Facebook
X
Pinterest
Copy Link
Inga Guzyte’s Cutting Edge (From the series “Kindred Spirits”) detail, made of discarded skateboards
As humans we are connected first by the recognition of our faces. They can speak volumes about who we are. The eyes have been noted as the entrance to one’s soul. But since the pandemic we realized from photographing groups with masks on, that there is more. The iPhone photographer says, “Smile with your Eyes!”, and we are aware that much of our connection is with a full-face expression. The mouth with lines from years of smiles and frowns tells us that this person has experienced joys and sorrows overtime.
The Orlando Museum of Art exhibition, “The Outwin – American Portraiture Today” is an every-three-year competition. Since 2006 it has been open to artists throughout the United States, organized by The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Four judges are chosen from around the country, with various expertise in medium and cultures and three jurors are internal curators from the Gallery. The show aims to expand our expectation of portraiture and succeeds by having works with a multitude of media and by showing how portraiture engages with the social and political landscape.
Allison Elizabeth Taylor’s Anthony Cuts Under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning
The prize winner, Allison Elizabeth Taylor’s, Anthony Cuts Under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning, is front and center as you enter the exhibit and you immediately know, this portraiture show is more than a “pretty face”. This work itself harkens back to a time when delicate puzzles of wood exquisitely came together to form decoration on furniture in a medium called marquetry. Ms. Taylor uses a hybrid of this time-consuming process in creating her works, and yet this piece is about our time. This portrait is of Anthony, a real hair stylist, who took to the street, put up a mirror under the Williamsburg Bridge in New York, and offered haircuts during the pandemic when all the salons were closed.
Elsa Maria Meléndez’ Milk
Donna Castellanos’ Bertha, I’d like to know where you got the notion
Other works utilize fabrics, like Meléndez’ and Castellanos’ above, as well as photography, painting, graphite, and one even includes a poem that is recited by the poet by using the QR Code on the label. I could go on and on, about so many of the works but then it would defeat the excitement you will have by going to this exhibit which is a traveling show, however Orlando is the first to have it and it will be here through October!
One work in particular connected me to Real Estate which is how this blogging started for me.
Michelle Elzay’s Essex Boston & Family I
Michelle Elzay’s Essex Boston & Family I is a square of nine squares, each with an object that came from the home she was renovating. Each object says something of the family that had lived there prior, and how they may have lived. It is a portrait of this family and even though we don’t see a face or even a part of the human body, it is an archeological exploration of a people.
My renovations also have had numerous findings where my curiosity was piqued. Who might have had this item and how did it affect their lives? My first renovation, a 1914 New Jersey 4 story brick building, revealed a Hersey’s Bar wrapper for One Cent! It was much smaller than those we have today and the wrapper was harder, like cardboard and printing exquisite, with a gold embossed “Hershey”. Though the cornice on the building says “Singer Brothers”, they were not the sewing machine guys, we found out they were candy distributers, a reason for the candy wrapper. We also found turn-of -the century newspapers and coins, but my favorite was a 1950’s Vintage License Plate Topper, “Miami Beach – World’s Playground”, as that was my place of birth in the 50s, but I never remembered seeing these on the cars there. They were souvenirs for the visitors that came from up North! Even in somewhat newer homes there are surprises. In my most recent, a 1940 shack in Davenport, a worn-out piece of a handgun appeared from underneath the home. Imagine the conjured story in my mind!
If you have the financially capacity and emotional strength to save an old building or house from destruction and revive it to a beautiful home for yourself or another, you will be filled with wonder when you come across an item that creates a portrait in your mind. Doing this can also be financially rewarding and if interested let’s talk.
With your own home, what kinds of secrets will you leave for the next family? Soon I will be attending a 50th High School Reunion and I remember as the first students of this brand-new school that we placed in the ground a time capsule to be opened far in the future. Maybe leave your own time capsule making your own self-portrait. Portraits, as exhibited at the museum, can be expressed in many ways.
