Project Four
Title: Toxic Positivity: A Look Underneath The Mask
Size: 27.94 cm by 35.56 cm
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: December 2021
My piece is inspired by Picasso's "Self Portrait" from his famous blue period. I wanted to show what toxic positivity looks like and how pretending to be happy won't hide the pain. The mask is a representation of pretending to be ok, while the makeup represents the impact of society's standards. I included Picasso's dark blues and blacks in my piece to further show that the pain will always be under the mask and the tear represents that sometimes it is hard to prevent the facade from slipping.
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Piece:
I was inspired by Pablo Picasso's "Self Portrait" because of how much mystery lays behind
the face of the figure as well as color being used to portray a depressing mood. When I
look at his face, it seems like there is darkness and despair hidden behind his eyes and the
paleness of the face further makes it seem as if he is wearing a mask. I wanted to portray
this in my piece by showing that my face is often a mask that hides all of the horrible things
going on in my life. I was inspired by the idea of toxic positivity as well and wanted to
incorporate this into my piece; I've always been told I would be happier if I smiled more,
but this is completely and 100% false on every level and I wanted to show how the only
thing smiling would do, is to hide and suppress my depression.
About Pablo Picasso:
Pablo Picasso was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881. He learned to paint and draw from his father when he was a young child, but became a better artist than his dad by the age of 13. His grades suffered in school because he would spend all of his time doodling. However, when Picasso was 14, his family moved to Barcelona, Spain where he applied to the city's prestigious School of Fine Arts. He quickly lost interest in attending class and when he was 16, he moved to Madrid to attend the Royal Academy of San Fernando, but found himself disappointed with the school's classical teaching techniques. Picasso moved back to Barcelona in 1899. He is well known for switching between art styles and one of his famous ones is Cubism.
Picasso's Blue Period:
Picasso's famous blue period where he painted with blues and blue-greens lasted from 1901-1904. He had his own art studio in Paris, France. His paintings from the blue period depicted people in poverty, anguish, instability, and beggars.
Pablo Picasso was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881. He learned to paint and draw from his father when he was a young child, but became a better artist than his dad by the age of 13. His grades suffered in school because he would spend all of his time doodling. However, when Picasso was 14, his family moved to Barcelona, Spain where he applied to the city's prestigious School of Fine Arts. He quickly lost interest in attending class and when he was 16, he moved to Madrid to attend the Royal Academy of San Fernando, but found himself disappointed with the school's classical teaching techniques. Picasso moved back to Barcelona in 1899. He is well known for switching between art styles and one of his famous ones is Cubism.
Picasso's Blue Period:
Picasso's famous blue period where he painted with blues and blue-greens lasted from 1901-1904. He had his own art studio in Paris, France. His paintings from the blue period depicted people in poverty, anguish, instability, and beggars.
Planning
Planning Sketches
In the first planning sketch, I just wanted to lay out what my face and mask would look like. I wanted to make sure the broken mask looked right but was still covering most of the face to show that all the facade may slightly slip, I am always forced to hide how I really feel which is shown in the tear in the corner. The eyeliner on the mask further represents how I feel I have to look and act a certain way in public. While the first planning sketch was focused on how I wanted my face to look, the second one focuses on how I want the entire canvas to look. I decided I wanted my piece to be more symmetrical than Picasso's so I outlined my figure in the middle of the box. I also decided I liked Picasso's background and wanted to make my own piece similar to further show the saddness that continues to surround me-even under the facade. In the third planning sketch, I was finally deciding what I did and didn't like about Picasso's piece and which aspects I wanted to include so I laid out what similarities there would be as well as what I wanted to be different.
