Identity Collages
Title: Identity Collages
Type of Project: Guided Exploration
Project Description: Students will explore elements of their identity which they find most important to them. Through structuring a representational portrait of themselves and including found symbolic imagery and text, students will construct a collage in which elements of their identity is communicated. This project will allow the viewer to gain an understanding of a snapshot of these individual's identity while also allowing the artist to build awareness of the importance of their story and worldview.
Processes and Activities: Students will be shown a slideshow featuring artists who have explored identity and exhibited their understanding of themselves through visual artworks. We will participate in group discussions on how identity is a complex idea that is structured through a multitude of experiences.
Driving Questions:
Lesson Objectives and their Evaluation Criteria:
1. Critical Thinking and Research Skills and Historical and Contemporary Relevance: You researched the genre of self portraiture using web databases and/or library resources.
2. Formal and Technical Skills: The portrait is representational of you and includes additional symbolic elements and text that communicate information about you.
3. Conceptual Skills and Critical Thinking and Research Skills:You demonstrate an understanding of process in art making. You sketched ideas, tried new things, took risks, and documented the process of what came to be as the final result.
4. Formal and Technical Skills: Composition is neat, well thought out, and you considered the stylistic choices with the subject matter that you are including.
5. Conceptual Skills and Critical Thinking and Research Skills:Added symbolic details are relevant, carefully constructed and placed, and assist in creating a balanced, unified composition.
6. Communication Skills: Artist statement is thoroughly and thoughtfully written and free of spelling and grammatical errors. Reflection is evident.
7. Communication Skills:Participation in final group critique was strong. You presented as well as contributed your thoughts to others. You promoted meaningful discussion.
8. Use of class time was appropriate and meaningful. Care of materials was taken and respect for the process of making the art was considerate and sound.
Type of Project: Guided Exploration
Project Description: Students will explore elements of their identity which they find most important to them. Through structuring a representational portrait of themselves and including found symbolic imagery and text, students will construct a collage in which elements of their identity is communicated. This project will allow the viewer to gain an understanding of a snapshot of these individual's identity while also allowing the artist to build awareness of the importance of their story and worldview.
Processes and Activities: Students will be shown a slideshow featuring artists who have explored identity and exhibited their understanding of themselves through visual artworks. We will participate in group discussions on how identity is a complex idea that is structured through a multitude of experiences.
Driving Questions:
- Can portraits change your perception of others? Does creating a portrait influence how you want others to see you?
- Where is there value in creating a portrait versus just taking your picture with a camera?
- What do portraits look like?
- Imagine if you had to formulate opinions on how you think others are based on their portrait.
Lesson Objectives and their Evaluation Criteria:
1. Critical Thinking and Research Skills and Historical and Contemporary Relevance: You researched the genre of self portraiture using web databases and/or library resources.
2. Formal and Technical Skills: The portrait is representational of you and includes additional symbolic elements and text that communicate information about you.
3. Conceptual Skills and Critical Thinking and Research Skills:You demonstrate an understanding of process in art making. You sketched ideas, tried new things, took risks, and documented the process of what came to be as the final result.
4. Formal and Technical Skills: Composition is neat, well thought out, and you considered the stylistic choices with the subject matter that you are including.
5. Conceptual Skills and Critical Thinking and Research Skills:Added symbolic details are relevant, carefully constructed and placed, and assist in creating a balanced, unified composition.
6. Communication Skills: Artist statement is thoroughly and thoughtfully written and free of spelling and grammatical errors. Reflection is evident.
7. Communication Skills:Participation in final group critique was strong. You presented as well as contributed your thoughts to others. You promoted meaningful discussion.
8. Use of class time was appropriate and meaningful. Care of materials was taken and respect for the process of making the art was considerate and sound.
