studio arts

zoe doyle

In response to my theme of “Perception” I decided to select my first potential direction to form my final artwork. My potential direction 1 depicts the subject matter of a female in portrait form with her face being covered by an object/design who is positioned in front of a white backdrop. This conveys the response to my theme: Once a face is covered, it becomes difficult for someone to create their own perception of the individual or how “we see ourselves, versus how others see us”.

In my final artwork, I present a female model wearing an oversized black blazer only with a newsboy cap, to replicate what men wore in traditional portraits (in the early 20th century) and comment on the changing role of females. Men in the early 20th century were presented through portraits to show the superiority of patriarchy and depicted them as the dominant gender. Therefore, I respond to this by dressing the female model in men’s clothing. I do this to illustrate how, now in a modern society, females are seen as a more equitable gender and their role in society is more valued and prominent than it was at the turn of the 20th century. I also achieve this aesthetic through creating my photographs with a “black and white” filter. The absence of colour symbolizes the monochromatic style of the traditional 20th century photography and removes any distraction from the subject matter, so the viewer is focused on the subject matter. An important attribute to my subject matter is the model covering her face. In the composition, I have used a scarf, which relates to my idea of removing identity in my potential direction.

The reasoning behind the white backdrop is so that the model stands out, and there is nothing distracting the viewers eyes. The white background also acts as an appropriation for passport photos, which links to my theme of perception. Passports photos are used to verify someone’s identity through the way they look, and when the face is removed the photo cannot verify an individual’s identity, therefore no perception on a person cannot be made.