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Index IVT105/ Objective and Subjective Seeing / Self-Portrait
Assignment Definitions: objective
(adjective): based on real facts and not influenced by personal beliefs or
feelings. objective
reality: having reality independent of the mind
objectivity
(in reason): based in a separate, distant, and
unbiased point of view, such that concepts discussed are treated as objects. objectivity (in science):
empirical evidence, observation and experimentation in the physical world is
conducive to the verification of scientific judgments. These methods of
reasoning in science address the objectivity or neutrality of their theses or
theories. subjective (adjective):
influenced by or based on personal beliefs or feelings, rather than based on
facts, involving or deriving from sense perception
or experience with actual objects , conditions, or phenomena subjectivity
(in reason): subjectivity refers to the property of
perceptions, arguments, and language as being based in a subject's point of
view, and hence influenced in accordance with a particular bias. Its opposite
property is objectivity. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Subjectivity&oldid=131857619 We have been investigating how human vision might or
might not be an objective (mechanical?) act. Artists have different attitudes about
vision and this is nowhere more self-evident than in the classic act of
self-seeing, the self-portrait. We are studying three artists (Chuck Close,
Alberto Giacometti, and Roni Horn) and thinking
about how their very different approaches to portraiture stem from
fundamentally different ideas about vision and representation. Close aims to
treat vision as an act of information gathering, attempting to objectify the
process. Giacometti seems to be trying to capture the haunting presence of
his own biased (subjective) experience of looking each time he sculpts or draws
from himself or his sitter. Roni Horn is somewhere
in the middle as she uses photo mechanical means to objectively document her
subject but then throws that fixed presence into doubt by reminding us of the
flux inherent in time and perception. Other artists creating self-portraits
we looked at include Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Max Beckman, Robert Mapplethorpe,
Cindy Sherman, and Lucas Samaras. 1.
Create 2 Self-Portraits: In this assignment you will be challenged to create
two self-portraits where your aim is to 1) create a work by any means that
you think will represent you in the most objective way and 2)
conversely, create a second self-portrait that is the most subjective.
You may use any materials or process you choose, your choices should be based
on your specific definitions of objectivity and subjectivity. These two artworks should not just
passively enact your definitions, but rather be taken to a point where they
become a statement about attitudes of self-seeing. In fact, I will expect you
to formulate a specific definition/idea of both these concepts and create
artworks that pursue these specific definitions. Submit: Present artworks for in-class critique (digital
works should be submitted by email as jpegs) 2. Self-assessment (no less than two pages) Summarize your goals and expressive intentions: á How you have
specifically defined subjective and objective in the context of this
assignment. Explain how each work manifests your definitions including how
the specific choices youÕve made in creating each work achieve your goals. Reconsider specific decisions: á Given these goals, what were some of the
most and least successful aspects of your artwork? á How could you have handled the least
successful aspects better? (be specific as possible). Submit: This assignment, prefaced by this assignment page,
should be printed for your notebooks |