Auto Ethnographic Inquiry

This is a fourteen week documentation of my research for my final thesis project. Ummm, well, in all honesty, it is a diary of facing my fears, literally and figuratively, by committing to draw my portrait in four distinct ways: metaphor [superhero animal], Distorted/Altered, Folk/Outsider Art inspired, and Extreme Close-Up, [realism], and document the events as they unfold. To some this may seem simple and straightforward (big whoop); however, for a person, like myself, that deals with severe, crippling self-esteem issues, this is a daunting task. However, the emotional investment is not nearly as important as the adventure/investigation and real life implications for my students. Adolescent students often fight similar self-identity issues. Inquiry: Does drawing self-portraits assist in developing a positive self-identity? Or is it merely an exercise in "looking" at yet another face?

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Final Approval - Moving Ahead

Well my research question has been finalized and approved. I begin my proposal.  Fingers crossed. 
Another Note:
I have decided to add another self-portrait and adjust the realism portrait.  I am researching both the ways artist/teachers approach the self-portrait with students to enhance self-identity, but I also want to include methods artists, contemporary and historical, have treated the self-portrait.  Since identity is more than looking at yourself, it is also looking to heritage, culture, personal tragedies and triumphs, I am going to include an 'outsider' artistic approach (Folk Art) reminiscent of Frida Kahlo's work.  I am adding a self-portrait that reflects either heritage or personal struggles/triumphs.  For the realism portrait, I am changing it to an extreme close-up, utilizing a grid system similar to Chuck Close's process.  However, I will use a grid system I learned in undergraduate studies; I find this grid much easier to construct and just as effective when developing an image. 

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