Curatorial Rationale
I’ve decided to base my series around ideas of self-image and physical appearance. I’ve always had a love for traditional portraiture and the ways it could be used within a modern setting, with modern subjects. Throughout the start of my process, I determined that I wanted to paint people who had struggled with their own identity and, as a way to show the beauty in those around me. My goal for this series was to showcase different aspects of self-identity and image, allowing the viewer to hopefully relate to, understand, or see the beauty behind each subject of each painting, and maybe think further about the way they view themselves. The themes of my show center around beauty, image, and expectations regarding those. Several of my pieces are straightforward, traditional, bust up portraits, but others are more complex in what they are meant to represent. I chose to do this to document my themes and big ideas in different ways and to create different feelings for the viewer. For example, in one of my larger pieces, titled “flowers”, I focused on a boy dressed in dark, harsher clothing, juxtaposed against sunny scenery and soft pink flowers, some of which covering his face. I painted this portrait using an image I took of my best friend, in a park one day. I love the way his outfit and general appearance looked alongside the scenery, and as I began to prepare for the art show I chose to create a piece inspired by the image. I found growing up that as my friends struggled with self-confidence, I disliked the seemingly black and white sides of what self-expression could be. It seemed you could choose to conform to what societal expectations, or you could go harshly against that. While I hope to leave many of the themes of my show up to interpretation of the viewer, I found I enjoyed how this piece made me feel about masculinity, femininity, and expression. Often these things seem to clash with each other in one way or another, and I hoped the contrast of this piece could show the cohesion between typically “feminine” and “masculine” imagery. This piece connects to my collection as it shows another side of self-image and beauty. Another piece I created, titled “Pretty,” was created as a self-portrait. I used no reference photos for this piece, something uncommon for me as an artist, and put more effort into layering the paints and using dramatic colors, in order to better showcase the features, I wanted to stand out. This was a different technique for me, as I typically try to be controlled and detailed with my use of oil paint. The piece centers on my face and neck, showcasing my face covered in very smudged make up and muted red blood. As stated before, I like the idea of leaving much of the meaning of my pieces up to the viewer. However, this was another piece of mine that was created with a specific meaning in mind. I myself have often felt burdened with self-confidence and image issues and hoped to present my inner struggles and perception of myself through this strange self-portrait. This again connects to my collection as it shows explicitly the effects of societal expectations and the damage one’s self-image can cause. Two more of my pieces, titled “Shayna“ and “Lily“, are more simple portraits within the series. They both feature women I know who have struggled with self-image and identity issues within their life, and my main goal for these paintings was to showcase the beauty that they were able to find within themselves over time. I chose to not add any explicit symbolism, meaning, or imagery behind these pieces, as I feel often with an art, we don’t often allow pieces to exist for simply the reason of showcasing beauty and feeling. I chose to paint these women because of their confidence and beauty, and I’m happy that I could create these pieces based on the simple idea of self-acceptance. |
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Title: Flowers Size: 20” x 40” Medium: Oil Paint on Wood Statement: This piece was inspired by an image I took of my close friend Levi, sitting in a field of flowers. I loved the juxtaposition of Levi’s clothing and the pale flowers, showing a partnership between the standardly harsh idea of masculinity and the softness of the nature around him. I chose to have the flowers cover his face, as the flowers and the general colors of the piece were meant to be the focal point. |
Title: Butterflies Size: 12” x 16” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This piece is a self portrait, based off a photo taken of myself last summer. I gave the piece a black background as to create contrast between myself, the hair clips, and the dark background. I created this in an effort to build my own confidence and self appreciation while working on presenting my own features. |
Title: Shayna Size: 16” x 20” Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Statement: This piece is a portrait of Shayna, who discussed with me her own struggles with self image and confidence throughout her life. She felt the need to stifle her own desires to present her true self, and is attempting to reclaim what the idea of beauty and self confidence means to her. This piece was meant to represent her outward appearance, presenting her confidence within the painting. |
Title: Pretty Size: 11” x 14” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This piece is an experimental self portrait, as I tried to focus more on layers and shapes than realism. I attempted to represent the struggle I have with beauty and my own appearance by creating a sort of warped version of my face along with smeared blood and makeup. |
Title: Kate Size: 18” x 24” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This painting was created as a gift for my mother's close friend, in memory of their mutual friend, Kate. Kate passed away when I was a child, and this piece was referenced from one of the few photos my mother still has. I loved the image, as I felt it well represented her unique personality I had been told so much about. I again chose a black background to accentuate Kate as the focus of the piece. |
Title: Celia Size: 12” x 16” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This is a portrait of Celia, an old friend who had asked me to paint her. I again chose a black background to brighten the figure and accentuate her as the focus of the piece. I chose to include this portrait within my collection as to showcase a few more basic portraits to further my themes of image and beauty. |
Title: Jaret Size: 12” x 16” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This is another portrait created for a classmate, painted directly from an image. I kept the dark background and the bright curtains in front as I felt the juxtaposition of the two worked well against the figure. I chose to include this piece as to showcase different portraits and people in my collection to further my themes of image and beauty. |
Title: Lily Size: 12” x 16” Medium: Oil on canvas Statement: This is a portrait of Lily based on a photo of her taken last spring. I loved her positioning and features within the image, and chose to use a lighter background as to not contrast too heavily against the soft colors I used to paint her face. I chose to include this piece as I feel this portrait is another good representation of image and beauty, |
Title: Study from “The Virgin Suicides” Size: 20” x 16” Medium: Acrylic on canvas Statement: This painting is inspired by The Virgin Suicides, one of my favorite movies. The film deeply connected with me and my experience growing up as a young woman, and I found so much of it, especially this scene, beautiful and haunting, enticing me to create this piece. Much of the film centers around ideas of beauty, and I felt exaggerating the blues and purples of this shot could feed into those concepts visually. |