Self Portrait
Exhibition Text
I created this piece to show people that it is okay to be the real you and you shouldn't be afraid to show who you are. I used surrealism and my own ideas to create this piece. I used a porcelain doll idea to create the effect that the old me is breaking and the new me is starting to come out. I used Salvador Dali as my inspiration for this piece. I wanted to show the softball with angle wings as me beign happy when I play softball and the devil music notes as me when im upset or mad I listen to music to get out of the real world.
Meaning
The meaning behind this piece is that the real is is startting to show and the old me is slowly cracking away. In my life I always hid the real me because I didn't want people to hate me so I decided to be a lie. People changed me and I kept the real me inside and showed the fake old me. I stopped hanging out with certain people. The people I started hanging out with showed me that the real me is okay and who ever hates the real me isn't the people I should be hanging out with.
After my mom died I thought that I should just hide the real me and not show my feelings to people. I thought people wouldn't want me to express my feelings and that my feelings didn't matter. I met new people after I stopped hanging out with people who didn't let me show who I really was. The people I started hanging out with showed me it was okay to show my feelings and that it was okay to be the real me.
After my mom died I thought that I should just hide the real me and not show my feelings to people. I thought people wouldn't want me to express my feelings and that my feelings didn't matter. I met new people after I stopped hanging out with people who didn't let me show who I really was. The people I started hanging out with showed me it was okay to show my feelings and that it was okay to be the real me.
Artist and culture
My artist inspiration was Salvador Dali and his surrealism art works. I was also inspired by porcelain doll faces when they are cracked. Salvador Dali inspired me because he creates art pieces with a meaning behind them. I wanted to create a meaning behind my piece while I put devil horns on my music notes and wings around my softball. The cracks on me show a meaning that the old me is slowly cracking and the new me is starting to show. Salvador Dali's work shows that you don't have to just make a simple painting with meaning, you can add effects to it to create a deeper meaning. His work helped me create the piece that I did. His art work showed me that I can create art with a deeper meaning by adding effects for example, people creating different art works in one. The porcelain doll cracks show that even though you break you can learn from it and a new person can come out when you break. I wanted to show that people did break me but I realized the old me isn't right so the new me is starting to show and the old me is cracking away.
The Invention of the Monsters
Oil on canvas 20 1/4 x 30 7/8 in. (51.4 x 78.4 cm) This painting was made in the Semmering mountains near Vienna a few months before the Anschluss. |
No name
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Cracked porcelain doll face. I wanted to show people that I used cracks from a porcelain doll face to represent the old me.
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Planning
While I was planning I decided that I wanted something that showed that the real me is starting to show and the old me is slowly cracking away. I decided to look up images of porcelain doll faces that have been cracked and I got the idea to put cracks in my face and on my neck, chest. When I decided that I wanted to put things in the background that showed who I was so I thought I could draw a softball and music notes but add a little twist to them. I decided to look of Salvador Dali's work and seen that he made everyday things have a twist to them. I thought I could add angle wings to the softball because that's what makes me happy and devil horns and a tail to the music notes because the music can get me in trouble. I wanted to take the porcelain doll idea and mix it with Salvador Dali's surrealism works.
Porcess
After i found my inspiration I decided to start stretching my canvas. I made the frame by 3 ft x 3 ft pieces of wood and connected the together. When I connected the together I stapled them using a staple gun. After I had the frame stapled I got the canvas ready and layed it on the floor and layed my frame over it. I cut it to where I think was enough. I then folded the sides and started stapling them. I put about 10-11 staples in each side so I knew the canvas would fall off. After I got the canvas on the frame I took my canvas home and gessoed it. I put about two coats on and let it dry. When I finished drying I painted my background and used two coats. When the two coats dried I made my grid so it will be easier for me to sketch my drawing onto the canvas. I began sketching and finished in three days. I then started painting and I finished painting my body in five days. I finished the music notes and softball in one day. I then added the cracks to my face to finished the piece off.
Experimentation
Throughout the process I couldn't have a lot of room for experiments. While doing my piece I could say I learned a lot about placement and what colors look like when mixed with others. Meaning that I mixed colors to see if they matched what color I wanted them to be and when they didn't look like the color I would see what I needs to add to make my color. This piece showed me a lot about time management and focus because you need to remember that the sketch in your sketch book isn't the same size as your canvas. You need to make adjustments and make sure the placing fits. I took a image of myself and scaled it to fit the canvas so I knew I had to make some arrangements to make sure it fits my canvas. Overall I could say that this project wasn't so much of an experimentation.
Reflection
I could say overall I like my piece and it shows the meaning that I wanted it to show. I would change the way I made the nose because I made the shadowing a little to dark and the way I made the devil horns. I like the way the cracks came out and the way my overall piece turned out. The way I was standing in the picture is what I should of changed because the lighting and they way my shirt was placed in the picture. I would say this is a nice piece that I made. I usually don't like painting but this was a piece that showed me that you can create things using different shades. If I could do another self portrait I would make one that shows the athletic side of me but also the teenage side of me. I had fun making this and I would do it again if I had the chance. I would even make a self portrait out of something instead of acrylic. I may use oil paint. Salvador Dali was a big help in me creating my piece. So was the cracked porcelain doll because they both showed me that I can create a piece with a deeper meaning. I was also able to show the real me and show that the old me is leaving and the new me is starting to show.
ACT Relfection
How are you able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork?
I was able to take the porcelain doll cracks and add them into my face and the surrealism from Salvador Dali and create the deeper meaning I wanted to.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Salvador Dali was able to create deeper meanings just by making his art work have a twist and another form of art to it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People can have a deeper meaning to their art work by adding another form of ideas to their work. Also people show their ideas and feelings through art.
What was the central idea for theme around your inspirational research?
Showing who you really are and not letting anyone change who you really are no matter what they try to do.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I questioned the meaning the Salvador Dali's work and wanted the understand why he made his work the way he did.
I was able to take the porcelain doll cracks and add them into my face and the surrealism from Salvador Dali and create the deeper meaning I wanted to.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Salvador Dali was able to create deeper meanings just by making his art work have a twist and another form of art to it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People can have a deeper meaning to their art work by adding another form of ideas to their work. Also people show their ideas and feelings through art.
What was the central idea for theme around your inspirational research?
Showing who you really are and not letting anyone change who you really are no matter what they try to do.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I questioned the meaning the Salvador Dali's work and wanted the understand why he made his work the way he did.
Citations
"About This Artwork." Inventions of the Monsters | The Art Institute of Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/151424
"Salvador Dali." Salvador Dali. Surreal Years. Art, Paintings, and Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
http://www.moodbook.com/history/modernism/salvador-dali-surreal.html
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/151424
"Salvador Dali." Salvador Dali. Surreal Years. Art, Paintings, and Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
http://www.moodbook.com/history/modernism/salvador-dali-surreal.html