Pleased to share the news that my 'Triple Selfie-Portrait' was the Third Place winner in the 8th Annual Spitting Image Juried Self-Portrait Exhibition co-Juried by the Nordic Heritage Museum’s Chief Curator Lizette Gradén and Seattle Art Museum Deputy Director for Education and Public Programs Sandra Jackson-Dumont.
In their comments, the judges noted that "... these [the award-winners] artists emphasize the personal and the existential and they comment on each in their own way, the topic of self and time." and that ".... Triple Selfie Portrait makes us think of a digital version of Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (link). It offers glimpses of multiple personas, projected visually through a number of techniques, all depicted through acrylic painting."
My painting was inspired by Norman Rockwell's Triple Self Portrait. In addition to being a masterpiece of composition, the original Norman Rockwell painting is also a wry and introspective commentary on the artist and their creation, on truth and beauty in the painted world, and how one views oneself vs. how one wants to present oneself to the world.
Now that I look back at my own painting in the context of the judges words, it seems I have inadvertently captured some of the spirit of this self-reflection: After all, what exactly constitutes a self-portrait and a sense of self? The image of ourselves we hold in our mind? The image of ourselves we see in the mirror? The image of ourselves we try hard to capture to present (as a version of ourselves) to the world? The image captured on a permanent timeless medium such as paint? Or the image, one of hundreds, captured in an ethereal, malleable, medium such as digital photos - as easily discarded as taken... as transient as a passing breath or a file format .... Time for some introspection, people!
In their comments, the judges noted that "... these [the award-winners] artists emphasize the personal and the existential and they comment on each in their own way, the topic of self and time." and that ".... Triple Selfie Portrait makes us think of a digital version of Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (link). It offers glimpses of multiple personas, projected visually through a number of techniques, all depicted through acrylic painting."
My painting was inspired by Norman Rockwell's Triple Self Portrait. In addition to being a masterpiece of composition, the original Norman Rockwell painting is also a wry and introspective commentary on the artist and their creation, on truth and beauty in the painted world, and how one views oneself vs. how one wants to present oneself to the world.
Now that I look back at my own painting in the context of the judges words, it seems I have inadvertently captured some of the spirit of this self-reflection: After all, what exactly constitutes a self-portrait and a sense of self? The image of ourselves we hold in our mind? The image of ourselves we see in the mirror? The image of ourselves we try hard to capture to present (as a version of ourselves) to the world? The image captured on a permanent timeless medium such as paint? Or the image, one of hundreds, captured in an ethereal, malleable, medium such as digital photos - as easily discarded as taken... as transient as a passing breath or a file format .... Time for some introspection, people!
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