Concentration No. 1

This project was one of the four projects that we have to do during this quarter while we work within our chosen concentration. My concentration is anatomy, and I started by doing something that I thought would be interesting, the anatomy of the face. Since anatomy of faces seemed too loose, I decided to do a representation of all of the facial muscles, since they are so intricate I thought it would make engaging and interesting sculpture. My plan was to create this pattern using embroidery, however this plan eventually evolved into paper pieces that represented the different muscles of the face.

I started by trying to make a base to put my embroidery on. At first, a made a wire frame that I matched to a proportionate drawing on my paper that I then planned to stretch the embroidered fabric over. The wire frame was a) too small, b) it wobbled too much, and c) the fabric showed the jaggedness of the wire underneath when I tested it. I had to reframe my plan, and changed my base to basic shapes made out of foil and newspaper. I then made a pair of eyes and lips out of sculpey (and if I had known how unfortunate the nose would look, I would have made that out of sculpey too). All of this process was behind schedule by the time I got to do the part that I had much awaited, the embroidery, so I made the choice to change the surface material to paper. I made sure to incorporate the anatomical element I was focusing on, the facial muscles and their arrangement, by grouping the paper pieces that make up the facade of the sculpture by the muscle they represent. I used line and fleshy colors with sharpie to add the rhythm and pattern of muscle tissues, taped loosely at first so I could move them around and then glued down smoothly once they were in their proper spots. The back was still showing the base materials of the shape, so I painted them pink with acrylic. After observing the clear lack of actual anatomy, but remembering my efforts to represent the muscles of the face accurately, I wrote in confident lettering on the back "Anatomy is subjective, I guess?"

This project has a lot of elements that I am very proud of. I am proud of my perseverance despite how difficult it was to get to the final project. I am proud of the unnerving stare of the creature I have created (whom I have lovingly named "Self Portrait"). I wish that I had made a base that had a shape easier to work with (more of a chin, a longer nose, better cheeks), because it would have made my artwork more human-looking. I also hope to someday go back to this project and finally give it the embroidered face that it deserves.