The history of self-portraits is long and varied. From Leonardo da Vinci’s likeness in red chalk, to court painters such as Velázquez painting their own image into commissioned portraits of others, to Janine Antoni’s busts made of chocolate and soap, each artist has devised their own unique way to depict themselves. Only, often it is not just a likeness that is depicted, but a state of mind, of how one sees oneself, or of how one is imagined to be seen by others. A self-portrait is more than a portrait of the self, it can be a portrait of one’s relationships, and one’s place in the world. It may represent your best self, or your worst self. How you are, or how you wish to be. For this Challenge, we want you to create a self-portrait. Show us who you are and how you fit into this world. For an extra challenge, not only do we want you to create a self-portrait but we ask to see a mixed-media self-portrait. Embroidery on paper or a photograph? Crewelwork collage? Stumpwork and ceramic sculpture? We can’t wait to see what you come up with. Frida Kahlo said, “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” Yet, perhaps, if we all were to look upon each other’s self-portraits, we would realize that we are not alone, and how much it is that we have in common with others.
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Be Part of the Challenge
What is the Stitch-at-Home Challenge?
The Stitch-at-Home Challenge was conceived by San Francisco School of Needlework and Design (SNAD) as a way to encourage and inspire people to stitch. This is not a competition but a personal challenge. We provide the inspiration and you may use any needlework technique or combination of techniques in order to make a piece of textile art. Anyone at any level of stitching expertise may participate.
Each challenge culminates with an exhibition at SNAD. You can either mail us the actual piece or email us a photograph of your entry to be included in the exhibition.
HOW TO ENTER
Deadline to submit your piece: January 17, 2018
1. Read complete Rules.
2. Fill out Part 1 of our Entry Form - here. This is a short form that helps us to keep track of how many participants we should be expecting.
3. Create your Mixed-media Self-portrait.
4. After completing your piece, fill out Part 2 of our Entry Form - here. This part of the entry form asks questions about your piece (title, description etc.) and must be filled out if you want to be included in our exhibition.
5. Either mail us your piece or send us a photo by the the deadline of January 17, 2018 in order to be included in our Exhibition (see Rules above for details).
For challenge related questions, email [email protected]
Who are we? We are SNAD, San Francisco School of Needlework and Design.
Learn more about us on our website.
Personal information will be shared only with those third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf, including processing credit card payments, providing customer service, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, and providing marketing assistance.
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Frida Kahlo once said “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” Shown here is Frida painting Las dos Fridas.
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In Las Meninas by the court painter Diego Velázquez, the artist chose to paint himself into the scene he was commissioned to create. Ostensibly meant to be a portrait of Infanta Margarita, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, it is also an imagined scene of court life showing a multitude of players. Painted in 1656, the details surrounding the piece remain debated, with whole books devoted to the subject.
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For SNAD’s Talliaferro Stitch at Home Challenge earlier this year, Anne Katrosh created this piece called self-portrait. Anne cleverly poked holes in a sheet of slides and then stitched one of the Talliaferro motifs through the holes, a great example of a mixed-media self-portrait.
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A self-portrait work in progress by Julie Sarloutte.
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The world’s first “selfie”, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839.
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Are Self-Portraits and Selfies the Same Thing?
Illustration by Dylan Vermeul
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Another example of an artist painting themselves into their work can be found in this painting by Caravaggio. Can you make out the portrait of the artist?
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There is a tradition of self-portraiture amongst Zen Buddhists. Shown here is a self portrait of the Zen monk, Hakuin Ekaku. Hakuin is well known for his paintings. For him, art was a means to teach the dharma. He created tens of thousands of works of art during his lifetime, including self-portraits of himself as sages of the past.
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While considered to be a very popular aesthetic today, Annegret Soltau was creating embroidered photographs in the 70s. This embroidered photograph is part of a series called self 1975-6.
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This piece is part of a self-portrait series by Katty Huertas. Her self-portraits deal with identity, obsession and pressure. She says of her work "I'm referencing the multiplicity of self, which I know is a universal feeling."
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Cindy Sherman is well known for her series of photographs Untitled Film Stills. Above is Untitled Film Still #21, 1978. In this series, Sherman portrays stereotypes of female roles in films. The images are meant to feel familiar, like she is a character in a film you have actually seen.
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Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo painted portraits of real people, but representing them as composites of inanimate objects. In 1590 he painted his royal patron, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, as a pile of fruits and vegetables.
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Gilbert and George considered their whole life, their entire existence, to be a form of art and in 1969 they began to present themselves as “living sculptures.” Shown here are two self-portraits. Above, a screen shot from a video called A Portrait of the Artists as Young Men, 1972. Below, a self-portrait called Nettle Dance, 2008.
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Mask II, a hyperrealistic oversized self-portrait sculpture by Ron Mueck.
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Artist Chawne Kimber, well known for her quilts, created this “slow selfie” in cross stitch. Made of 40,400 stitches, she spent 25 days working 8 hours a day to finish the piece.
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Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk is thought to be a self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1510.
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