INTRODUCTION
Throughout my career as an illustrator, I have used a specific visual vocabulary when depicting faces. This vocabulary of simplified pictorial elements came more from a distillation of influences from other contemporary illustrators and artists than from the use of reference.
This thesis project explores the role of reference, simplification, and my own artistic process.
In my portrait work, I work from memory and imagination (cite Picasso?). I don't use reference. But could I? And if I did, how would it affect my work?
Contemporary illustrators such as Jeffrey Fisher, Anthony Russo, and Cathie Bleck, have influenced my use of generalized facial features. I was attracted to the simple approach these artists took when rendering faces with simple shapes and lines and minimal visual elements. I liked how these simple elements contrasted with the other shapes within the compositions, and the natural beauty and calm their faces projected. I wanted to bring that simplicity and calm to my work and elegant beauty, a natural, unadorned appearance.
[NOTE: Greek idealism – describe this here, as a stylistic choice Greek artists made and how that is connected to the time, e.g., perhaps timeless, and perhaps glorification of man as a whole, not specific persons, e.g., democracy – is this a spiritual connection or is it anti-spiritual? Is there a connection between Greek ideals and philosophy and the ways in which your political portraits are manifest?]
Rudolf Arnheim proposes that an image always has one of three functions: a picture, symbol, or sign (Arnheim, xx). Does an artist need to be aware of a reference image’s original function, whether it is merely a picture or if it serves as a symbol or sign representing a deeper content?
Can a simplified “primitive” almond-shaped eye merely be a “picture” of an eye or does it possess an inherent symbolism, perhaps stemming from an original source, even if the overall image has no connection to this original source? If this primitive almond-eye is used in an image of a modern-day person for example, what message does it convey? Does it de-modernize the person? Does it make the overall image look less contemporary? What purpose does it serve other than an arbitrary style choice? And if it has been used arbitrarily, does an inherent message obscure the intention of the image?
Repeating an influential style without understanding or considering its original inspiration, an artist can unwittingly mask or miss the message within that original use.
When a face is generalized, the rest of the image, including the pose, color, composition and other symbols, can drive the piece. Generalization of the face pushes the subject back, and minimizes the subject’s role in the concept of the piece.
I asked the illustrator Anthony Russo, one of my influences, about his work and his portraiture.
“Many of my illustrations use the face as a central image. The face can be used as an icon, a mirror of ourselves. By using the iconic aspects of a face it can then serve as a door for people to see in a way that feels connected more open and grand, more spacious and transformative. I guess it's a way to distill our ideas and get to the essence.”
Russo explains that his goal is to “strip the face of cultural or personal qualities to create a more everyman feel.” Combined with my own artistic process of simplification, it is this expression—primitive elements that allow me to make my figures anonymous, and bring with them a deeper spiritual expression and connection to times other than our own—that this paper explores.
The presence of primitive elements evoke a spiritual message, also suggestive of another time period. The everyman aspect I bring to my portraits is, in part, a separation—more unconscious than conscious—from present-day man. The generalization of facial features contributes to this, since anonymity in a face renders it timeless regardless of its context: when set in a natural or specifically historic setting, the face appears even more as if it belongs. Though the face is simplified, or perhaps because it is simplified, it can adopt the character of its original reference more easily, even pointing to another time.
Pablo Picasso transformed his own portrait work in the period between 1905-1906, as he sought an alternative to traditional Western art. Picasso's interest in Iberian art was wrapped in his appreciation for the purity and directness of primitivism. Yet rather than using these works as direct visual references, Picasso began to recreate these Iberian artifacts within his own work, transforming the facial features of his subject into these mask-like Iberian visages.
[NOTE: Why was the Iberian art graphically simplified? Is there a relationship between Greek and Iberian art] (Greek features of beauty, check the book I have open on my desk)
One of the presenters during my Syracuse classes advised us to “stay true to your reference” or some paraphrase of that. The challenge for me when using reference is to let it inform the more so than define the piece.
If the image is a portrait of a specific individual, their features cannot be generalized too far. There must exist some visual connection to the specific individual, some representation of the reference. As an example, even though a particular nose shadow in my reference is more complex than I would like it to appear in my image, the nose shadow shape I use should be believable in terms of the light source as well as aligning with the suggested form of the nose and cheek. To achieve a recognizable likeness, any stylized simplification must still conform to a representational depiction.
I wondered if I could integrate reference into my process. Could I use reference as a starting point yet still arrive at a generalized, stylized portrait?
But can I really translate what I observe into a flat graphic image without considering works I have previously seen? Am I merely reinterpreting Warhol, Glaser, Cronin or mixing it all up into something new? And does it need to be "new" to appease me or the viewer? Does the viewer care?
In the end, I'm more interested in my response than the response of anyone else. I know when I'm challenging myself and stretching and when I'm not; that's the measure.
Without observational reference, style can simply be a repeat of other works, the styles of other artists, mixed into a new soup. This can become limiting without new influences. I could repeat Anthony Russo or Matisse for years but the work would feel stagnant and dull. What part of the work is mine? What am I bringing that is new? Recognizing and accepting an accident is one new element (unless I am accepting it merely because it reminds me of another work) or a remix of observed works can bring about a new resolution.
PROCESS
The goals of this project were to work from reference, work big, and create art prints rather than merely digital printouts of ethereal art files.
My process for my thesis project came in three stages; first was the sketching stage, using reference to create a portrait of the subject. Second came the digital stage, where the portrait was designed and colored using the sketch as a reference. And third came the screen print stage, where the digital image was printed as a limited edition serigraph.
