line portrait

8/13/2019 Line Portrait

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ART102: 2-D Foundations Project due: Tues. Feb. 18 th Spring 2014

21 st Century PortraitThe history of portraiture is as old as the history of humankind. From the earliest cave drawings to present day,we have used the simplest form of representation – a line, mark, or trace – to give evidence of our presence in theworld. In this assignment, you will be making a line portrait out of cut paper that represents your contemporarymoment. This portrait may be representational, non-representational, or abstract.

Parameters• At least 18 x 24 inches• Avoid visible pencil/ink marks• Glue okay, but be careful and test. Sloppiness will detract from your piece.

Artists we looked atKara Walker – Uses multiple pieces together; draws on historical examples of portraiture; racist caricature

JR – Grandiose use of scale & location; who is being represented and who is the audience?Swoon - Line quality; ornament/decadence; paper as sculptural presenceNikki McClure – What values are being expressed in these works?

Objectives1) Attempt to make an interesting interpretation of portrait with a compelling visual presence. This could mean ablind contour drawing over a sighted one, or an object rather than a person.

2) Use the figure/ground relationship to help you express content. Think about how figure/ground reversalbecomes a powerful tool for Kara Walker, or how in the George Bush example at the end of this handout onestarts to think of censorship when there is no visual information where his mouth would be.

3) Be selective about the number of contour lines to use. How much information do you want to convey? Just asilhouette (primary contour) like the work of Kara Walker, or intricate detail (lots of secondary contours) like thework of Swoon? Both are successful in their own right but have very different sensibilities.

4) Use line weight (thickness) and line style (curvilinear vs. rectilinear) to create emphasis and mood.

5) Consider scale, borders, and location. Is your portrait cut out and using the wall as its ground? Is it larger thanlife-size scale or more intimate? Who is it speaking to?

Exercises & ProcessWe will do a number of in-class exercises so you can gain familiarity with the materials and working process.Test the material limits in class so you can begin to see what level of representation or fine detail is possible withthe X-acto and this type of paper.

You will be required to make 10 thumbnail sketches before you begin. They do not have to be the sameconcept. These smaller compositions should help you visualize possibilities for your final design. Thesethumbnails shouldn’t be any larger than 3 or 4 inches in any direction and should focus on the possibilities of thefigure/ground relationship. It will be easiest to make these with a technical pen for outlines and a broad tipmarker to fill sections in. You may make slight revisions in the process of making the final piece. This oftenhappens and is part of the expected process. However, if you change course dramatically (as in a new concept),you will be expected to create 3-5 sketches to accompany the new direction.

Please be careful with the X-acto blade, especially when cutting with tracing paper or multiple layers of papertogether. Take breaks if working for long stretches, as your hands will surely tire. Plan to spend several hoursoutside of class to finish this assignment.



Tips on using line weight effectively

• In the example below, a slice with no material removed may be the right thickness for a subtle feature.• A wider removal of material will be better for those areas you want to show a highly contrasting edge.• Draw from observation when possible. Images drawn from memory, copying another drawing, or usingphotographs rarely reflects the same attention to line weight variation as our contour drawings done in class.

Line weight is completely uniform Line weight shows variation in cutting process

Tips on using figure/ground relationship effectively

• Think about Kara Walkers’ work and how much information is concealed or revealed through her use ofcontour and manipulation of the figure/ground relationship. In many instances, 2 characters are struggling withone another but their silhouettes are displayed as a single shadow, almost as if one inseparable form thatincreases a sense of tension. Without the figure/ground reversal, suddenly the tension would be lost ortransformed as the figures would no longer look inseparable.

• Figure/ground thumbnails will help you visualize your composition. In the example below, a severely croppedfigure now has a different relationship to ground as edges of the frame disappear and psychic lines appear.



Likewise, you can keep your scale the same but simply manipulate the figure/ground design as a means ofcontrolling the mood or type of information revealed (see samples below).

Black silhouette figure on white ground White figure w/few contours on black ground

White figure w/strong defining contours on white ground White figure w/contours on alternating high contrast ground

Your options are nearly limitless

line portrait

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