“Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.” – Arnold Newman
Based on the theme illusions I decided to experiment using long exposures (8 secs) + multiple exposure…
My light source was the night light shining through my blinds + my cell phone (used to light my face)..
“But deep in my heart, the answer it was in me…and I made up my mind to define my own destiny” – Lauryn Hill
Every man has a mob self and an individual self, in varying proportions. – D.H. Lawrence
After inspiration from Manu Pombrol I decided to create series of work extremely creative and at the same time personal…
after a lot of thought i decided to do a series of conceptual self portraits…
Mixture of Me and My Twin Sister
“The word of a friend makes you cry, the word of an enemy makes you laugh.” – African Proverb
“Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” – Benjamin Franklin
This is a fabricated self-portrait done in the darkroom.
I decided that I wanted to create a self portrait based on the proverbs stated above, being that those proverbs are lessons I have learned. I wanted to create a stage of expression where I played multiple characters in order to display an overall theme that conveyed a powerful message.
“Everything started to make sense. I found out (a little bit late) that photography was the perfect tool to show what was in my mind. I was seduced by the insane idea of mixing reality and surrealism, trying to create my own art language.” – Manu Pombrol
So ive been trying to figure out what to do for my final portfolio for my digital class…i wanted to attempt to create something creative but at the same time personal…after a lot of thought i decided to do a series of surrealism self portraits…i decided that i was going to use my poetry as a basis for my the portraits i decided to portray…
One of my inspirations for this series comes from the work of Manu Pombrol who has done an excellent series of surrealist self portraits.
Manu Pombrol is a 35-year-old artist and photographer from Madrid, Spain. His self-portraits are nothing short of extraordinary. He started by painting portraits and which then led to graphic design as computers started making their way into the mainstream. In an interview with My Modern Met he stated that “I spend a big part of my time trying to visualize images aimed at showing surrealistic concepts. I am very interested in the development of subjects like time, death, human evolution, psychology or collective behavior. Sometimes I deploy an ironic vision of things that usually concern all of us, and that’s a pretty important source of inspiration. I try to make images that are able to make people smile and think at the same time.”
His work takes on such a conceptual surrealist approach and are so creative, and they do cause me to smile and think.
“The American Narcissist remains, indefinitely, the same.” – Amanda Quintenz-Fiedler
In her American Narcissism portfolio, Amanda Quintenz-Fiedler states that the American Narcissist is “A wholly vacuous creature. Everything encountered is evaluated, though minimally, for selfish purposes. The American Narcissist is the embodiment of the self-absorbed and self-deluded seeker of instant gratification – wasteful and thoughtless. Every situation is approached with the perfect costume, as the only concern is for the appearance of the self.”
Im not 100% sure how i feel about this ‘self-portrait approach’. She took an alternative route from Cindy Sherman but i do feel its strong the way this series remains consistent through the artist’s fixed position, from the glare in her left eye to the placement of her hands.
Maybe i should play with the fixed position idea…or fixed emotion…
I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you’re looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It’s more challenging to look at the other side. — Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman Cindy Sherman has become one of the most respected photographers of the late twentieth century with the use of ‘herself’ as a model. Although, the majority of her photographs are pictures of her, they are not considered self-portraits. ” Sherman uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more. It is through these ambiguous and eclectic photographs that Sherman has developed a distinct signature style. Through a number of different series of works, Sherman has raised challenging and important questions about the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art.”
Sherman is a great example of one who uses their art to speak on issues that she cares about, while personally involving herself.
Maybe i can play with similar ideas to continue my ‘alternate persona’ project, but what issues do i care strongly about??
-Jobs of women in the past (factory, home, etc)
-MISconception of women (race, attire, etc)
-Roles of women (by generation)
-Stereotypes based on gender/race
-Respect for women
“You are your own judge. The verdict is up to you.” ~Astrid Alauda
I believe i’m my biggest critic, enemy, and competition. It’s up to me to decided where I imagine myself and if I’ll take those steps to be who i want be. I may not be going the path others want me to take, but I dont see art as a road block, because it defines me.
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