Reflection

 

I decided to make a painting on glass. The idea was to experiment with the medium, glass, and overall create a challenge for me. The process was to first draw an outline on the glass with a wipeable marker, afterwards, I began to add the paint. The idea was to use darker colors first before moving on to light colors since the back of the glass was going to have a cleaner finish, so the shadows needed to be laid down first in order to show up. This however was also a challenge because unlike a canvas there was no way to return and paint over any ‘mistake’ made. Once the figure was done I decided to leave the background alone because I still wanted there to be a transparent look to what glass is, so instead, I painted some flowers in the background to cover some space. I also added a decorative feature to enhance the piece even more by using gold leaf to to cover the exposed body at the bottom. My inspiration was driven by Kehinde Wiley’s glass paintings and also Andy Warhol. While I did paint my piece I also wanted there to be an almost graphic like feature to it, so I used marker again to sharpen up some features towards the end. My first self-portrait was our flag assignment and I did something more symbolic by including my nationality, our second assignment was our performance video and I went for something emotional; I made a digital illustration for our third assignment which was more towards the route of aesthetics and emotion. This piece is a little bit of everything. I wanted to make something that would be both pleasing to the eye and yet also hold some meaning. I am someone with a lot of insecurities so I decided to paint myself out of memory and what I felt like I looked like rather than using a reference photo of me. When I came to see the final result I quickly realized that this is very distorted from what I see in the mirror. One of the reasons I wanted to keep a transparent background was the idea that there was a reflection and while looking at it I could see my reflection. I did however still want to add something that I found beautiful and I considered Kehinde Wiley’s work as I painted some flowers. 

“The spectacle reduces reality to an endless supply of commodifiable fragments while encouraging us to focus on appearances.” The media can be both a beautiful and toxic place. Much like anyone I enjoy hopping on to Instagram, Twitter, and other forms of media to find entertainment. But while I am there I also do admit that the media has been a source that feeds my insecurities. Recently, especially this year I have decided to stop my use on Instagram in a way that I try not to go through posting anything because I find the idea of getting likes and comments a draining situation. I also find it a stressful procedure to take a picture, look at it, and make sure it’s good enough for the public. After reading Guy Debord’s Society of The Spectacle I took notice of how overcoming the media or the ‘spectacle’ can be,  “Being is replaced by having and having is replaced by appearing.” Appearances have become a big factor in our lives and that has given everyone if not several people to face insecurities. We are in a place where standards are kept by the media who determines what is acceptable or not. Even though we know this we still go on to accept this situation and go forward with continuing this system. "The Spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images."  So in general my piece is dedicated to the public who has been negatively impacted with the idea of prioritizing appearances. A piece that is functioned to showcase beauty in everyone. 

Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe

Kehinde Wiley 

Kehinde Wiley

Debord, G. (1967). Society of the spectacle