After a long day of brainstorming about narcissism, and finding myself nosing through academic online PDF's of Penis Envy and Castration Anxiety, I came up with my submission for the HUBRIS performance event in Boston. (Hopefully I woo the curator with my glorious idea and get in).
I had done a performance in the past where I had drawn people's portraits where I imagined what their sexual organs looked like (whether that be a realistic idea or a thematically exaggerated idea). I was wearing nothing but a smocks and some old school sneakers. I always wanted to elaborate on the idea of drawing people, putting them on the spot, having them wondering and waiting how I perceive them, and then seeing their reaction to the final product. I also like the fair/festival-like connotations that short sittings have to them; cheap and quick; what does that person want others to see in them? A white toothy smile, flowing locks, vibrant eyes? What will they want you to leave out? A kinky nose, a mole? So this performance submission is asking for a piece focusing on Narcissism. What better topic for an artist...that's all we think about is ourselves. It's a lifelong plague that we struggle with, yet we justify it, because we feel it makes us more aware of who we are and what we want.
Here is my proposal:
Proposal for durational performance piece at Mobius HUBRIS Event
In an area of approximately 5’x5’, I will be standing comfortably with an easel, paper, and art making supplies (including but not limited to pastels, acrylic paint, and glitter). In front of me will be an inviting chair for event goers to sit down and have their portrait drawn in about 15 minute increments. I will encourage light to moderate dialogue between myself and the subject; information derived from such conversation may be used to supplement the visual elements in the portrait. When the subject is shown their completed portrait, they will see a drawing that more or less resembles myself, with only hints of their personal appearance. This piece will go on for the duration of the HUBRIS event, with occasional breaks for rest.
Artist Statement and relation to theme of HUBRIS
Portraiture has been known to allow, at the very least, a slight resemblance of the artist herself to show through in any portrait they draw; this includes not only physical traits, but also the artist’s ideas of the world around them. I intend on taking that theme to the extreme, letting narcissism take over the drawing (almost) entirely. The portraits created from this performance will be an exploration and an exploitation of my deepest narcissistic thoughts.
