'Tis a Possibility Methinks...

Don't know why this reposted: Please to ignore!! Hehe

'Tis a Possibility Methinks...

This semester I have been taking a course in theater makeup through the theater branch of Mason Gross. The course has blown me away and I have been thinking of ways to try and incorporate it in to my thesis since lately painting and drawing simply haven't held the same spark for me as they used to. I would like to use the skills and techniques I have learned and am still learning in theater makeup to create a series of photographs about abuse, disease, and hunger in the world. These issues are unfortunately large issues that tend to get overlooked in favor of the other more political issues at hand. To my way of thinking, the alteration of the face, body and the work done with the makeup is, in itself, a method of painting and drawing. The artist literally uses the human face as their canvas and the makeup, liquid latex, creme, eyeliner, brushes, etc. as their paint, pencils, and tools. I would create scenes and fit the character in to said scenes in ways that speak about the aforementioned issues. For example,I would like to create a character of an abused woman and take photographs of the way she goes about hiding the abuse etc. I would create an image of said woman in the bathroom using makeup to try and cover up the splits and bruises, a moment with the woman cowering bloody and beaten in the corner of a kitchen, and a scene with the abused woman removing a long-sleeved, high-necked shirt, revealing bruising across her ribs and abdomen.  I decided to do three subjects rather than one because I don't feel that I can get enough images/ photos out of only one subject.  I would need to research images that deal with these topics and create my own emulating the reality.

For the show itself I would frame the final images in simple black frames, anything more ornate would take away from the works themselves, and hang them on the wall where they are to be displayed. However I would like to try and have the images printed in a larger format so they have more of  a visual impact on the viewers. I want the photographs to truly confront the viewers with their message, leaving the viewers feeling unsettled and disturbed. 

Perhaps...

Maybe a photographic series of makeups in which I portray an abused woman? Each photograph could be something different, her trying to put on makeup to cover the bruises, taking off a long sleeved and high necked shirt, revealing the bruises underneath? Maybe not a series specifically about women... But about hunger, abuse, disease, etc?

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cindy+sherman&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1044&bih=614&sei=5RfDTpryO4LZ0QH9pqWmDw

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cindy+sherman&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1044&bih=614&sei=5RfDTpryO4LZ0QH9pqWmDw#um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=gregory+crewdson&oq=gregor&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=26200l27586l4l30636l8l7l1l1l1l0l224l689l1.3.1l5l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1fa98ce457bc15cd&biw=1044&bih=614

Those who have come before...

http://www.dicksmithmake-up.com/filmography.htm

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=julie+taymor&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1044&bih=614&sei=EM3BTpXGKerq0gH5hMjBDw#um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=julie+taymor+lion+king&pbx=1&oq=julie+taymor+li&aq=0&aqi=g3g-S1&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=8431l8794l0l12139l3l3l0l0l0l0l172l392l1.2l3l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1fa98ce457bc15cd&biw=1044&bih=614

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=julie+taymor&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1044&bih=614&sei=EM3BTpXGKerq0gH5hMjBDw#um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=julie+taymor+spider+man+&oq=julie+taymor+spider+man+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=69056l71325l0l71724l13l13l0l10l10l0l170l393l0.3l3l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1fa98ce457bc15cd&biw=1044&bih=614

Confusion Abound

Being that I find myself floundering a bit lately, my teachers and I have sat down to discuss the semester and projects etc. I find it extremely difficult to not continue along on a more illustrative bend, given that that's where my interests lie... And now I need to write up my thesis proposal for next week... I'm not really sure what to do...

Granted I know I'm interested in the macabre and the nude form... But I don't know what I would want to do to make a project out of that, and almost anything I can think of is too illustrative for Mason Gross. Ahhhh. I wish I could do something with the makeup stuff I've been learning how to do in my Theater Makeup course. I'm LOVING it. I think this is the only class I'm seriously upset to see ending and the only class I'm upset to find out when it has been cancelled. Maybe there IS a way to incorporate it? I know there are artists who transform themselves and then take photographs of their work... Sadly I can't remember their names off the top of my head. Fail.                     

On a lighter note...

Just so that the most recent post on the page isn't an angsty angry rant against art school: I was recently turned on to the artist Alberto Vargas by fellow classmate Irene Geller. While looking through the book she has of his work (which I immediately went and ordered for myself afterwards http://www.amazon.com/Alberto-Vargas-Works-Max-Collection/dp/0821257927) I noticed that though his lighting remained impeccable and his hand light, towards the tail end of his career he developed a highly stylized manner of drawing/ illustrating to the point where he was no longer drawing what he saw in reality, but rather what he "knew." It's one of the first pitfalls we learned to watch out for in Drawing Fundamentals. Other than the eventual stiffness and "barbie-esque" look that began to creep in to his work, I fell in love with the playful, sexy, yet light and illustrative way in which he handled the female form. Especially, as I said before, the way he handled his lighting. The women he drew (often for Playboy) seemed to practically glow from within. He even had a Batwoman illustration! I intend to one day try my hand at painting/ drawing in a similar style. He used pastels so skillfully that they often appear (at least in the reproductions for the book) to be watercolor. Highly impressive, I can't wait for my book to finally arrive so I can go through it again.