Personas

Lead Author Major

BFA Art, Concentration in Studio Art

Lead Author Status

Senior

Format

Senior Art and Design Exhibition

Faculty Mentor Name

Jennifer Little

Faculty Mentor Department

Art

Abstract/Artist Statement

For this project, I hoped to continue exploring a favorite genre of art (portraiture) in a way that really pushed my skill as well as my audiences expectations of me. I have painted many, many portraits and the question is always “How can I make this different?”. I realized I was asking myself the wrong question, that I should be focusing on what I want to say with my work and express to the viewer. As a result, I directed my work with the sole aim of painting for a reaction.

To achieve this, my subjects could not be just anybody, so I chose to paint 6 images of current and well-known celebrities in the music industry. Celebrities are often a source of controversy, but I wanted to push it further by creating completely unconventional portraits (at least in the area of traditional oil painting). I browsed celebrity social media accounts and other photographs to find images which I felt most accurately represent each person's public persona. I searched for the over the top, obnoxious, posed and wildly expressive images that would reflect the more exaggerated and theatrical characters celebrities often take on for the camera. To further emphasize this, I decided to focus on the face alone, leaving the head either floating completely in the blank background of the canvas, or with little suggestion of a neck or other parts of the body. The faces themselves have been rendered in detail.

Location

University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211

Start Date

22-4-2021 6:00 PM

End Date

24-4-2021 8:00 PM

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Apr 22nd, 6:00 PM Apr 24th, 8:00 PM

Personas

University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211

For this project, I hoped to continue exploring a favorite genre of art (portraiture) in a way that really pushed my skill as well as my audiences expectations of me. I have painted many, many portraits and the question is always “How can I make this different?”. I realized I was asking myself the wrong question, that I should be focusing on what I want to say with my work and express to the viewer. As a result, I directed my work with the sole aim of painting for a reaction.

To achieve this, my subjects could not be just anybody, so I chose to paint 6 images of current and well-known celebrities in the music industry. Celebrities are often a source of controversy, but I wanted to push it further by creating completely unconventional portraits (at least in the area of traditional oil painting). I browsed celebrity social media accounts and other photographs to find images which I felt most accurately represent each person's public persona. I searched for the over the top, obnoxious, posed and wildly expressive images that would reflect the more exaggerated and theatrical characters celebrities often take on for the camera. To further emphasize this, I decided to focus on the face alone, leaving the head either floating completely in the blank background of the canvas, or with little suggestion of a neck or other parts of the body. The faces themselves have been rendered in detail.