Self Portrait
"The only reason I'm texting right now is because I'm stuck in this car for like ten hours and you're the only person that texts me."
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
"Not Worth My Time"
91.44x91.44 cm
Acrylic and Paper on Canvas
December 2016
91.44x91.44 cm
Acrylic and Paper on Canvas
December 2016
This piece was made to demonstrate how we value people in society. I wanted to experiment with a new way to make art, and how to express as statement I wanted to make. I used an online artist by the name of Rakkadeer. Inspired by his work "Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya.", I repeated the same background image to convey and idea. I replaced the "Hello My Name Is" labels with money. Changing the connotation associated labels, and replacing it with money.
Historical Inspiration
While working in Barcelona, Picasso created The Blue Movement. These were a series of paintings that were made monochromatic in blue. They portrayed the emotions of depression and suffering in isolation. The Old Guitarist is a strong representation of how it feels to be an outcast in society. This piece has a man with a guitar, which appears to be all he has (other than the clothes he is wearing). His head hangs in complete misery, but he has his guitar. The only change in the monochromatic color scheme is on this guitar. This emphasizes the importance of having this instrument is. Having painted this at 22 years old, Picasso demonstrates how hard it is to be poor. He painted The Blue Movement while he was relating to those who were penniless and on the streets. Out of this collection, he represents the need for some form of hope, when all hope appears to be lost.
"Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya." is a piece made by an online artist who calls himself Rakkadeer. Rakkadeer uses the concept of desire in a lot of his works. In his art, he uses surreal images to demonstrate a subject (usually a person) who can not get something they want. I took the concept of the "Hello My Name Is" label's, and replaced them with money. Rather than taking the idea Rakkadeer created that we all have labels, I challenged the concept of what we are worth to society. I decided not to use Pablo as my inspiration after discovering Rakkadeer's work. I found that I could take this idea of label's and prices that are so prevalent in today's world, and add more meaning to my piece. I wanted something that would convey a more obvious and thought-provoking idea. Rather than another sad person in a corner, I questioned self worth.
"Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya." is a piece made by an online artist who calls himself Rakkadeer. Rakkadeer uses the concept of desire in a lot of his works. In his art, he uses surreal images to demonstrate a subject (usually a person) who can not get something they want. I took the concept of the "Hello My Name Is" label's, and replaced them with money. Rather than taking the idea Rakkadeer created that we all have labels, I challenged the concept of what we are worth to society. I decided not to use Pablo as my inspiration after discovering Rakkadeer's work. I found that I could take this idea of label's and prices that are so prevalent in today's world, and add more meaning to my piece. I wanted something that would convey a more obvious and thought-provoking idea. Rather than another sad person in a corner, I questioned self worth.
Collecting Tools & Images
Tools Used:
- Dollar Bill (to scan)
- Scanner (to transfer images and be able to print copies)
- Printer (to print money)
- Adhesive Spray & Glue Sticks (to apply the money to the canvas)
- Black Acrylic Paint & Straight Medium Sized Paint Brush (to create image)
Sketches
I'd orginially planned on using Pablo Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" as my inspiration for the piece. I contemplated what item I should be holding. It made sense to take a guitar to have an obvious artist connection, but it's not personal to me. I do not play guitar but I do enjoy photography. I then sketched myself in different potions holding a camera. Myself alone in a monochromatic blue corner would represent the importance of photography to me. I then changed my idea completely to create a statement piece. I wanted to express something other than a stereotypical teenage depression scene. I contemplated how i should arrange money and where I could place myself in it. I then decided to make the clearest connection to choose the sketch that would use money to make up myself.
Experimentation
To experiment with the creation of my piece, I chose a photo and created an outline of my figure. I did this using the grid method, since I did not have access to a projector (which was the preffere method). I created the outline with the money i'd scanned, printed, and cut out. I used adhesive spray and a glue stick to get all of the paper down. After outlining with the money, I outlined with the black paint. I found the shape and then began to create features. I didn't want to have to regrid over the money due to the fact that it would leave traces after I'd finsihed paining. I'd attempted to freehand and the result was an image of a face that did not resemble my own. I tore all of the paper off and started the piece over.
