Symbolic Self-portrait class project

A fun and rewarding studio art project is the Symbolic Self-portrait. To do this you will need a projector and some large coloured paper.

Step 1: tape a piece of large coloured paper to the projector screen

Step 2: have each student come up one at a time and sit on a chair in profile in front of the projector screen and shine the projector towards the screen (this creates a shadow profile of the student on the paper that you taped up)

Step 3: trace the outline of the student's profile on the paper (or have students work in pairs to trace each others' profiles)

Step 4: have students brainstorm things that represent their identity

Step 5: have students research visual references for their chosen symbols and items

Step 6: have students organize the space inside their traced profile to draw their symbols using the reference images they found

Symbolism: Creating a Logo

Narrative: a literal scenario: time and place.
Example: King and his court
After working on narrative, (see earlier post: Scott McCloud on Comics) discuss the use of narrative vs. symbolism in visual communication.


SYMBOLISM
Metaphor: an implied comparison between things that are not literally alike.
Example: King, Lion
Metonymy: the subject is represented by a thing that is closely associated with it.
Example: King, Crown

Class Activity Part 1: Create a logo from two random words using symbolism
1. separate words
2. write out associations (brainstorm)
3. make simple pictures of the associations (pictographs)
4. synthesis: make formal relationships between pictographs using shapes/forms (*not literal)
5. Assess: which synthesis works the best?

Part 2: Create a logo of a chosen subject using symbolism
Follow the same steps as in Part 1.