Student 29

(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.

My self portrait is very non-representational. I tried my best to make it look like the inside of a square telescope because it is a view into my inner personality. The surface level contains bold red vertical stripes and jagged lines on a yellow background because on the outside I am a very stable person who is also very energetic (jagged lines) and passionate(red), while warm at the same time (yello). The second level consists of dark blue circles and turqoise equidistant crosses on an orange background. This portrays my feeling of wholeness that is due to a few major important relationships, such as the one I have with my grandmother, in my life. I chose the color blue because it is calming and maternal, like in Hildegard's Sophia. There are a couple of reasons I chose the color blue for this level. I have a very big soft spot inside of me that does not like to see people hurt and tries to fix the problems of others. I am also very protective about people who are close to me. However, the blue also represents the comfort the important people in my life provide me. When my outer level gets a little too outgoing and scares me it is this level that grounds me and returns my pulse to normal. The third level has purple, curvy, tangled lines on a light purple background. Besides being a very mysterious color, purple is a mixture of blue and red. Therefore it represents a kind of turmoil in itself. This level represents my confusion. The heart of my telescope contains green spiral, representing growth, vitality and creativity. This is what makes me tick. By learning things, I grow. Sometimes new concepts or revelations confuse me and move into the third level. However, my self-confidence and my ever-enduring relationships provide me with the strenth to wade through the confusion in order to continue on in the way of my surface level, full of spunk, life, energy, drama, stability, and passion in life.

(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.

You could say my project is similar to Rilke because it presents my personality in levels. What I seem on the exterior is not necessarily what I am inside. It also is reminiscent of Newton's view of an ordered universe. The black on the edges of my portrait is not me, but rather an area like outer space. The 'telescope' is me. In my opinion, we are fortunate as humans to be floating out there in a world full of millions of people and be lucky enough to collide with others on our journey. We become even more fortunate when we are able to get to know and understand the inner-selves of others.

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

Rilke and the Hindu religion are kind of similar in that they believe the self has not reached their full potential. I believe Rilke portrayed this in 'faces' with the woman who held her face in her hands. By peering into her bloody face we see her inner struggle. In 'costumes' he portrayed this by desribing how we hide our feelings. In the Hindu religion everyone is essentially the same and their goal is to reach union with reality.

(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 believe that the self is something undefinable. Like when we studied Michelangelo, to define the self would be to limit it. This would be especially detrimental because the self is always learning new things (whether through positive or negative experiences) and changing.

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