Gestalt Self-Portrait
Gestalt: the whole is different than the sum of the parts
Identity is a prevalent theme in contemporary art. Many artists explore the ways that individuals
perceive themselves as well as the ways that people express their perception of themselves to others.
Personal identity is formed by the major themes of one’s life that they believe to be the most important.
Some major factors that shape identity are: the body, the environment, culture, ideologies, ability,
gender, ethnicity, heritage, personal interests, and life experience. These factors can feel random and
unrelated, but together form the building blocks of an individual. It is in our own minds that we connect
the parts to make sense of the whole person. At the same time, a person is still different than the sum
of their parts.
For this assignment, students were asked to interpret this idea to design a symbolic self-portrait. The self-portraits could consist of images of: themself, relevant landscapes, objects, images, or places of significance, etc. They were encourage to focus in on only one or two aspects of their life or identity to explore.
Using some form of color media, each piece features a design that uses 4-8 colors in total, applying any or all of the concepts they learned about color relationships in class (including simultaneous contrast, simulated transparency, optical mixing, and color progressions/harmonies).
