Self Image

Going back a few posts I was looking into some self portraits. I have never painted my own self portrait and I’m very keen into trying it. However I image it’s going to be one of my biggest challenges yet I’m looking forward to it (might wait till after my exams tehe).

Andy Warhol seems to be ultimate self-publicist. He seems to be fascinated with commercialism and supposedly ‘low culture’ imagery. In Warhol’s work there seems to be the implication that life is just wallpaper, just additional meaningless information because technology has outstripped the need for historical narrative. The work appears very sterile and emotionless. Self Portrait 1964 is a prime example of this emotionless spread. The simplicity and block colour gives it an almost mechanical and lifeless tone, however this is the way in which Warhol wants to be immortalised. It looks like it is one of many on a film strip due to the small gestures residing towards the bottom of the plane. The dominating glasses remove his identity yet ironically also make a bold statement.

Replication is also used within Rene Magritte’s ‘La Repoduction Interdite (not to be reproduced)’ 1937. It is actually a portrait of Edward James who was a famous collector and patron of the Surrealists. There is a denial of logic in the image, which raises questions about how much Magritte knows (or wants us to believe he knows) about the sitter’s identity. On the table is a book of poetry by Edgar Allen Poe, the macabre stories were eagerly read by the Surrealists. The book (unlike the man) is mirrored in the glass. It is very subtle differences that send a great chill down the spine of the viewer. The head is slightly turned to face the ‘replication’. It plays a very uncomfortable voyeuristic play on figure and the viewer is pushed the composition themselves. Magritte plays a kind of game with reality. The image is evidently refined yet seems to also be a void of some kind. It is very still and calm yet threatening.

Marc Quinn’s Self 1991 also displays a air of threatening quiet. You could argue that this self portrait is the most self portrait possible, yet notions of spirituality could reject that claim. It intrinsically has Marc Quinn’s DNA in the work as the head is cast from the artist’s own congealed blood. Despite it being a bodily fluid the piece remains very quiet and modest. It also remains fairly lifeless in its glass box in inside its sterile white room. It mirrors the idea of Caravaggio’s self deprecating portrait of his own head by evoking the gruesome bloody honesty of the flesh and bone and acts of violence in which we live.

This painting has been dated as early as 1605 and as late as 1609-1610. It is included in the list of candidates as Caravaggio's last work. Its melancholy would suit in fact the gloomy thoughts of the artist's final years. Although there is the proud strong figure holding up goliaths head it is the head which is the self representation of Caravaggio as he knew that the end was looming for himself. Yet it remains profoundly emotive to place himself as the monster. The piece remains a fragment of two stories; the story of David and goliath as well as Caravaggio’s own personal life drama.

Tai-Schan Schierenberg’s self portrait in 2002 also remains fragmented but in physical application as well as in narrative. It appears only an off glimpse in design. Little is told about the figure other than his fascination with the application and mounding of paint, which creates a astounding portrait. However physically it is also fragmented as it feels fairly incomplete due to the edges but the beauty is that this creates the focus. It is not to bold to suggest that the so called completion of the piece would detract from the character of it.

By approach from a design aspect alone Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait from 1887 could be likened to the harmony of nails down a blackboard. The bold illuminating blues are far saturated from the rest of the composition and therefore draw attention away from the main face. The incompleteness of the surrounding area is arguable a means of controlling this conflict but the painting. Yet it is inspiring as it captures more if the reality of Van Gogh. He isn’t a conventional painter nor is he the conventional mentality. Van Gogh used to paint some of his self-portraits over other works, he was not in a situation where others would be willing to pose for him so through necessity he had to paint himself. “If I manage to paint the colours of my own face - something which is not without its problems – I can then paint the faces of others.” The mark making is based on pointillist theories and the suit he wears immortalizes him respectfully, but it also draws you into to contemplate the figure as the image appears broken. I always find that if I am looking at a group of works there are those that speak to you whilst some others not as much. This painting is one that clearly speaks to the viewer.

I thought that the last painting I should talk about should be radically different; after all the world of art is definitely a turbulent one, so why should we ruin the fun by calming the waters. George Baselitz ‘The inverted motif’ from 1960; does not conform to the traditional portrait, and why should it? The brush marks crudely outline the purple and orange figure which seems to embody every aesthetic clash known to man. However it is all held together by the bold black lines. These lines are not complete outline and also serve as a more refined tonal detail. The composition on the whole appears very distressed, yet it is this uncomforting, tactile effect that is its quality. It isn’t difficult to see that it was meant to push boundaries. The name itself tells us this, simply from the term ‘inverted’.

