The hardest part about this project
was thinking of my “alter-ego.” The obvious one that came to mind was the
difference between what I look like on a “normal” day versus what I look like
when I’m trying to look nice. This idea didn’t feel like it had enough thought
put into it, so I originally dismissed it. I thought about other possibilities,
but eventually came back to my first idea. And, as I sat with the idea longer,
I realized that looking different isn’t what defines that version of myself as
an “alter-ego.” The way I carry myself differs between my two appearances. I
think that I am more care-free and confident when I look nice because I don’t
have to worry about people judging what I look like. When I am wearing
comfortable clothing and no makeup, I tend to keep to myself because I feel
like I don’t fit in and like people are judging me. I wanted to capture this in
my drawing by showing my two sides together, one version keeping to herself and
the other ready to go have fun. I wanted the two figures to be in the same
space, but not necessarily in contact with one another.
While researching artists, I mainly
focused on finding pieces where the two figures weren’t connected to one
another, but were occupying the same space. The first seven images I have are
what I found. The last three images show the two figures touching in some and
are included because I liked how you can see the obvious relationship between
the two personas that make up one person. I focused on Jeff Wall’s Double Self-Portrait because I liked the
way the two figures were placed in the space. Instead of confronting
each-other, they are confronting the viewer. I found this choice very
interesting and wanted to know more about why the artist chose to do that and
why he chose to include himself twice. In the link below, little insight is
offered about Wall’s intentions. It describes that a photograph should not be
seen as “a window on to the world” and should instead be “a way of constructing
and ordering a world.” This concept is interesting to me because it is what
artists often do when they draw. For example, the inspiration for the location
of my piece is my bedroom, but it is not an exact mirror image of my bedroom so
instead of being a window into my room, it is me constructing a new room.
Wall’s decision to include himself twice in the image is described as his way
of lying to the viewer because he cannot be both the subjects and the
photographer at the same time. This article did not describe why Wall chose to
stand the way he did or any of his compositional decisions, nor could I find
any information about that elsewhere.
Overall, this project was
interesting but not my favorite. I don’t like self-portraits, so having to do
two was not ideal. Also, in order to fit both figures on the page I had to draw
them a little smaller, which I do not like doing because I cannot get the same
level of detail that I can on a bigger or more zoomed in piece.
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