Process
To begin with the process of the final piece I chose a different photo. The other one had limited me due too poor image quality and I wanted something that would give me the clearest image. I next used more adhesive spray and glue to place down money to create an outline. Once I had the new outline I gained access to a projector. I used the projector to cast the final image chosen onto my canvas and trace the outlines of the photos in black paint. I went back through and then added the detailing of my hair to show highlights and low lights. I also made spotted areas into a complete black area, and painted the background black. To finish I went back in several times to re-glue and paint the money, and did touch ups where needed.
Reflection & Analysis
I'm very pleased with the outcome of this piece. It turned out almost exactly how I'd invisioned it to be, which is a rare thing for art. There was some challenge in creating it since the background could not be altered. If there was a mistake made I had to print more money, reapply, and redo whatever I had covered and what I had to fix. That lengthend the time it took to create the piece, as well as how hard it was. Creating it was similiar to how clean the lines are that are found in pop art.
There is a clear inspiration of Rakkadeer found in this piece. Although I changed his labels to money, my work is very similar to his. It uses the same technique and style to form a face, as well as give it meaning. While Rakkadeer conveys the idea of labels in his work, he also usually represents desire in his piece. He also created a visual pun, which I did as well. He took a popular character from "The Princess Bride" and one of his popular lines, and created a face on it. I was inspired by a person who told me that I wasn't worth their time, so I made a self portrait that represents worth. Using the idea of desire not only did I succeed in representing how much people will look for the worth of a person, I made a visually appealing portrait. "Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya." symbolically makes the viewer question labels, and what's all in a name. My piece makes the viewer question the value seen in myself. The first thing that people will notice about this piece is the not myself, but the money. I think that says a lot about the world we live in.
There is a clear inspiration of Rakkadeer found in this piece. Although I changed his labels to money, my work is very similar to his. It uses the same technique and style to form a face, as well as give it meaning. While Rakkadeer conveys the idea of labels in his work, he also usually represents desire in his piece. He also created a visual pun, which I did as well. He took a popular character from "The Princess Bride" and one of his popular lines, and created a face on it. I was inspired by a person who told me that I wasn't worth their time, so I made a self portrait that represents worth. Using the idea of desire not only did I succeed in representing how much people will look for the worth of a person, I made a visually appealing portrait. "Hello My Name Is Inigo Montoya." symbolically makes the viewer question labels, and what's all in a name. My piece makes the viewer question the value seen in myself. The first thing that people will notice about this piece is the not myself, but the money. I think that says a lot about the world we live in.
ACT Connection
1. The effect of Rakkadeer is very clear in my piece. I used the same process to create my piece, by using something with significance as the background and outlining my own face. They look visually similar and make a statement piece.
2. Rakkadeer demonstrates that it's easy to identify people with labels, while I showed it's easy to try and see someones worth just by looking at them.
3. While researching Rakkadeer as my inspiration, I've concluded that a piece of art can alter the way someone may view things. As artists we know a lot about what attracts people, but it's our job to change the way they think.
4. The idea around my research was how to create a piece that would not only display myself, but my own beliefs. I know that there's a lot of opinions on the worth of people and the best way I found was using money.
5. While conducting research I concluded that society is largely based on capitalism. Capitalism makes people consider profits and personal gain over people. It can cause us to hurt people who care about us.
2. Rakkadeer demonstrates that it's easy to identify people with labels, while I showed it's easy to try and see someones worth just by looking at them.
3. While researching Rakkadeer as my inspiration, I've concluded that a piece of art can alter the way someone may view things. As artists we know a lot about what attracts people, but it's our job to change the way they think.
4. The idea around my research was how to create a piece that would not only display myself, but my own beliefs. I know that there's a lot of opinions on the worth of people and the best way I found was using money.
5. While conducting research I concluded that society is largely based on capitalism. Capitalism makes people consider profits and personal gain over people. It can cause us to hurt people who care about us.