Tag Archives: portraits

Do Now #59: Is it Art?

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Photo by Wes Naman

Photo by Wes Naman



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Do Now

Take a look at Wes Naman's portraits of his friends faces distorted with tape. Do you consider these portraits to be fine art? Tape up your own face and take a picture. Do you feel like you engaged your creativity?

Introduction

Photographer Wes Naman created some images using his friends' faces and clear tape. Using the tape to distort their faces, Naman asked his subjects to try to remove the tape using only their facial muscles, then snapped close-ups to create his "Scotch Tape Series."

Soon after the photos were posted, they went viral, catching the attention of the media and the company that manufactures Scotch Tape. The distorted-face portraits have been called both funny and horrifying. Take a look at Naman's photographs and gauge your inner reaction. Do they make you feel a certain way? Does the fact that they're high-quality, close-up photographs affect your perception of them in a different way than a candid shot taken in someone's living room?

Many photographers use masks or facial obstruction to communicate a message in their figurative images. Ralph Eugene Meatyard is an early 20th-century photographer known for creating images that were both haunting and humorous, some featuring small children wearing Halloween masks.

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In the Studio with Jeremy Sutton

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"Danny Armstrong" by Jeremy Sutton

In San Francisco, you can’t trip and fall without landing on a talented artist. In fact, KQED’s headquarters are located across the street from a three-story building full of working artists in their studios. This is where we found contemporary painter Jeremy Sutton hard at work on a portrait of local musician, Danny Armstrong. We spent an afternoon in Jeremy’s studio watching him draw and paint, and discovering his art historical influences.

If you don’t already know Jeremy Sutton and his work, you’re sure to be charmed by his passion and dedication. This short, lively interview will inspire writing and painting projects in your classroom, as well as art history research projects. Find specific lesson plan ideas and additional resources in our related Educator Guide.

This video will be screened for thousands of Bay Area students after they tour the de Young Museum’s newest exhibition, Masters of Venice, which includes works by 16th century master artists, “Titian, Giorgione, Veronese, Tintoretto, Mantegna, and more.”

Museum educators will use the video to inspire students’ own drawing and painting practices, and help them recognize how centuries-old artworks continue to inspire the artists of today. For information about arranging a free tour of the exhibition for your class, visit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Web site.

To see more vibrant portraiture by Jeremy Sutton, visit his Web site. Jeremy is also an educator and offers painting classes in his studio.