Student 20

(question 5) In your own words, describe your self-portrait and the style of art it represents. Please try to explain your use of line, shape, color and texture and what is conveys to you.

The outside of the box is black to show that people really can't tell what I'm about just by looking at me. They see happiness and energy on the outside, shown by bright and pastel colors and jagged lines. I also have triangles and squares on the outside to show that I'm stable and that I can juggle alot of things at one time. On the inside of my box, you can see what I'm really about. I used yellow and blue to show that I'm happy most of the time, but I can get a bit sad at times. I put spirals in the box to stand for the growth and changes in my life. I put 3 big circles to show my spiritual side that not many people know about. The material they are made out of is cotton, to show that I'm soft and warm-hearted. I put candy canes in my box to show that you think your life is going in one direction, and just like how the end of the cane branches off, so does my life--in different, unexpected directions. A candle in my box shows that I can be strong and firm, but I also have a weak side. The squares inside my box show that I'm very down to earth and I love to laugh. And the cross inside my box stands for some changes in my life right now and that I'm at a crossroads and I have to make some decisions about them.

(question 6)Please explain how you used ideas from the resources on the self we studied. Did you consciously use ideas from or react to any of the following resources in your self-portrait: the psychological theories of self? The Rilke discussion of "faces," "hands," or "costumes"? The Asian views of the self? The examples from art of non-representational self-portraits? Please clearly explain what ideas from these sources you integrated into your self-portrait and why.

For my self-portrait, I used ideas from many different sources. I listened while Dr. Farrar gave her speech on the different types of art that we could do for this project, and I incorporated the views from when we did the Yoruba bead ring for my color scheme. I also used ideas that were given to the class by Professor Wylly.

(question 7) In what ways do these different disciplinary resources agree with one another on the question of what is the self?

I think they agree with the fact that the self cannot be defined by one or two characteristics or by one or two ideas. It takes a conglomeration of things to fully define a person.

(question 8) In what ways do they conflict with each other on the question of what is the self?

The Asian view conflicts because they believe that everyone is free to choose their own path and to follow their conscience. They also place an emphasis on one supreme God.

(question 9) Does your self-portrait try to reconcile these ideas or did you choose a particular postion to convey? Why?

I agree with the fact that everyone has the right to choose their own path. My self-portrait doesn't really show one position or another--it shows the changes, challenges, and the obstacles that I have faced as a part of following my own path. I think it's important for everyone to go through changes, whether bad or good and to make their own decisions about life and the direction that they want theirs to go.

(question 11) In our unit on the self, is there a right answer to the question of what the self is? If not, what is your reaction to our inability to provide a clear answer one way or the other on this issue?

I agree with the fact that there is not one clear answer to what makes up the self. Since everyone is different, how can we base the self on one view? It kind of excites me to know that everyone is different and that there is not anyone like me anywhere in the world. The fact that everyone is different brings us all together. Diversity is a good thing and if we based the ideas of the self on one right answer, we might have such a diversity of people.

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