CONCEPTUAL PORTRAIT IDEAS
My original idea for this project was to physically map out my moms journeys throughout her life. I wanted to show how amazing she is in a different way. I had planned to sew string into a canvas and create a mountain scape, demonstrating where she has been and where she is going. However, through discussion, I realized that this was illustrating my idea rather than showing it conceptually. Then, I landed on the bowl idea.
My grandmother just recently passed away. I am still very sensitive to this topic, but so much of her lives through our families. Because of this, I have decided to do a conceptual portrait of the woman on that side of my family through our nightly rituals. As a kid, I used to go to my grandmas house and every night we would watch Little House on the Prairie on VHS while we would eat one bowl of cheetos. ONLY ONE. No matter how much we begged and cried for more. Through this system, I found ways to identify my sister and my mom in similar ways.
For this project, I have decided to document my mother and my sister through our nightly routines, based off of the nightly routine I described earlier. My mom’s side of the family is extremely connected through our nightly routines and our foods. Therefore, for each generation I will place a bowl on something significant from each one. For my Grandma it will be a VHS. Then, I will also place an object that is significant to them and their night routine, such as a pendent that I got from my grandma when she died.
From there, I am bringing some González-Torres to this piece. To induce the fleeting feeling of time from the death of my grandma, I am going to photograph the bowls for my mom and my sister, showing that they are immortalized through the photos. However, my grandmas bowl will be illuminated and I will allow the audience to take cheetos from it, just like my sister and I did. Once the Cheetos are done, there aren’t anymore. No refills. She is gone as well.
Félix González-Torres
Of course, Félix González-Torres is my biggest inspiration for this piece. His way of painting a portrait in such a conceptual and layered way surprises and moves me so, so deeply. I admire his way of showing personality through object, and I will incorporate a feeling of fleeting in my piece to honour my grandmothers death.
Rirkrit Tiravanija
I wanted to add this artist in here as well although he is not featured within any of the slides for this project. Tiravanija created a gallery piece that focuses on the art of and politics of curry. He creates a scene of presence and connection through his arts, similar to what I am going to try to do. He also paints a portrait through his mural art, which tells stories of culture and conflict on top of the meal. I want to try to strike something within the audience in my art, without saying anything to them specifically. I aspire to connect with them through food and rituals that I hold closely to my heart.
FINAL PROJECT
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