Ashtyn
With this project in mind I collected different pieces of magazines to create an image that reflected me and my personality. For the background I used different things that I like, for example runnings, or a picture of starbucks. I did this because I wanted to show people what my interests are. Does creating a portrait influence how you want others to see you? I think that creating a portrait can influence how you want people to look at you because each portrait is different and unique based on what you do. What do portraits look like? Portraits are an accurate representation of what a person looks like, they can be drawn, or even made with parts of magazines like we used in this class.
Jordan
Courtney
When I started my Identity Collage I instantly knew which picture of me I was going to use. I sketched the outline and gathered tiny pieces of magazine. The hardest part was starting because I didn’t want to ruin the drawing by placing a wrong colored piece in the wrong spot. Once I had placed magazine over the eyes, I felt more confident in making something I could be proud of. I wanted my art to match the reference picture, but also have it’s own kind of beauty that couldn’t be captured in a photograph or photoshop. I made piles of different skin tone pieces and slowly continued to build the face. I made the lips red because I liked the contrast of color compared to the paleness of the skin. I changed a few things on my face when creating this piece because I wanted to improve on things that I couldn’t in real life. I made my teeth whiter, my eyeliner sharper, and my hair somewhat curlier. I wanted others to see me as being put together and flawless even though it goes against my beliefs. I would rather change something in a drawing than in real life because I can make it look like how I want it to depending on my feelings that day. I didn’t have too much time to work on the hair, so I went for a choppier look with different colors that you wouldn’t see in the photograph. Because of this I made the background pieces even bigger and mismatched to carry on a pattern. The background includes trees, grass, and the color green because I like the outdoors. I always played outside when I was little and think that helped make the person I am today. I also included cats because I love all types of cats. My shirt was made pink and purple instead of the color in the photograph because they are some of my favorite colors. There’s also a few gems randomly on the shirt which shows how I like fancy things, but never know what to do with them. I didn’t add any words because I don’t think that you need to read in order to understand art. Someone should be able to look at my art and piece together their own reason behind what I did. Even though I didn’t have much time to complete this project, I worked hard to make something I could be proud of and learned that I use symbolism without even realizing it.
Samantha
With this project I began by sketching my face, and then finding like colors that would match the different shades of my skin. After that finding the different shades of my red hair, Finding just the right shades was important to me because my hair is something that makes me who I am. I think if I were to drastically change something about myself in this, like my hair I could change the way people feel about me or how they view me at that given time. The background was something that challenged me from the start, I had so many things that I could do with it but I picked doing brand names such as Louis Vuitton, or Calvin Klein. The reason I picked these Is because I feel that it said something important about me, it said that the way I perceived myself was big and flashy like these brands. I think that creating this image of myself allowed me to give off a demeanor that I would not have been able to achieve otherwise, Like taking a picture of myself.
Addison
In the world today you see many different things people do to express who they are. Making this artwork was how I expressed who I was. I used this art to portray how I see myself with different words around the image. In the portrait I used bits of magazine pieces to create an image that is alike to who I am. I used a picture of myself and tried to recreate that look from the shirt I was wearing to the shape of my face. I utilized many different colors for my skin tones to emphasize the shadows, while I used various types of hair colors to have the effect of strands of hair. Right away I struggled with how to use a variety of shades of colors to show the dips in my skin and make it more realistic. I soon learned the trick was to use darker pieces in the low spots and lighter pieces in the high spots.
To help portray who I am I used a variety of different white words against my green background that describe me. These words are words I want people to see as words that describe who I am, what I like, and how people see me. After looking at many others art, such as my classmates, I noticed that they made their art off of how they want people to see them and how they see themselves. I think that is what all artist are trying to do when making a self portrait, they use it to show people who they think they really are. After making this art I have a better understanding of others and of myself because I saw the meticulous way they used every piece of magazine paper to get the right tone or shape in their face and they applied words or pictures to portray who they were. Self portraits are important in art because it gives every artist a chance to look deep down and see who they really are.