Process & Experimentation
I was inspired by Picasso's use of blues and blacks in his "Self Portrait" to create a sense of depression. I wanted to use these colors to show how depressing toxic positivity really is and how pretending to be happy like everything is okay and smiling doesn't change anything at all. I decided a mask would be a good representation of how toxic positivity is fake, but wanted to make it partially broken to represent how it really feels. I started by using a pencil to make a light and basic outline on a canvas and then started the face by mixing a peachy color with brown for the dark values, the peachy color for the mid tone, and the peachy color mixed with white for the lightest light. For the irises, I used a combination of ultramarine blue, black, as well as white. Although the canvas was already white, I painted a layer of white onto the mask so that I could blend it with gray to make the features such as the nose look 3-dimensional. I wasn't originally going to paint the eyelashes on the mask, but decided to because the eyeliner didn't turn out to look as prominent as I had hoped it would. I wanted the eyebrow to be thinner but kept accidentally blending the black of the eyebrow into the white of the mask and just settled with a thick eyebrow. I used alizarin crimson for the lips and black to outline the fake smile of the lips. The tear was a combination of a sky blue and white. I liked how flat and non-detailed Picasso made his hair look in his "Self Portrait" so I decided to go for the same look and just painted by hair with black and ultramarine blue. As I do in almost all of my pieces, I did the background last because doing it first would make the outline hard to see. I used white mixed with the ultramarine blue to lighten it up a little so that I could use just the ultramarine blue in the corners and make them look darker. Because the paint of the hair was still drying, I had to paint the background by the hair in an awkward way which led to messing up the hair so I had to fix that several times.
Reflection
This piece didn't turn out entirely how I had hoped; I envisioned it being more aesthetically pleasing. However, the meaning behind this piece is my favorite out of all of the ones for other pieces I have done both junior and senior year. Toxic positivity has always greatly bothered me and I think my piece and the story behind it is my best mental health related piece. I also think it connects greatly with my artistic inspiration as there is a clear connection between my self portrait as well as Picasso's "Self Portrait." Some things I wish I could change would include making the eyebrow on the mask thinner, as well as making the eyelashes thinner to make them more realistic looking. Eyelashes have always been hard for me as they require a very thin brush as well as a steady hand and I don't have the latter one. Overall, the story behind the piece is my favorite part and is something I want to share with the world. I want people who encourage toxic positivity to look at my piece and feel ashamed.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
- Both pieces have blue in the background and dark colors throughout the canvases to represent how depressing life is -My face is also pale as it isn't actually a representation of me-it's a mask -Underneath the mask, my face also has a sullen look to it to further express the sadness -I also made my hair look flat without any real details as it isn't the central focus -Both are self portraits that represent how we both feel inside |
Differences:
-My face is mostly covered in a mask to show that when I act happy in public, it is likely a facade, whereas Picasso's mood is clearly expressed on his face -I wanted to make mine more symmetrical because I thought it would look more visually pleasing, so my body is centered in the middle of the canvas, whereas Picasso is on the right side of the canvas slightly angled to the left -My skin underneath the mask is a more natural color to emphasize the mask |
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I was inspired to use blues and blacks like the colors Picasso used in his blue period, however he expresses his emotions plainly on his face while only part of my emotions are seen underneath a mask and facade.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The website is a short biography on Picasso's early life as well as how he developed as an artist, while the other website talks about his famous blue period.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Artists create their best work when there is emotion and meaning behind it because they likely feel more passionate about painting when it is to represent how they feel.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create something depressing and a piece that would express toxic positivity and I thought that a painting from Picasso's blue period would be the perfect inspiration for figuring out how to express the despair.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Picasso's direct quotes were key to helping us understand the meaning behind and the importance of his pieces. Both websites included direct quotes of Picasso talking about his life and art.
I was inspired to use blues and blacks like the colors Picasso used in his blue period, however he expresses his emotions plainly on his face while only part of my emotions are seen underneath a mask and facade.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The website is a short biography on Picasso's early life as well as how he developed as an artist, while the other website talks about his famous blue period.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Artists create their best work when there is emotion and meaning behind it because they likely feel more passionate about painting when it is to represent how they feel.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create something depressing and a piece that would express toxic positivity and I thought that a painting from Picasso's blue period would be the perfect inspiration for figuring out how to express the despair.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Picasso's direct quotes were key to helping us understand the meaning behind and the importance of his pieces. Both websites included direct quotes of Picasso talking about his life and art.
Bibliography
"Pablo Picasso." Biography, 28 Aug. 2019. https://www.biography.com/artist/pablo-picasso
"Pablo Picasso's Blue Period - 1901 to 1904." Pablo Picasso Paintings, Quotes & Biography, https://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp
"Pablo Picasso's Blue Period - 1901 to 1904." Pablo Picasso Paintings, Quotes & Biography, https://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp