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?

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

So In Response...

So in response to my previous post, I began thinking about self-portraiture and the varied ways I have introduced this subject to my students.  There are many method for tackling this subject. One way is through assemblages.  Joseph Cornell used found objects, placed purposely within boxes to exemplify "self" and "others." Abstraction is a great way to move around the "representation" of self, but for my research I am going to stay within the confines of drawing.  Three modes: metaphor (animal-superhero), distorted "fun house" face, and realism.

Upon reflection of the three approaches to self-representation, I felt that the superhero animal (metaphoric) approach the best ice breaker. In this assignment to myself, I had to research the animal, research comic book heroes, and write up an identity for my character.  The identity incorporates superhero stuff, animal characteristics, but also personal things about myself.  It also addresses my self perception. This is a great way to start; it allows for moments of humor, alongside creativity in rendering the animal/superhero. It gave me a moment to think on my "superhero" favorite as a child.  I loved Wonder Woman. She is beautiful, strong, and has brown hair.  It seems most women are represented with long, flowing blonde hair.  She also has the lasso of truth (truth being everything), and she has an awesome invisible plane. So I am Wonder Woman (of sorts) in my superhero persona.

K. Hsieh (2012) posited, "If we [educators] provide students with a meaningful learning experience and knowledge, they will learn effectively, engage actively, and think critically" (p. 46). Art Education publication.

I also thought about animals.  I love apes, chimps, and monkeys. But I didn't feel they represented me or at least the perceived me.  I thought about the Hippo.  No kidding–the hippo.  They are big, love the water, can be fast for short sprints, aren't really social (solitary animals), are generally looked upon as cute and friendly; after all, they give free rides to birds.  But in actuality they are ferocious. Wow, I found my animal.  All of my life, I have been seen by others as a push over (I'm not really-just quiet). I yearned to be ferocious if necessary, but lacked the understanding of timing.  Hippos go along with the flow but will rock and even turn over the boat if necessary.  Issues, life issues, confidence issues, body image issues...a bundle of issues, that's me in a nutshell. So I am confronting those issues by presenting myself in a larger than life animal representation with a childhood superhero persona. 

Rough draft: (initial pencil drawing):

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1 comment:

  1. E13September 10, 2013 at 9:39 PM

    Wonderful. Insightful, humorous and revealing... Great stuff...

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