Sam

Hey Team 🗣️

My name is Sam Smith (like the singer), I’m in second year for studio art. I love painting and doing anything with oil pastels!

Conceptual Portrait

(Titled Sam 21)

• These are the three different cards that I would hand out that has the code of the briefcase on it!
  • There are three different sizes just in case you have a difficult time seeing small letters
    • This came from my dad being unable to read the middle one and my sister wanted a smaller one since she said it was easier to hold
• The Name is Sam 21 because every time I do a self portrait I title it my name and then the age that I am

Explanation of the piece 

• The rule that I went with for this piece was home
• When I am home I don’t have to put on a performance of any kind. I used that idea to collect objects that represented who I am at home, the person I am to my core at the moment
  • I have my journal that is filled with drawings, paintings, thoughts, rants, pictures anything that I feel the need to get off my chest
  • My Snoopy who I wake up to every morning who so kindly holds both my glasses and my necklaces
  • My book that I’m reading at the moment. I’m always trying to read about peoples experiences and trying to get a better understanding of people (If you want a good book recommendation for CPTSD “What My Bones Know” by Stephanie Foo is so good)
  • I have my pencil case that I carry everywhere with me and it is in the shape of a whale shark which is my favourite shark
  • My headphones are here because I’m usually wearing these guys everywhere. I love listening to music or podcasts. I got those when I was 14, they are almost 8 years old and they work the same as when I got them, they just don’t make stuff like they used to
  • My keys are something I always have in my bag and have a collection of all of the stuff I’ve collected over the years, there is a Swiss army knife that my dad gave me, this bat I made in eight grade when we were touring my soon to be high school, my library card, a “its cool to walk to school” that I got in sixth grade for a prize, multiple little characters that my cousin gave me (she gave me 21 of them for my 21st birthday), a Iceland key chain set of a puffin, a sweater, and a mini Iceland that my friend from my old job gave me, a video game character that my older sister thought I liked (I did not have the heart to tell her I have no idea who this man is), a handcuff from my uncles OPP anniversary (I have no idea what it was, I was like 4 and got a key chain and a hot dog, that that is all I remember about it, and Scooby Doo’s collar symbol that I got from a Scooby Doo themed make up kit
  • My wallet, that is what I have on me at all times, it has my debit card, money, student ID (that I use for the bus all the time), ID card, health card, lock combo for my work locker, and my friends and my dads business card
  • I also have my coin purse that I have loonies, toonies, and quarters incase anyone needs bus money or change in general

• I also have a bunch of stuff for ‘just in case’. In any bag that I have I will carry a kit that I have that has medication, nail stuff, hand sanitizer, glasses cleaner, make-up wipes, masks (a new addition since you needed one in class and I didn’t have one, sorry about that), cough drops, tissues, single use tooth brush, band-aids, nose strips, tide stick, gum, gloves, hair elastics, and period pads (I need to restock the tampons)
• The reason I chose my father briefcase was because I am a carbon copy of the man just with less confidence. He shaped the person I am today and he is a very important part of me. I thought that if I used something that he gave me it would enhance how I have things to give to others, it is a cycle of giving in a way
  • In creating this piece I found out that he too has a little kit of just in case items. He has less stuff, just band aids, cough drops, and gum. Which crazy how this briefcase was used in a similar manner but for my father. He had all of his school stuff in here and his little ‘just in case’ kit
• This project was shaped by the conversations I had with my sister, Alex, and my friend, Audrey. I wasn’t sure that managed to get my point across when I showed my draft ideas in class. So I showed Alex and Audrey, two people who aren’t in an art program (Alex is in English and Audrey is in micro biology/medical science) to see if I managed to get my concept across.
  • Alex hated the third one she said something along the lines of it being lazy/a cop out compared to what I create and that it didn’t make sense, since it was supposed to be a portrait and why would someone else do it. She did not have an opinion of which of the other two were stronger, she thought they were both good
  • Audrey thought the third one was fun but not for this type of project. She though that the first and the second were good but that if I was going to go with who I am now the second one is what I should go with. She said that the first is like the foundation of who I am as a person, with all of the family connection and a map of how I got to the person that I am today. But the second is the house, it is what you can see when you talk to me
  • That specific point of it being like my home just lit something up in my brain and I ran with it. That is why I added the snow balls since every time I host something with a large amount of people I make snowballs. Since this class is like a large gathering I thought they would act as a welcome in to my home signal
• The cards that I’m handing out is Lakyn’s idea of handing out the code to people so that they can grab something if they need it (shout out Lakyn, thank you). I added a little note just to act like I am saying it/making it more personal than just a code

---

Draft of Idea

The subject is going to be me 😎

• I’m choosing myself because every year I do a self portrait based off of how I feel
  • I usually get creative, I’ve done one with clay on paper and I just carved my face out, one with thread and sewed my face into the paper and I made a book with my face on it one time with a bunch of portraits of me inside [but I can’t find it :(]

A briefcase that holds objects that are important to me

• Collection and documentation are the rules I’m going with
  • Collection: the amount of personal objects
  • Documentation: they are going to represent me and my everyday routines

Three Ideas

• This is about who I am and the stuff I think represents me
  • Just the main things I thought of that are around my room (the place I tend to spend the most time in)

• These are the things I have in my bag or start my day with
  • This shows more of my willingness to help people

• This is like a “make your own portrait” kit
  • I think this is more of the Flux kit type of vibe (not sure I like it)

Yoko Ono

• High key recommend listening to this cause we did Yoko Ono so dirty (she is also a complex person as everyone human is)

Grapefruit

These are instruction pieces

• Pieces of paper with instructions (tunafish sandwich is my fav)
• Breaks down the idea art has to be a painting, sculpture, work of music etc
• The goal is the experience that is all in your head
  • It is playful and earnest

Play It By Trust

This is a chessboard that you are invited to play. You and the other person have to play the game with the two sets of chess pieces being the same colour

• You are not allowed to mark the pieces just remember what piece is yours

Fluxkit

• These are boxes that are collections of other objects that hold meaning to the artist and can be interacted with by the audience
  • The idea was to make art more available
  • This is what I’m going to be basing my project on mixed with the playfulness of Yoko Ono

---

Past Projects