Advanced Painting
Halloran: Spring 2015
"Make it Work"
I was dreading this project from the moment I read it on the syllabus, because I personally find it extremely difficult to do a painting collaboration. However, I knew that I would get something out of the assignment because of the outcome of my piece from last semester's collaboration project. I decided to keep the collaboration element from outside sources on an idea basis, without my selected individuals physically altering the actual piece itself. I decided to ask both the individual in class and outside of class the same question, "what is the first thing you notice when you see or are approached by me?" I asked this question not only because I needed a starting point for this painting, but also because I am genuinely curious about what it is that people instantly notice about me from a first impression.
Although it is often said that it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, I find this statement to be somewhat false due to the fact that we consciously or unconsciously attempt to display how we feel or who we believe we are through our appearance each day. If we didn't show our emotions or personality through our appearance, then nothing about one's exterior aesthetic would matter. Yet, it is the first and sometimes only thing we notice about each individual we encounter.
My peer in class responded to my question, stating that I "seemed fashionable, and always have a smile on." My friend from outside of class also commented on my style and since she knows me pretty well, said that she knows i'll do something "crazy" to make her laugh when I see her. I found it extremely interesting how similar the two answers were, because it must not have been a coincidence. I know that I consciously portray myself in a positive way, through both my interactions with people and the clothing I wear. No matter what the mood of the day, or the rough situations being dealt with, I try to make the negative aspects of my life not reflect on the surface for everyone to see.
Because both of my collaborators commented on my fashion taste as an attribute, I decided that my last collaborator would be Tm Gunn from Project Runway. I thought he would be a perfect addition to the project, because his main slogan that he states in every episode of Project Runway is "Make it work." I believe that this phrase, although seemingly simple and un-empathetic when said by Tim, is actually an extremely important motto to consider. When life throws you a curveball or puts you in a rough patch, you need to just pick up the pieces of whatever you got, and try to make the best out of it to make it look like you have everything together to everyone else.
My painting displays aspects from all three of my collaborators, shedding more of a dark light on the toll it takes to "make it work" each day. The figure in my painting is broken into an abstraction, where only the lines of her corset (a brutal item used for strictly constraint and fashion purposes) and negative relief features of her face embody the person. The black yarns pull the figure together, keeping her upright, and also lifting her smile. The text around the figure is Tim's phrase repeated over and over again. Overall, I wanted this painting to represent how oftentimes in life you need to pick yourself up and put yourself together so you can be recognized by others in a brighter light than what you feel you are in, because oftentimes, we think we are worse off than we actually are, and need to be reminded by others to just "make it work."
Tim Gunn Mashup
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