Symbolic Self Portrait

Manon Wogahn
Advanced Drawing
12 March 2018

Symbolic Self Portrait

Statement:

When I began to explore possibilities for this project, I initially thought I would pursue a more literal route and create a physical self portrait. However, as I continued to plan, I decided instead to work with memories, and how memories shape and alter the self. Recently, as I approach graduation in May, I have been thinking more about the memories and experiences that have shaped the person that I am today. I explored two types of personal memories: the first is an overall memory of my first trip abroad, which was an incredible experience and formative moment that directly impacted my decision to study both French and Art History, while the second are multiple brief memories, represented by a collage of receipts.

The drawn areas of my self portrait explore the time I spent in France, depicting places, monuments, and objects that I visited while there. In the lower left corner, I included the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct in the South of France. On the lower right, I added the amphitheater in Arles, another ancient Roman monument. I also drew in two ancient Roman pitchers from a local museum. One section includes rooftops from Èze, and the entire basis of the composition is a landscape depicting the coastline in this small French Riviera town. This trip came at an important moment in my life – I was sixteen years old and just beginning to discover what interested me, and how I could incorporate these interests in my future education and, eventually, my career. These ancient monuments (in addition to the many museums that we visited) offered an opportunity to explore cultures and histories that I never had before, sparking an interest in art history that I now credit as the reason I decided to study the subject here at Chapman. Beyond this, it expanded my global education outside of the classroom. It was because of this trip that I realized that the language I was studying in high school was extremely valuable and meaningful to me, and gave me motivation to learn the language further and, again, continue to study it at Chapman.

I decided to draw these images from my trip to France on a quilt of receipts, which I have collected over several years (the paper is unique and is great for illustrations). I chose these receipts for this project also because of the memories I associate with them. But these memories are completely different than my trip to France – rather than an overarching and influential moment, the receipts represent brief moments through individual purchases. Most of these receipts are for purchases I don’t remember, and I doubt that any of them represent lasting impressions on my current decisions. I like these small pieces of paper not just because of their temporary nature, and how most often they are crumpled up and thrown away rather than preserved and cherished. I wanted to use these receipts alongside my memories of France to create contrast between temporality and permanence. 

So, even though I decided not to draw a figurative self portrait, I think I captured a series of symbolic images that represent a construction of myself. This construction is comprised of memories, both long-term and instantaneous, that brought me where I am and shape who I am today.

Images:

Pont du Gard, France, ca. 40-60 CE

Amphitheater in Arles, France, ca. 90 CE

View of Eze (my photo)

Rooftops in France (my photo)

Receipt illustration by Yelen Aye

Janice Wu

Liz Plahn

Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg

Collage using vintage papers

Inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sc9pKZ4NKg - fashion illustrator Yelen Ayé, who taught my fashion illustration class at Art Center, and who first introduced me to working with receipts.

http://ww3.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/proust.html  - An excerpt from Rememberance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust, which illustrates the power of seemingly small moments (in this case the eating of a madeleine) in that they can call to mind an entire memory or important moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_om0W6xzQd8 - A more recent song that always reminds me of this trip to France (this ties into the Proust reading).