A portrait of myself
For this project we were required to make a 3D self portrait out of a combination of made and found objects. We were also required to replicate some of our found objects out of metal.
One of the things that was talked about in class was how does someone know a piece is a self portrait? It’s usually by looking at the name tag or description. My professor made this point, I think, to get us out of the mindset that we were supposed to make a portrait specifically tailored to us, and more to make a portrait that told a story about someone.
For example, wasps are a very important symbol to me, and a part of my identity, but to someone who doesn’t know that, looking at a piece that has wasps in it does not convey that it’s about a person.
This idea of not being able to tell if a portrait was a self portrait unless we are told so stuck with me though. To be frank it bugged me. So even though it was not required of the project as I began to design this piece that idea stuck with me. Was there a way to get the viewer to understand this was a portrait, even a self portrait without telling them?
As always I started with my gestures. I tired to think of things in my life that represented me, what was the key to my identity?
The wasps of course, and then also my art, and my photography. Which I pursue as a hobby more then an art form. I also enjoy target shooting, and grew up shooting guns with my significant other and his family. I took these ideas and mentally tried to think of ways to display and combine them. All the while that idea of self portrait stuck in the back of my head.
I ended coming to the idea of doing a portrait set up, like the kind you see when you go to get your picture taken, but instead of there being a person sitting on the stool it would be surrounded by my art and things about me.
From there I tweaked the idea as I went. Taking out the backdrop so it could be viewed from any direction, adding more personal things like a dress of mine and my work boots. Taking out the wasps nest and replacing the metal wasps with paper ones to save time.
My theory was the piece would make the viewer go “what am I looking at? A photo shoot. A photo shoot of what? There’s a stool, so maybe a person? It’s surrounded by artwork and art tools. Maybe an artist? There’s a dress so maybe a female artist?” And so on down the rabbit hole. I wanted to leave a trail of bread crumbs for them to follow but also not be to direct.
I had found this way to convey a portrait and I began to work on my piece, but the fact that self portrait was not conveyed bugged me still. For I was the photographer and the model. So I came up with the idea to adding an old fashioned shudder trigger running from the camera to resting on the stool. This also helped tie my metal camera to the rest of the piece a lot more easily.
Once my idea was all planned out I did my life size drawings. Doing a couple different sizes for my camera, I didn’t want to make the same mistake with my shoe, and make the camera to small.
After I figured out my sizes I did a paper maquette of the camera. I did not feel the need to do one out for my tripod as it would not stand anyways, and we had tripods in the studio that I could reference.
from there I began to cut out my metal and weld my camera together. I switched between the tripod and the camera as I went working on both at the same time.
I also began to gather things from other parts of my life, the dress I would use. Some old screens that the screen-printing teachers Kimberly and Kristen so kindly donated to me for this piece. artworks both metal, 3D and 2D, that I’ve made. I also edited wasps from an older project of mine, to print out and add it.
Things I struggled with was definitely using the mig and welding the tripod together. Attaching the legs was really hard and I ended up not being able to do it on my own. Something I’d change would definitely be to go back in and clean up the camera and add more detail to it.