SKETCHING FROM REFERENCE
I have not practiced observational drawing since undergraduate school. Once I moved into my own stylized approach, working from memory and imagination, I left behind all thoughts of using reference. I would occasionally look at houses, trees, and other objects, even people, but not to reproduce, simply to check my accuracy or maybe for compositional inspiration.
For this project, I first needed to find out how rough my drawing skills had become. I began drawing during my bus rides, usually the back of someone’s head and their profile. Fortunately, I found I still retained some good observational drawing skills, when it came to faces, heads, and hands at least.
I also began to work from photographs: an unmoving subject like a photograph would seem an easier task, but I found that it was more difficult than drawing from a live person. I tried turning the photograph upside-down, a technique I had seen demonstrated online by another artist (http://www.dannygregory.com/2007/03/portrait_688.php). This method forced me to look at the photograph more intently as shapes rather than facial features.
I also used a technique used by the illustrator Jack Unruh by starting with one eye and drawing out from that point. This creates some odd relationships between the features and introduces some distortion. Employing these two techniques as well as recalling my drawing tutorage (fix that) helped me create some fairly representational drawings using photographs as references.
DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION
The digital stage had two parts. First, I adjusted the sketch to reduce any unnecessary distortions, just enough to clarify the likeness. I cut and pasted different parts of the sketch and moved them around into a more accurate depiction of the reference. Then, I used this adjusted sketch as the reference for the digital image design. This is where the generalization, simplification, and graphic translation of the reference occurred and was the critical point. How far into a "style" should I go? How far do I depart from the reference? My goal was to land somewhere between the reference and my usual stylized approach, using reference merely to inform the design of the image and not drive it too directly.
SCREEN PRINTING
Once the digital image is finished, I adapt it for screen-printing. I reduce the color palette and save each color as an independent image file. For example, all of the red elements are saved as one file and all of the blue elements are saved as another file.
During the screen printing stage, I was taken out of my usual method and brought out into the unpredictable and accident-prone activity of producing tangible, physical pieces of art. This loss of control allows for some unexpected adjustments to occur to the screen prints, making each print unique. Ink jet prints conversely are, for the most part, identical copies of each other.
When I work digitally, I have control over accidents that affect the image. I can choose whether to keep them or correct them. Screen printing however, as in other traditional media, has no “undo” command. The process and medium collaborate to help me define the final image. For me, this lack of control is frightening yet essential to the development of an image, so much so that I intentionally introduce accidents into my digital images and occasionally avoid correcting some of the unplanned mistakes. Misalignments and other inherent screen printing errors are what make a printed image interesting to me. But which accidents are assets and which ones are just obvious errors? I welcome the occasional misstep, allowing the process to play along, but these errors need to look intentional or at least appropriate and not too distracting. They should add to the image and be a record of the process rather than be merely a mistake.
CONCLUSION (needs editing)
A return, a better appreciation of my previous work, it had not been simple surface design, compositional play with a limited visual vocabulary.
Picasso needed to cleanse the primitive elements, westernize them to strip away their primitive qualities (cite source).
I am more attracted to Matisse and Picasso’s filter than the pure primitive source. I liked the primitive elements as they had come in through Matisse and Picasso’s filter. Without their re-interpretation, these primitive were too direct, too pure, and pointed to directly to the source. After becoming westernized, these primitive elements took on additional references that I wanted my work to reflect.
I gained a better and clearer understanding of the inherent symbolism found in the original primitive elements. This has helped me to incorporate these elements more appropriately, combine them with elements taken from observational references, and to recognize when an inherent message obscures the intention of the image.
MARKETING PLAN (needs editing)
For a thesis portraiture subject, I chose the 2008 Presidential Race and its list of candidates. For portrait subjects, I wanted to follow the 2008 Presidential Race and create portraits of the candidates. Along with the screen prints of the work, I created other merchandise using the images; buttons, t-shirts, and mugs. Not only did I want to produce larger-scale tangible art objects (screen prints), I also wanted to place the image on merchandise and create additional products. For this, I’m using Café Press as well as other service sites.
BIOGRAPHY
MFA Illustration, University of Hartford, 2008
MA Illustration, Syracuse University, 2006
BFA Graphic Design/Illustration Minneapolis College of Art & Design, 1989
James O’Brien is a nationally recognized illustrator who's client list includes: American Express, Bank of America, Colgate, Rand McNally, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, Sears, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, McGraw-Hill, Scholastic Press, Smithsonian, Business Week, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Newsweek, US News & World Report, Computer World, PC Magazine, Interactive Week, Entertainment Weekly, Wine Spectator, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Times. His work has received numerous awards and recognition from American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, 3X3, PRINT, SBS Digital Design, AIGA, and SILA.
His work is created using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator along with found and hand-made elements. In his rare free time, he enjoys running marathons, reading important novels, and collecting/creating music.
Represented by Gerald & Cullen Rapp (212) 889-3337
email: james@obrienart.com
studio: (651) 291-0426
websites:
http://obrienart.com
http://jamesobrien.typepad.com/obrienart
http://www.theispot.com/artist/obrien
http://illoz.com/jamesobrien
http://drawger.com/jamesobrien
NOTES
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Murrell, Denise. "African Influences in Modern Art". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm (April 2008)
Russel, John. The One True Picasso. The New York Times: Arts. published March 3, 1991.
Sweeney, James Johnson - Picasso and Iberian Sculpture - The Art Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Sep., 1941), pp. 191-198
Golding, John - The 'Demoiselles d'Avignon - The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 100, No. 662 (May, 1958), pp. 155-163
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