FACE-OFF Exhibition

Description

An Exhibition unveiling a collection of portraits completed and composed by the third year of Positioning the Portrait in Drawing and Painting taught by Associate Professor Ilene Sova.

How does the everyday world portray you? When looking at others, don't you wonder how people see you? Do you think they are asking themselves these same questions? This exhibition displays portraits painted of classmates by classmates, brought together by an intimate conversation. These incredible portraits show our classroom community recaptured in a way that shows the hidden side of us. With each brushstroke illuminating the emotions and feelings of the subject, the artists worked to bring their classmates' stories, personalities, and unique life experiences onto the canvas.

Creative Process

Face Off is the display of a peer-focused portrait assignment in which classmates interviewed each other using the 36 Questions For Increasing Closeness produced by Greater Good in Action, a clearinghouse of the best research-tested methods for increasing happiness, resilience, kindness, and connection, created by UC Berkeley and HopeLab.

Example questions were:

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

What roles do love and affection play in your life?

Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling...”

Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share..."

After examining contemporary portrait painters who use a variety of approaches to bring out the personality of their sitters, students were encouraged to experiment and use new and traditional techniques for this project. Painters were encouraged to incorporate what they learned about their peers in the interviews into the compositions of the painting. This included family, history, dreams, goals, achievements, and the life-altering experiences that made them who they were.