To help portray who I am I used a variety of different white words against my green background that describe me. These words are words I want people to see as words that describe who I am, what I like, and how people see me. After looking at many others art, such as my classmates, I noticed that they made their art off of how they want people to see them and how they see themselves. I think that is what all artist are trying to do when making a self portrait, they use it to show people who they think they really are. After making this art I have a better understanding of others and of myself because I saw the meticulous way they used every piece of magazine paper to get the right tone or shape in their face and they applied words or pictures to portray who they were. Self portraits are important in art because it gives every artist a chance to look deep down and see who they really are.
Cullen
For this project I tried to use realistic shading because I feel like I’m a realistic person. I left my head blank to represent my open mindedness and acceptance of most. I put a dog in the background to show that I am loyal. I put different destinations on both sides of me to show my love of travel. The peacock represents the beauty of freedom. I hid a small castle by my shoulder to symbolize my fascination with ancient architecture and structure. I choose to use a picture with a slight smile to show that I’m pretty easy going and at the same time not super excitable.
Michael
When I began my Identity Collage, I made the decision that I wanted my project to represent who I am on multiple levels. The obvious one would be that it was created to resemble me, being that it was a self portrait. Additionally, I wanted my project to represent who I was and what I am in a symbolic way so the viewer would be able to discover traits about myself on a deeper level and about my past. I wanted to well represent my personality and the attributes about myself that make me unique. I felt that art was an excellent medium to communicate my individuality, because art allows you to make any project unique through personal creativity.
In my collage I included words like, “small town” to my collage to represent my life to this point and show people where I come from. I have also added words like, “Challenges, Work, and Groundbreaking” because I am excited to graduate high school, leave my current small town life, and take on the challenges and work that need to be done to make it on my own in the world. Most importantly to me, I added a nature background to my picture because I feel that nature is one of the most important things in life and I personally find great joy being within it. One thing that I highly enjoy doing is spending time with my family hiking and kayaking; I find it peaceful and it allows me to disconnect from technology and the stresses of this world. One of my favorite quotes is, “Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.” - Albert Einstein. I believe this quote is saying that it is important to not lose sight of the bigger picture. Nature reminds us what is truly important in life and allows us to relax about the day to day issues that we face and get stressed out over. For all of these reasons I truly believe this piece well represents my personality and what I value in life.
In my collage I included words like, “small town” to my collage to represent my life to this point and show people where I come from. I have also added words like, “Challenges, Work, and Groundbreaking” because I am excited to graduate high school, leave my current small town life, and take on the challenges and work that need to be done to make it on my own in the world. Most importantly to me, I added a nature background to my picture because I feel that nature is one of the most important things in life and I personally find great joy being within it. One thing that I highly enjoy doing is spending time with my family hiking and kayaking; I find it peaceful and it allows me to disconnect from technology and the stresses of this world. One of my favorite quotes is, “Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.” - Albert Einstein. I believe this quote is saying that it is important to not lose sight of the bigger picture. Nature reminds us what is truly important in life and allows us to relax about the day to day issues that we face and get stressed out over. For all of these reasons I truly believe this piece well represents my personality and what I value in life.
Schyler
When I found out I had to create a portrait representing how I look at myself, it made me really ponder about who I am. I also wasn’t really sure where I wanted to take it. I took it day by day figuring out what to do next. For the background, I used flowers. To me, flowers mean kindness, originality, and they remind me of my mom all of which are important to me. I put Ben & Jerry’s in my background because when usually when one of my friends or myself are down out out when eat Ben & Jerry’s or joke about bringing Ben & Jerry’s over. For my shirt, I used paragraphs, fragments of paragraphs, and sentences meaning something to me. I even used a recipes because I love to cook. I used the white text to contrast it from the background and to use it as a “neutral” color. I wanted people to see me as someone who loves nature, is passionate about what I believe in, and who is altruistic. I could express this with somewhat of an ease. If I had to capture it all in a picture of myself, I would have a hard time. I’d have to find the exemplary pose, location, facial expression, outfit, etc. With using the magazines, I could cut, place, and visualize everything thoroughly. Hopefully through my self portrait, people can see me how I see myself.
