his woodcuts.

The bold primary colors of “Bird Watcher” harken back to childhood.

Amen translated his woodcutting skills to stained glass at several points in his career. Most notably, Amen designed twelve stained glass windows representing the twelve tribes of Israel for the Agudas Achim Synagogue in Ohio.

D. MASTALIO (Early 20th century)Edna1937WoodblockPMA Permanent Collection, Mrs. A.M. Dubose, 1982.18

The portrait in profile is a very traditional, even Classical, style of portraiture, reminiscent of images of emperors on Roman coins and of US Presidents on our coins today. The artist, Mastalio, took this conventional portrait style in 1937 and applied it to a non-conventional subject, a woman of African descent. The artist captures this woman’s arched eyebrow, broad nose, and full lips with a few simple, yet sophisticated lines. The lines are delicate, but strong. The result is a striking image. We know little about Mastalio, but it is clear from this work that he possessed a masterful control of the woodblock medium.

MARY JANICE THORNTON (1930-1990)Girl with Poppy

1954Oil on canvasPMA Permanent Collection, Gift from the Artist, 1988.03

A strong primary color palette draws the eye to this rather large, nude portrait. The model leans against a stool, her back to a mirror, which reflects her darkened silhouette. Her face is completely in shadow and looks down at the poppy in her right hand. In her left hand she holds a pitcher, possibly of water. The presence of the poppy, coupled with the conspicuous shadow over the girl’s face, may indicate a sorrow in her life. The poppy is traditionally a symbol for death, mourning, and consolation. Mary Janice Thornton was a Pensacola-based artist ‘of considerable renown’, according to the Panama City News-Herald in 1963. The Pensacola Museum of Art has a gallery named after her.