"Inkblot Self-Portrait" by Emily Eisenhard

Inkblot Self-Portrait

Emily Eisenhard, Northampton Community College

Artist Statement: My “Inkblot Self-Portrait” reflects my own experience as an artist. Every art class I have taken over the years has always started with still lives or self-portraits, and every time I drew myself while looking in the mirror, the representation was never the same. My intention is nothing more than to reinvent the idea of self-portraits. I represent this idea with an inkblot. The inkblot is what I believe I am and how I believe others view me. An inkblot can be interpreted differently based on the viewer and can even change with time. I take a lot of inspiration from the psychology in media and abstraction. The goal is for the viewer to understand that there is no answer to this question of self-portraits; it is up to interpretation.  I created this piece with charcoal and black ink. Whenever I create art, I tend not to think before I start, and the name comes afterward.