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| Self Portrait Assignment by Jonathan Hart |
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| Timeline Assignment by Jonathan Hart |
Below is his description on his blog about his concepts from his blog:"Above are my concepts for a "self portrait." They are both a look at what lead me into studying graphic design. The Recycle Bin focuses on my life from quitting college in 2001 to today. The Guitar String delves more into what influenced me, especially early on, and lead me into design. While designing these, I took a difficult look at my past. I tried to remain upbeat and hopeful, but each are not without regrets. I want them to be a representation of honest mistakes and, ultimately, redemption."
The Infamous Self-Portrait Assignment:
“Who am I anyway? Am I my resume, which is a picture of a person I don’t know.”
-A Chorus Line
When was the last time you looked long and hard at yourself in the mirror?
When was the last time you wrote in your diary or journal?
When you meet someone new, how do you tell them quickly about yourself?
Sometimes it seems so obvious but the reality is that we are very complex and unique.
If you don't take time to know who you are then how will others know who you are?
Sometimes we like to think that the "work speaks for itself" and perhaps in some instances it does, but a designer must also learn to speak on behalf of the work that we do for clients. We have strategies and concepts that sometimes go unnoticed by the public and the client. With our voices we can speak to the reasons and come to the defense of our work. Learn to speak up with confidence.
This project should help you identify yourself at this moment in time. August 2011.
Let this be a snapshot of who you are and how you want to present yourself to others.
This project will be hung in the display cabinets so that other students, designers and faculty can get a chance to know who you are and what you think is important to yourself as a new designer...and as a person.
Throughout your career as an artist/designer, there will be occasions when you will asked to submit an "image" (usually a photo) of yourself for a variety of professional reasons. This personal image of yourself might be used in tandem with an article you might have written, winner of a competition, a speaking engagement, a blog, a newspaper article, a gallery exhibition or even an interview in a periodical. This project will serve to demonstrate how you want to project yourself as a designer/artist at this point in your life. This project will make you take a good long look at yourself and where you are currently in your life. Perhaps you create an image of yourself that will possibly follow you throughout your academic career here at GSU.
Background Info:
Self-portraits are not just a reflection of what they look like but also of how the artist interprets themselves and the world around them. It is perhaps the most personal story that the artist can tell and makes the self-portrait one of art's most important subjects. These types of self-portraits by artists/designers have quite a history. Since the fifteenth century and the advent of the mirror artists have modeled for themselves in their own works of art. Whether it is an in-depth exploration of the artist’s own psyche or simply as a model, the artist is clearly the cheapest and most available. Whatever the reason, most every artist, in every medium from painters to sculptors have attempted this exploration of self-image that is self-revealing.
Since the Renaissance, artists have used self-portraits to explore a basic question:
Who am I?
While a mirror or a photograph can tell a person what he or she looks like, that physical image does not reflect the whole self, the whole persona. Self-portraiture insists the artist embark on a journey of self-exploration in order to make decisions about how to represent him/herself authentically. For each self-portrait, the artist must ask: What expression, posture, clothing, background, colors, texture, and style best express the real me? Might those answers be different at any given time or on any given day? Self-portraits may also represent an artist’s quest for immortality, as a way to leave behind an image that will outlive the artist. Sometimes self-portraits are celebrated for their pure vanity (see Warhol images.)
Production:
Be creative. Think outside the norm. Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Insightful. Be True.
How you wish to create this is up to each of you. It might be a really creative formal head shot or a series of images of you in various color palettes (again Warhol images), it might be a painting, a paper collage, a drawing, mixed media, film or video, print (Polaroid transfers/cell phone photos), high contrast b/w decal or spray transfer, image from video, etc. You might wish to present only a portion of your body (cropped images that are stitched together via thread) or a full-length image. Depending on your concept of who you are, it might be a classical pose (Rembrandt) or a contemporary depiction (see Lucas Samaras); it might also be an altered image of another famous self-portrait (cut-paste); and lastly, it might be an image of yourself on black velvet (ala Elvis.)
Experiment. Be Bold. Be Brave.
You can be daring or bold, but most importantly be honest and creative. You have permission to make this self-portrait however you wish (paint-by-number, arts and craft glued beans and macaroni, etc.) It might be a video that runs over and over on a TV set-flickering and edited.
*NOTE: All of these images will be displayed for others to “see” who you are and hopefully create a sense of conversation and spark enlightenment as to your new status as a Graphic Design major at GSU.
Questions to be answered in your design and you can interpret these questions by answering them however you wish and designing them as such in your double-page landscape spread.
Latin Name:
Description:
Creative Voice:
Distinctive Markings:
Habitat:
Contact:
I am posting a previous self portrait piece by one of our MFA Grad students,Mark Peterson who is a terrific illustrator/designer.His illustrative self-portrait not only exhibits his sense of humor and satire about the political scene a few years ago, but it also demonstrates his keen sense of attention to editorial illustration.
The Self-Portrait project Specs:
DUE: TBA
It should be considered a double-page spread size (Horitzontal/Landscape): 12 x 18
Any type of paper stock (weight,color, texture)
The format might be horizontal.
I suggest you put your visual imagery on the left side and the text info on the right.
You should also have 3-5 pieces of previous work that you designed incorporated into the self-portrait piece.
Be original.
The finished piece should be printed and 2D although you could have die cuts or moving paper pieces attached.
You should have the following text on the spread in some format.
Your Name should appear someplace on the self portrait then:
LATIN NAME: an alter ego type of name/tongue n'cheek/ example: Overworkus Supersoncius
DESCRIPTION: Brief description about yourself, your designs and you you became interested in graphic design and what inspires you (minimum 100 words)
PERSONAL VOICE: How you see yourself in the design world. You might quote yourself or interview yourself here about how your own "voice" as a designer might influence others.
DISTINCTIVE MARKINGS: Brief description in your own words about what you think identifies your own work from others thus far. Color, type choices, compositions, or other factors which signals that you own your work.
HABITAT:Where you work as a designer (at home, coffee shop,car, pup tent, etc.) or anywhere you feel you do your best work. Can identify time and place and days of the week as well.
CONTACT: your website or blogsite or your address. Wherever you might be reached.
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