This has been a great whirlwind of a rant for me, i hope – if you exist – it was for you too.

Warhol and Freud

Today I went to my local art gallery where there was an Andy Warhol exhibition. The highlight of which was the filmed interview of Warhol talking about anything and everything. I recently talked about witnessing the space in which an artist creates; however I never realised how much an insight into someone’s personality can change how you look at their work. One of the questions Warhol was asked was “what would you do if you were elected president” and his reply was that he would have all the roads carpeted. I then went back into the exhibition hall and strangely where before I was just struck by the confidence of the piece when I went back in I still had that but a sideline feeling of naivety in the work. This I knew was wrong, but since I have discovered it hasn’t had a lasting impression on how I see the movement; which I uphold as detrimental to our connection and understanding of art today! However whenever I now think of Warhol that line will always bring a smile to my face as it seems to symbolise his work very well; the bold statement about popular culture.

This made me think of the Artist Lucian Freud. I knew that his secretive lifestyle was because he didn’t want people to understand him as this would influence how they saw his work. Indeed the theories of Sigmund Freud would probably be thrust upon his work.

I find it fascinating when art so distant can be drawn together as Freud and Warhol. It’s increased my respect for the choices of artists beyond what they place on the canvas. It confirmed to me that being an artist is more a life style than a profession. Constantly seeking inspiration and knowledge is not something that can be confined to a 9 – 5 day.

Enviroment

Artwork is so amazingly personal that it could be argued unless you know the artist you will never truly understand their work. I think that is why, seeing that fleeting snap shot of the painting process seems so profoundly romantic.

Len Tabners work has been influential to my work for a while but it wasn’t until I saw this photo that I felt truly inspired. You can truly see the raw power that his work is drawn from; you can see the landscape physically forming in his style as the waves encroach on his space.

The concept of space is also incredibly personal. Some artists like to block of the world around them while others immerse themselves in it. When I paint I like to keep a sense of order but usually during the process that descends into something a little more chaotic but that chaos seems to be more personal. I know that I order things in strange ways; however I suppose everyone’s way is strange to someone else. But nothing prepared be for seeing a photo of Francis Bacons studio; every time I see it my eyes widen and I have to sit forward, it’s almost awkward to look at but gradually the ‘chaos’ seems to make sense. You can see where he walks and where he stands and you can see him working despite his absence. This is very different to the comparatively sterilised environment that Gerhard Richter chooses to work in.

Jackson Pollok seems to embody the ‘action shot’. Indeed the power in his work fits this portrayal. However the capture of this moment seems to almost be a capturing of the thought. The action is immortalised in a completely new way. Although when looking at a painting it’s fundamental to the understanding of it to visualise the brush marks and how they were applied; I find there remains a block between knowing they were applied and imagining them being applied. It feels to me that the works weren’t constructed but somehow grew. It’s a very odd sensation.

The building of an environment seems to be an insight into the personality of the artist while the work is an insight into their mentality (in some cases for both claims). The mystery of an artwork seems to draw us into wanting to be inquisitive and on the whole it seems to be quite common for great claims about an artist to be made from how they work.

Synesthesia effects me, but i don't really call it 'a condition' . Odd though it might seem I realise that this effects how I build my environment. Light is crucial, I find nothing more annoying than strong artificial lighting as it feels claustrophobic. I picture time around me and so I spread out all of my equipment to sort of mirror this sense of time and space. It’s a little difficult to explain and its details that I’m only just discovering myself so I’m not even 100% sure. But you don’t need a so called ‘condition’ to set up something personal because how you work naturally is your ideal environment.

There seem to be many artists that become icons because of their appearance. One that springs to mind is Andy Warhol. But that brings into question how we want to be seen and how we are seen. It wasn’t until recently that someone pointed out that I tend to stand on one leg when I paint. I’ll be honest I have no idea why I do it, or how often but what I do know is that when my friend tapped me on the shoulder to tell me something very odd happened. I found working for the rest of that day incredibly difficult because I was so conscious about it. I might carry this on at some point but I’ll leave you here for now, goodnight!