Ehtisham Tariq - Final Project

Self-portrait of myself

     The subject of my project is a self-portrait of myself as a NYPD cop. I made a self-portrait of myself using a charcoal pencil. The content of my project is as stated before, a self-portrait of myself as a NYPD cop. I made the choices that led to the composition because I wanted to test my skills and see if I can actually draw a self-portrait of myself as a NYPD cop. Since I am not very good at actually drawing, I wanted to test myself and see if I can actually do this. This was a test for myself and which actually took me three to four days to actually come up with a final piece. I had to do many rough drafts in order to get to the final piece. The process and steps that I went through was that I had to do many rough drafts on a regular piece of paper in order to get to the final piece. I also did a rough draft on the big piece of paper that was provided to me in class in order to get to the final piece. I used a charcoal pencil to draw myself and I spread the ink around the artwork so that it connects to the works of Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. I made these decisions because I wanted to test myself and actually see if I can draw myself since I am not very good at drawing. Also, I wanted to make the drawing unique and stand out because when I was in the process of making this artwork, I thought of making it so that whoever I show it to actually likes it and appreciates it. As in the book, Ways of Seeing by John Berger, it states that "If you buy a painting you buy also the look of the thing it represents"(Berger, pg. 83). I wanted to make it so people could actually understand what my project is trying to represent. Also, as stated in chapter one of the book, Ways of Seeing by John Berger, it states that "The compositional unity of a painting contributes fundamentally to the power of its image" (Berger, pg. 13). The way a drawing or painting is painted or drawn really does have an effect on the image and can also have an effect on what the image is trying to convey or portray to its' viewers. The way you draw something really matters. As stated in the book, The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture by Joanne Finkelstein, it states that "We are in an era where impressions matter, and where reputation is both an asset and a liability" (Finkelstein, pg. 122). The way you represent yourself really matters.
     Furthermore, I would categorize my work as a drawing. I believe that the artist that is appropriate to compare my work to or have influenced my work would be Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. This self-portrait conveys to the audience that it tells the audience what my future plans are and gives them an idea of what I plan to be in the future. I plan to join the New York Police Department and become a police officer. This way I can help to protect society and at the same time make a good amount of money.
     To add on, the differences between my first self-portrait (midterm) and this self-portrait (final) is that my first self-portrait was more of a collage and included different pictures of me in the Pakistani flag to show what represents me (which is my country Pakistan) and this self-portrait (final) is a drawing of myself using a charcoal pencil to show what I plan to be in the future. What influenced these changes is that for my first self-portrait, I stayed within my comfort zone and didn't do anything that I could not or was not used to doing. For this self-portrait (final), I went out of my comfort zone because I wanted to challenge myself and see what I can come up with. Furthermore, the media and its images influence identity and self presentation because the way media shows something about someone or something is the way people believe it to be. In other words, what people see, hear and listen to in the media is what they actually believe and think that what the media says is true. In reality, not everything that the media says is true.
     Furthermore, the spectacle in my opinion, is some kind of art. It is a word that describes art. I believe it functions today through the media, artwork, etc. The way that my project addresses or exists in the spectacle is that my project is a drawing of myself as a NYPD police officer. It is an artwork. Finally, I would like to connect my project to the works of Tatyana Fazlalizadeh from the gallery exhibition we visited, Mirror, Mirror. This connects to my project because Tatyana Fazlalizadeh was my inspiration and she has also influenced my work.

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh Artwork

https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/events/mirror-mirror

                                                        References
1. Berger, John (1990). Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series (Penguin Books for Art). New York, NY: 1st Edition.
2. Finkelstein, Joanne (2005). The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture.
3. https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/events/mirror-mirror