2/17 Imaginary Face

Wednesday evening began with a brief discussion about Pablo Picasso; a little bit of background as well as historical relevance.  We focused on his later work; portraits specifically.  The most important thing for us to note regarding our project was the way Picasso addressed space.  The distortions and abstractions that Picasso applied to his portraits were not totally random or arbitrary.  Picasso was presenting the portrait from various viewpoints.  In other words, he drew the portrait as though "he" were in motion; as though he was walking around the model.  Close inspection of the portraits reveals that some features are presented frontally while others are in profile. Click here for an example.

Our project was to draw an imaginary face incorporating various points of view.  To make things exciting, we tore or drawings in half twice - once vertically, once horizontally - and traded the halves with each other. Aside from expressing various points of view, students were to address composition, line, value, shape and texture.