HIGH SCHOOL

Students created a sense of depth in their portraits by overlapping some of their patterns with their figure.

Eric Gibbons

Self-portraits are always a popular project at all grade levels, but this year, I wanted to connect them to a contemporary artist instead of the Renaissance artists I usually do. I wanted to offer a simple version of this exploration for my introductory students and a more complex exploration for my advanced students.  

For this unit, we watched videos about Kehinde Wiley’s work. I paused on portraits and asked students, “What makes Wileyʼs portraits unique?” We concluded that he often uses “everyday models” and his patterns overlap the subject, creating an interesting sense of space and depth.

I wanted to offer a simple version of this exploration for my introductory students and a much more complex exploration for my advanced students.

Taking Photos
Students spent a day taking selfies in a photo booth I set up in my classroom. Working in pairs was fun and helped us get through the process quickly. We could have also gone into the hallways in pairs to take photos faster. The important thing was to have a nearly blank background. The photographs were uploaded to a single Google Document I shared with students to make printing easier. I printed the photos in black and white, though color could be used. 

Preparation
To save time, I pre-printed all the copy paper with a 7 x 10" (18 x 25 cm) grid, then printed studentsʼ photos on that same paper. Having the grid already on the images when they were printed out saved us a step. Students used rulers to create their final grids on the larger paper they would draw on. Advanced students worked on 4 x 4" (10 x 10 cm) squares to be assembled later. When all of their squares were complete, they labeled the back to guide assembly.

Introductory Level
My introductory students essentially created a traditional grid portrait, but in the squares of the final grid they made stencils to be repeated in the background. I encouraged them to choose a symbol that represented their culture or family heritage, or something they felt expressed their personality. We reflected again about how Wiley overlapped the figure with his patterns, creating a sense of depth. Students tried to make at least three pieces of their own pattern overlap their figure. In my sample, I used a clover to connect with my Irish heritage. Students rotated their stenciled designs to keep the pattern visually dynamic. They colored the face black and white to reinforce shading skills and used color in the patterns and background for contrast. 

Advanced Level
My advanced students selected patterned paper backgrounds and used a craft knife to release some of the patterns to overlap the portrait, as Wiley does. They cut out the printed portraits and traced their outlines onto the patterned paper so that cuts would be more exact. Students then created a grid on a plastic overhead sheet and placed that on top of their reference image. I created some video tutorials (see Resource below) to help them along and made a sample so they could see the possibilities that might be available to them.  

Eric Gibbons is an art teacher at Vernon Malone College and Career Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a contributing editor for SchoolArts. artedguru.com 
Kehinde Wiley Inspired Portraits