Introduction
The focus of this paper is six self portraits which were created as part of the studio portion of my first year project, Self Portrait of a Female with Epilepsy, as well as three artworks by different artists. The discussion will be conducted around the relationship of the studio work to the research question: how the experiences of women with Epilepsy can be visually depicted today via the artist’s self portrait in a way that references both historical as well as contemporary understanding of the disorder in various cultures throughout the world; widens the viewer’s understanding of that particular disorder; engages the viewer in consideration of any disorders he or she might have, be hiding or revealing; and how this affects the viewer’s image of self. Through the examination of The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), Marcel Duchamp, 1915-1923; Untitled, Agnes Martin, 1956-57; and ghost...a border act, Ann Hamilton, 2000, I will contextualize the development of formal and conceptual aspects of the self portraits to the three example artworks both individually and as a group. A formal and conceptual analysis of each of the aforementioned example artworks within the context of the artist’s oeuvre and the artistic praxis of the artist and the art world contemporary to the work’s period of creation and a brief discussion of the points of formal and conceptual intersection and differentiation will follow. Through the historic, formal and conceptual contextualization of the self portraits I will address the use of the specific terms ‘self portrait’, ‘female’ and ‘Epilepsy’ in the project title and research question as a framework around my exploration of much broader issues and concepts within my studio work and related research. To conclude, I will confront various questions arising from the research and studio work.
Outline
I. Introduction
Brief description of year one project title; historical/contemporary artworks chosen for discussion as a means of contextualization of my recent studio work as it relates to research question.
Project Title: Self Portrait of a Female with Epilepsy
Artworks: The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), Marcel Duchamp, 1915-1923
Untitled, Agnes Martin, 1956-57
ghost...a border act, Ann Hamilton, 2000
II. Statement of research question and description of studio work completed during MCP501.
Research Question: How can the experiences of women with epilepsy be visually depicted today via the artist’s self portrait in a way that references both historical as well as contemporary understanding of the disorder in various cultures throughout the world; widens the viewers’ understanding of that particular disorder; engages the viewers to consider what disorders he or she might have, be hiding or revealing; and what this means to his or her image of self?
Studio Work [The Self Portraits]: Blogsite
Journal Pages
Wanderland
Look In Glass
Just Between Me and You
Index
Presentation of works [12/6/2014 and 1/12/2015]
III. Addressing the work of others: Duchamp, Martin and Hamilton
A formal and conceptual analysis of each of the aforementioned artworks in section (I) in order of their creation within the context of the artist’s oeuvre and artistic praxis both of the artist and the art world in which the artist was working contemporary to the creation of the focused artwork. A brief discussion of the points of formal and conceptual intersection of the three artworks as well as points of differentiation.
IV. Addressing my work within the context of others
Using the formal and conceptual points discussed in section (III) I will draw analogies to the studio work described in section (II) as well present points of differentiation.
V. Conclusion
I will revisit the research question posed in section (II) as it relates to the formal and conceptual contextualization of the studio work discussed in section (IV); specifically addressing the relevance of use of the terms used in the project title and research question as a framework around the discussion of much broader concepts within the studio work. Finally I will present various questions which have arisen out of both the research and studio work which might lead to further examination in both areas.