Selfie

Students will create a self portrait and place the portrait in a space or environment that they feel speaks to their identity/ sense of selfhood.

It is important here that you consider the whole of the drawing and the relationship between the figure and the space. Think about how they interact, and how they inform one another. Consider how light moves over the space and figure. Think about the mood you want and how it influences the viewers interpretation. The space may be surreal and loosely rendered or more observational and crisply rendered. It is up to you to determine how the image will read. Think cinematically, can you think of a scene from a movie with a strong relationship between character and place?

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Composition and Concept

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Consider pose, direction of gaze, clothing, role that light plays and how shadows interact with your body. Consider the type of object you are

using. All these choices have symbolic potential. Take multiple photos so

you have some options when choosing one.

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Draw

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Each drawing should be 18 x 24 or larger and fully shaded with charcoal.

Students will have the class 5/12 to work on this piece.

Your work and participation on this day will play into your overall grade.

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Think Cinematically

Consider how do you use light and mark to control this? What are the objects in the room? Is it full? Empty? Specific or ambiguous? How much is left to the viewers interpretation and how much do you give them directly. What story are you trying to tell about yourself

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Edward Hopper

Izima Kaoru

De Chirico

Gregory Crewdson

Neo Rauch

Paula Rego

Andrew Wyeth

Peter Doig

Cindy Sherman

Giacometti

Alice Neel

Kehinde Wiley

Jenny Saville

David Lachapelle

Student Examples

Grading Rubric:

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Content

-ability to create a believable, though not necessarily realistic, space

-creative use of observed elements, lighting, and rules of perspective

Formal Aspects

-composition, focal point, interesting arrangement of positive and negative spaces, movement, variety and rhythm, contrast

-ability to create illusion of depth and volume through use of light/ shadow and perspective

-correct observation of forms

Craft

-quality of mark, carefully layered charcoal to produce a wide range of value

-contours and edges are varied, according to lighting situation, and they describe a solid form (no wavy walls if they should be straight )

Think of 3 moments/ scenes that have strongly affected you, one from a movie, one from a written text, and one from your personal experience. For each of them, compile the following lists of descriptive words/ phrases: Setting (claustrophobic, monumental, airy, chaotic, lighting etc), Characters (in action vs static, implied, features they have, positioning in scene etc), Plot (you are dealing with a 2D image and not a time based medium, so how can you get an idea across in this format). Is it easier to describe a story where you had a visual, such as a movie, is it more open-ended to describe a written text, is it harder to be objective when describing a personal memory? How is the type of source affecting the kind of drawing you can create? When done, look over what you have and choose the idea that you feel has the best potential for a drawn image. Alternately, you can combine ideas and create a new one.

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Brainstorm Option

Setup

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For homework this week you will arrange/ stage a setup to photograph yourself in. You must include at least one object that you directly interact with as well as directed lighting (natural or artificial). Make sure to use a tripod or something like it (so your photos are in focus), or ask someone to take the photos.

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The environment that you place yourself in is a major factor here so make sure that it is highly considered.