Peer into Me (Thesis 2)

Noelle Cha

Peer into me

Acrylic on Wood and Canvas

In my private world, discomfort settles in as I sense eyes behind the keyhole. Someone is watching me, and their scrutiny is disorienting. A distorted face stares at you, but don’t forget– you are staring right back. I often dismiss the discomfort that accompanies these moments of observation. However, I can’t ignore how their judgments make me hesitate before I make a decision.

These are my two idea and brainstorming sketches. I wanted to create a sculptural frame with a keyhole that has a distorted face looking at the viewer. I was inspired by the 3d paintings on unique canvases made by Elizabeth Murray. The canvas would be made out of wood, and the painting behind it would be on a normal canvas. As I've never done any woodworking before, I was quite nervous about how I would execute this.

This is a piece by Murray that stood out to me.

I found some wood that I would cut out and drew the outline of my keyhole.

Using a jigsaw, I carefully cut out the wood. It was especially difficult to cut out the grooves and sharp angles, so I had to be patient, cutting small lines at a time. After cutting each panel, I sanded down any rough edges, making sure the panels aligned. Cutting the wood wasn't super challenging because I got the hang of it quickly.

Simultaneously, I worked on the painting that would fit behind the wood. I took a 0.5 selfie of my face and distorted it digitally to create a good reference photo. I didn't want my face to be recognizable, emphasizing the distortion and the uncanny feeling associated with the face.

Painting the face was a fun experience. I enjoyed using the vibrant pink color to further illustrate a surreal aspect of the painting.

I used blue as highlights and pink color as the shadow. It was difficult to figure out how to apply the blue and pink in a blended way whilst still creating depth in the face.

Initially, I was going to glue the keyhole flat onto the wall, but I realized it would be interesting to glue the wood at an angle.

My teacher cut out the triangular brace that I would glue behind the wood to create this angled effect.

Attaching this brace to the keyhole panel was the most difficult part. I wasn't able to clamp the wood without the brace shifting, and the panel wouldn't sit flat on the brace. After much trial and error and extreme frustration, I put a longer wooden piece on top so the clamps would reach, and I used string to keep all the pieces tight and fixed. I also had to glue one panel and side at a time in order for the glue to dry correctly. I really had to problem solve and figure out the most efficient way to do this.

Although it was difficult to angle the wooden keyhole, it allowed for a more immersive piece. Depending on where viewers stood, they were able to see different parts of the face. It was as if her eyes were following the viewer, fitting into the idea of being watched constantly.

Looking forward, I will add more wooden appendages and paint the keyhole with more detail, possibly using a metallic bronze color. It's difficult to know if my piece evokes the exact message or emotion I want in viewers. Nonetheless, a friend did tell me the face "makes her feel uncomfortable and watched," so I'm glad I could capture that.

To finalize this piece, I add the details of the keyhole frame. I use metallic gold acrylic paint and other colors to make the bronze frame come to life. A classmate told me it reminds me of Art Nouveau style.