Portrait Micrography

Friday Week 1

Also called Microscopy, Microcalligraph, or Calligram

Students will create a self portrait using micrography to give a more detailed portrayal of themselves.

How much of ourselves are more than just what we see?

Using a high contrast photo...

….And emphasizing value with words and negative space.

Micrography, the art of drawing visual patterns from lines of minutely written words, is an exclusively Jewish art form.

• It originated between the 7th and 9th century where biblical stories were used to create images and decorations.
• Reached popularity in Europe in the 14th and 15th Century where the portraits became more detailed.

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Images and information:

https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/02/micrography-in-the-jewish-tradition/

Procedure:

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1. Work independently on a digital image to “blow out” the contrast in the photo. You may need to take a selfie if you don’t already have one on your phone.
1. Care should be given to leave important elements without sacrificing contrast. Omit backgrounds if possible. Final version should contain only black and white (no grays) and contain enough information to still look like the artist.
2. Print this image by emailing or texting your image to Ms Friedrich.
3. Project the images onto the paper and trace lightly around the dark shapes with a pencil.
4. Choose words to describe yourself and begin filling in the dark values with these words using permanent ink. Ideas could include phrases, quotes, song lyrics, family members, poetry, or random thoughts. Words can be repeated if necessary.
1. You are discouraged from tracing around the dark shapes with your pens as this does not create as sharp of a final image.

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