Brenna
When I first began my Self Portrait, I assumed it would not be that difficult, because it seemed as though we were just tracing a picture and gluing paper onto it. However, as I continued to work on it, I realized it was going to take a bit more exertion than I thought. I found the shading of my face and shoulders to be quite a challenge, as well as making my lips. I am glad I eventually figured out how to accomplish that, because it really makes the portrait look more realistic by having darker pieces where there are shadows on my shoulders and face and lighter pieces where the light hits my face and shoulders.
Originally, I was going to just have my shirt be different shades of white, but soon changed my mind, because I wanted to represent myself more. I decided to choose various words that portray what I am and what I aspire to be, I hoped this self portrait would show others just that. For example, I chose the words “senior”, “smart”, and “seventeen” because that is what I am. For what I aspire to be, a few examples of words I chose are “interesting”, “intelligent”, and “inspiring”. One of the most important phrases I chose to portray myself with “good enough”. These two simple words actually have a huge meaning to me. I feel as though everyone struggles with feeling “good enough”, whether that be pertaining to work, sports, school, relationships, etc. The underlying meaning is all the same, we all want to feel good enough for someone or something. For me, personally, it mostly pertains to sports and school. Being good enough for a starting spot or being good enough for this scholarship or that school or a higher ranking spot in the class, it all puts a lot of pressure on me. I decided to put this on my self portrait to remind myself I am good enough and I am worthy. This project really opened my eyes and made me see myself differently and think about the kind of person I would like to be. I feel as long as you put the effort in, you deserve anything you set your mind to, you are good enough for whatever you want in life. What I found is great about self portraits is you are able to portray your personality and intangible characteristics to others by using words to create your shirt or face or whatever you choose, unlike pictures, where you can only see your physical being.
Finally, I decided to do an Autumn background, because it is my favorite season. I used different Fall landscapes for it, including leaves, trees, and a river. Even though this self-portrait became difficult at some points, I’ve decided I enjoyed creating something that represents who I am and what I hope to become.
Originally, I was going to just have my shirt be different shades of white, but soon changed my mind, because I wanted to represent myself more. I decided to choose various words that portray what I am and what I aspire to be, I hoped this self portrait would show others just that. For example, I chose the words “senior”, “smart”, and “seventeen” because that is what I am. For what I aspire to be, a few examples of words I chose are “interesting”, “intelligent”, and “inspiring”. One of the most important phrases I chose to portray myself with “good enough”. These two simple words actually have a huge meaning to me. I feel as though everyone struggles with feeling “good enough”, whether that be pertaining to work, sports, school, relationships, etc. The underlying meaning is all the same, we all want to feel good enough for someone or something. For me, personally, it mostly pertains to sports and school. Being good enough for a starting spot or being good enough for this scholarship or that school or a higher ranking spot in the class, it all puts a lot of pressure on me. I decided to put this on my self portrait to remind myself I am good enough and I am worthy. This project really opened my eyes and made me see myself differently and think about the kind of person I would like to be. I feel as long as you put the effort in, you deserve anything you set your mind to, you are good enough for whatever you want in life. What I found is great about self portraits is you are able to portray your personality and intangible characteristics to others by using words to create your shirt or face or whatever you choose, unlike pictures, where you can only see your physical being.
Finally, I decided to do an Autumn background, because it is my favorite season. I used different Fall landscapes for it, including leaves, trees, and a river. Even though this self-portrait became difficult at some points, I’ve decided I enjoyed creating something that represents who I am and what I hope to become.
Karina
Self portraits are a form of art that many artists have created. Each self portrait has it’s own unique characteristics just as each artist looks. While self portraits can look identical to the artist who created it, an artist can also create a self portrait and it doesn’t have to look like the artist. The way an artist creates their self portrait can even change the way others view the individual because it can show characteristics others may not see in the individual. My own art looks similar in some aspects, such as my hair and clothing, but my facial characteristics don’t look exact.
