Within Myself

• What is the subject of your image?

The subject is all about me to give viewers an understanding of what and who I am within myself. 

• What is the content of your image?

The content of the image is my head opened up and all the words around it are things that have to do with me. These words include my values, things I like, things about me, my characteristics, and quotes I like to live by. There are also pictures that represent some of the words.

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

There were pictures of works of other artists that I remember seeing of collages that were similar but not quite the same. I didn't want to do a silhouette since that is what a lot of self-portrait collages are based on, but something else. When I decided on the words, I wanted a variety of things, not just one specific category. For example, I included words of things that I value, such as family and friends, and also characteristics that describe me, like ambitious and determined.

• What do you think this image conveys to the viewers?

I think the image conveys an idea to viewers of who I am through different words. It will show viewers what I'm made of in a way.

• What artists have influenced your self portrait?

An artist that influenced the way I did my background is Phebe Shmidt because of her use of bright backgrounds to make her photos stand out. Therefore, I painted the board a light blue and then put a darker image on top of it, which is of myself, to have it stand out.

Another artist that influenced my work is Laurindo Feliciano. He has very surreal pictures and then I saw a picture of his that was a portrait of a man with his  head open similar to my portrait, but with objects in between, such as flowers. This led me to think about another, but similar way I can compile my project.

• What techniques have you used to create your self portrait?

I used a matte blue paint to paint the board. I then printed a portrait of my head on glossy paper and to resize it to try and make it life-sized. After cutting and pasting my head, in between and around the board, I cut and pasted a list of words and quotes that I had compiled about myself. The words were done in two diferent fonts. Some words are also in a larger font size, which showed they really mean something.

• Why and how does this project represent you?

The project is literally all about me, from my values, to my qualities, to my interests, it gives viewers a general idea about me as a whole. It represents me because the words I chose are specifically about me, if someone wanted to recreate my project, their words would most likely not match what I have.