Student 20

May 2, 2000

In this unit, I have learned many aspects, from different forms of art, about self-expression. One form of art we learned about was Romanticism. Romanticism first appeared in the 18th century in Europe and then quickly spread throughout the world. Their inspiration came from the Medieval and Baroque Eras, and also from the Middle and Far East. The values during the era of Romanticism were based on intuition, emotion, and imagination. And some characteristics of Romanticism were based on nature, emotions, and the concept of using diagonals. The diagonal represented excitement, drama, and emotions. Mainly, Romanticism focused more on the feelings, the imagination, and intuition over reason, logic, and science.

During the French Romanticism, Theodore Gericault painted the Raft of Medusa, which demonstrated people's struggle on a boat, trying to reach help. This painting displayed many diagonals, which helped a person see the emotions and drama going on in each person's fight to live. During the American Romanticism, Albert Bierstadt painted View of Donner Lake. Bierstadt painted a realistic view an unspoiled place in nature.

Music was also a primary art form in Romanticism. Jean Paul quoted: "No color is as romantic as a tone". A specific characteristic of music during this period was to break from the classical mold, which was predictable and contained regular rhythms. One example of the music during the Romantic era was, Brahms' Piano Concerto #2 included big contrasts, huge ranges, and up and down virtuosity.

We also learned about the psychological views of the self from Freud and Jung. First, Freud focused more on how people think through their unconscious mind. Freud then came up with three functional systems: the id, ego, and the super ego. The id represented the animal instincts or sexual drives. The second system was the ego, which dominates perception, thinking and motor control. And the super ego expresses the "good" side or the morals a person has. If the super ego is not fulfilled a person might feel guilt or shame. The ego is in the middle fighting between the good and bad sides of a conscious.

Jung also studied a person's unconscious, but he had a different theory. Jung believed there were two different types of personalities: extrovert and introvert. An extrovert expresses their feelings and thoughts out to the world. And an introvert takes in the world and then decides how to think. Jung also believed that a person's personality needs to be in balance with good vs. evil, or feelings vs. knowledge.

Another view of self-expression came from the belief in Hinduism. Hinduism originated in India and now 7% of the world is Hindu. Hinduism is believed to be a way of life. The stages in the belief of Hinduism, first starts with the belief in one supreme God, Brahman or the creator. Next, the dharma= duty, and the Atman, which was the eternal soul=the unity with the divine. All Hindus believed that human life is a cycle, and that after death the soul is reincarnated in the body of another person, animal, or even a vegetable. The process of rebirth is called Samsara. The quality of the rebirth is determined on how many merits or demerits a person receives from their actions, or karma. One form of the Hindu belief , is the freedom to choose one's path; everyone is free to follow their conscious. Hinduism can basically be defined from what people do rather than how they think. Each individual perceives a pattern that gives a form or meaning to his or her life.

My self-portrait consists of parts of each theory. First, my self-portrait demonstrates a scene of the ocean. This scene can relate to Romanticism because nature is a characteristic of this era. I also think more with my feelings rather than what I am thinking, in other words, I think with my heart rather than my mind in many situations. With Freud's theory, I believe that a person's struggles with the id and super ego to determine to do good or bad and that the ego tries to balance out the two thoughts. And I somewhat agree with Jung's theory of being an extrovert or an introvert, but I believe I am a little of both. It depends on the situation, I am an extrovert, if feel comfortable about sharing how I really feel, but if I am around strangers, I tend to hold in my feelings. To a point, I agree with Hinduism. I agree there is one supreme God, but that he determines the meaning of my life. I don't agree that a person is reincarnated into another body. I believe after a person dies, they either live eternally in heaven or hell, but that their actions do not determine where they go.

In my self-portrait I use different shapes, lines, dimensionality, textures and translucency to express my personality. I show the scene of an ocean, first because the ocean makes me feel relaxed, calm and peaceful. Secondly, because the ocean is also ever-changing and I feel that my feelings change from day to day, depending on stress, and exciting things. But, this does not mean that I change my personality to try and please people. I believe each person should be who they are, and not what others want them to be. My project is 3-dimensional because I have a complex personality, because I have to get to know a person to express "the real me". My project is half translucent because I don't hide my true emotions and thoughts to my family and friends, but the other half is opaque because I can be hard to read to complete strangers. I used felt, cotton balls, and pipe cleaners because these objects are soft and fuzzy. These soft materials symbolize my warm heart. I care about other's feelings and I am also a big animal lover. The shapes I used was a square, a circle, and a triangle. The square, the ship's bottom and the clouds, express my down-to-earth personality. I like to use my imagination, but I know when to be realistic in important matters. The circle in the sun, expresses my unity with my family, friends, and religion. I try and find wholeness in my individuality. And the triangle, the ship's flag, expresses the relationships I have with my family, friends, and my boyfriend. I used all three lines: vertical, horizontal, and diagonal, in the sun's rays. The vertical line displays how I am at ease, but that I am always ready for an adventure. The horizontal line displays how I can be passive and that I try to avoid conflict. The diagonal lines demonstrate how I always want to be active and that I am very emotional. This project helped me figure out how I view myself with different world theories and different materials.