In my portrait, I have different words that what I think represent me in my portrait. Some words are visual characteristics, personality traits and things I value. Others may think a lot of these words represent me, and others now can see how I view myself. So not only does it show how I view myself, but it can change how others view me.
In my portrait, I have different words that what I think represent me in my portrait. Some words are visual characteristics, personality traits and things I value. Others may think a lot of these words represent me, and others now can see how I view myself. So not only does it show how I view myself, but it can change how others view me.
Tori
This project was a self portrait and I think that a self portrait is how you see yourself as an artist. I began this project by finding a picture of myself and I chose one of my senior pictures. I then traced the picture onto a piece of paper and started to fill it in with pieces of cut up magazine paper. I used paper from the magazine to show the shadowed parts of my face. I used words to fill the background that I felt described myself such as music, fun, and spectacular. Self portraits show others how you see yourself so they can get a different look at you because everyone sees things differently. I believe that portraits can change a person's view on how they see you because now they see how you see you.
Emily
Anna
I began this project confident in my identity, knowing who I was within my heart. However, what I did not quite know was how to communicate that knowledge to others. How could I show my maturity or my love of nature? Or make one understand my perceptive mind? What would convince others of the hardships I’ve faced and the strong person I’ve become?
In life, people often perceive in things what they wish to see - instead of the real truth. Similarly, someone may view my artwork without knowing the true meaning behind the words of colors I’ve chosen to symbolize my personality. For example, I created my dress with cutouts of leaves and vines to represent my love of being surrounded and wrapped up in nature. The text used to create my eyes reflects my passion for reading and learning. The words ‘poised’ and ‘drive’ express how I’ve developed my character most in facing challenges in my environment, as represented by the dark gray background. I covered the main focus of my person in colored paper to show how I have tried to remain myself even through the dark times - also explained by the large ‘real originality’ placed on the top of the piece. The word ‘love’ ‘s placement on my dress represents how I am a person who wears their emotions on their sleeve, always genuine. These components really embrace the purpose of creating a one-of-a-kind self portrait, allowing me to communicate what others might overlook when simply looking at the surface.
The process of creating this piece began with a sketch using a photo and projector onto my paper. Once an outline was established, I began cutting small strips and pieces of magazine pages, taking careful consideration in the shape and intensity of each fragment to create life-like shading and contouring of my face. I wanted to create a more textured medium by tearing strips of magazine to create my hair. Once finished, I used modge-podge to seal any frayed edges and create a solidified layer of paper.
In conclusion, this piece holds value in taking the time to reconsider my self-identity and how I will convey these thoughts to others in a beautiful and unique process of creating a self portrait
In life, people often perceive in things what they wish to see - instead of the real truth. Similarly, someone may view my artwork without knowing the true meaning behind the words of colors I’ve chosen to symbolize my personality. For example, I created my dress with cutouts of leaves and vines to represent my love of being surrounded and wrapped up in nature. The text used to create my eyes reflects my passion for reading and learning. The words ‘poised’ and ‘drive’ express how I’ve developed my character most in facing challenges in my environment, as represented by the dark gray background. I covered the main focus of my person in colored paper to show how I have tried to remain myself even through the dark times - also explained by the large ‘real originality’ placed on the top of the piece. The word ‘love’ ‘s placement on my dress represents how I am a person who wears their emotions on their sleeve, always genuine. These components really embrace the purpose of creating a one-of-a-kind self portrait, allowing me to communicate what others might overlook when simply looking at the surface.
The process of creating this piece began with a sketch using a photo and projector onto my paper. Once an outline was established, I began cutting small strips and pieces of magazine pages, taking careful consideration in the shape and intensity of each fragment to create life-like shading and contouring of my face. I wanted to create a more textured medium by tearing strips of magazine to create my hair. Once finished, I used modge-podge to seal any frayed edges and create a solidified layer of paper.
In conclusion, this piece holds value in taking the time to reconsider my self-identity and how I will convey these thoughts to others in a beautiful and unique process of creating a self portrait