Self Portrait

17
Self-Portrait: A True Self ? By: Sophie Johnson

Transcript of Self Portrait

Page 1: Self Portrait

Self-Portrait:A True Self ?

By:Sophie Johnson

Page 2: Self Portrait

traces

of the self

explode

out of the

human physicality

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fingerprints

are

left behind

without

a

moments

thought

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hair follicles

imitate

hitchhikers

wandering

along

desert

roads

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the molecules left behind from a breath

l i n g e r

in

the

air

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Such is true for

artists and their work. Artists

put all of their self into the

art they produce. Depending

on the archival nature of the

art, centuries down the line

that art will be revisited

when the artist is no longer a

member of the human social

network. Every piece of art

in existence harbors

traces of its maker.

Whether it lies within the

context of the art, the way

the materials are used, or

the literal subject matter, the

artist creates in a unique

manner according to their

own aesthetic preferences.

Who is to argue that all art is

not a true representation of

the artist? Perhaps a self-

portrait presents the obvious

nature of the self that the

artist wishes to display, but

is it a true representation?

Can the viewer entrust their

opinion of the artist’s true

self based on the artist’s

depiction of his or her own

appearance?

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Personal life

experiences reverberate across

every artist’s work. In turn, the

artist’s self is represented in

every work they produce. Self-

Portraiture does not stand alone

in the personification of the

artist; all pieces in an artist’s

collection illustrate the artist’s

identity. However, according to

Gasser the artist’s self portrait

allows us humble outsiders a

glimpse at the intimacy housed

in an artist’s self-portrait (Gasser, 7).

Is that intimacy the ultimate

truth?

Perhaps not…

Here in lies the conundrum.

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The exploration of the self-portrait as a true representation of the

self begins with the analysis of artist’s Kiki Smith and LUCAS

SAMARAS. Smith and Samaras both include a series of self-portraits in

their repertoire. Smith has multiple subject matters in the body of her work,

where as Samaras focuses solely on the self as his subject matter.

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Kiki Smith is an artist

who works primarily in sculpture, but

also experimented with printmaking.

Before attending the Universal Limited

Art Editions in 1989, she primarily used

a neutral figure as forms in her art (Weitman,

24). While in attendance at ULAE, she

began to use her own image as the

forms in her prints.

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“There’s

something

really

nice about

transgress

ing your

own image.

It’s

endlessly

amusing to

make

yourself

horrific-

looking”-

Kiki Smith

(Weitman, 25)

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Smith uses

herself as an image in

many different ways. In

her piece Banshee Pearls

(1991) she toys with

reality by using negative

photograph images of her

face in graphic transfers

and contrasting the

photorealism with blurry

mask-like masses with the

resulting aesthetic that

dwindles between creepy

and beautiful (Weitman, 25).

Here, Smith revisits a

childhood memory of her

father calling her a

banshee and uses this

recollection as the

inspiration for this

piece (Weitman, 25).

“I made a

celebration of

being a death

figure” – Kiki

Smith(Weitman, 25)

Smith exaggerates her

physical flaws in many of

her self-portraits (Weitman,

25). In her untitled self-

portraits she produced in

1993, she uses her face

as the

subject matter in a

hauntingly bleak way

(Weitman, 26). Smith’s choice

to present herself in the

way that likens her image

to that of a ghost or a

banshee forces her

audience to relate to her

on a more personal level

than a simple photograph

could achieve.

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In contrast, Lucas Samaras is an artist who solely

produces self-portraits as his method of choice.

“When I fall in

love with somebody,

I invariably

discovered that I

did not receive

from them what my

education and

fantasy required.

As a result, I

shifted myself to

myself.”

– Lucas Samaras

(Prather, 44)

Kuspit explains that Samaras constantly shifts back to the self as the

object of his affection, and in turn portrays that in his art (Prather, 44).

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Samaras self-

portraits are a journey through

the artist’s life. The differences

in the variety of his portraits

reflect the multiple aspects of

being human. To truly be able

to capture the self in one

painting or drawing is near

impossible. Samaras uses his

entire career to strive to

capture the self, and in doing

so is able to explore every

unique aspect of his

persona.

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“Samaras’s

creativity feeds on

itself, rummaging

through the past to

find an artistic

future, which is

what narcissistic,

myth-making memory

always does” –

(Prather, 57)

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At the

root of every one of

Samaras’s self-

portraits is a

primordial presence

(Prather, 50). Self-portraits

in nature are about

self-

representation.

Samaras portraits

preserve the nature

of the self the way

many self-portraits

cannot (Prather, 50).

Samara attached all

of his experiences

from his life to his

work, the way Smith

draws inspiration

from her life and

portrays that in her

art. However, Samara

titled all of his art as

a representation of

himself, whereas

Smith chose to use

various subject

matters.

Page 16: Self Portrait

An artist’s content is a

true representation of who they are.

Content may change based on

different revelations and moments

in an artist’s life, but it always

relates back to the artist’s

experience.

At what point can the artist ever be

separated from their art?

Whether the chosen subject matter

is a self-portrait or a landscape,

the artist is

always present in

the art.

Page 17: Self Portrait

Bibliography

1. Gasser, M. (1961). Self-portraits. NY, NY: Appleton-Century.

2. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.

3. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.

Images

1. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.

2. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.3.  http://wings.buffalo.edu/english/faculty/conte/syllabi/377/Images/

Johns_Skins.jpg4. http://gimps.de/pictures/albums/userpics/10001/hairstyles-for-

short-hair.jpg5. Sophie Johnson. (2010). Fargo, ND.6. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.7. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.8. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.9. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.10. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.11. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.12. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.13. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.14. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.15. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.16. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.17. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.18. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.19. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.20. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.21. Weitman, W. (2003). Kiki smith. NY, NY: The Museum of Modern Art.22. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.23. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.24. Prather, M. (2003). Unrepentant ego: the self-portraits of lucas

samaras. NY, NY: Whitney Museum of Art.