Cultural Self-Portrait

 

 

 

 

To start this semester, our studio class was  assigned a cultural self-portrait. We were encouraged to research our family history and interpret it in our self-portrait. The end result was an introspective look at how the people and events of our family history shape our view of the world. I am fortunate to have a great deal of information about my family history, as many people in my family have intense interests in genealogy.

 

 

I chose to create a three-dimensional self-portrait that addresses my past and the things that created the person I am, and embraces my future and the people I will help to shape. I also acknowledged my family's strong English background,as well as my German ancestry that culminated in the long-standing place my family has in South Carolina history.


My three-dimensional self-portrait is a shadow exploration,created by cutting paper and strategically layering it to reveal my face. Behind my shadow portrait are pictures of my family and ancestors, showing the people who came before me. In front of my self-portrait are layered pictures of my children, representing family continuum.The entire portrait is attached to a base that has copies of paintings of ancestral homes in Charleston, SC and a copy of an excerpt from my great-great-great-grandmother's diary.


When I completed my cultural self-portrait I analyzed it to see if I could discern my general design aesthetic from both its content and its presentation, and I concluded that I could. In terms of design and based on my cultural self-portrait, I concluded that my design aesthetic is edgy traditional that is deeply rooted in history.