Persona: Exploring Self-Portraiture
鈥淧ersona: Exploring Self-Portraiture鈥� will premiere at the Forest Lawn Museum on April 26, 2025. It features the work of more than 20 contemporary artists as well as historical self-portraits, spanning over 125 years. The exhibition probes the expanses of self-portraiture and examines the concept of visual representations of the self. 鈥淧ersona鈥� features paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, fused glass, digital art, textile art, illustrations, and more.
While the phenomenon of taking 鈥渟elfies鈥� is ubiquitous in the 21st century, the practice dates back more than 150 years. Nearly two dozen works from the Sedlik Collection of early self-portrait photography provide a glimpse into the human condition during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Made by professional and amateur photographers throughout the world, these remarkable images offer glimpses into artistic explorations, self-memorialization, and early photographic technology.
Self-portraiture was an important element of 20th-century avant-garde art. 鈥淧ersona鈥� features work by Man Ray (1890-1976), who was an influential figure in both the Dada and Surrealist movements, and Andy Warhol (1928-1987), who was among the most prolific and iconic artists in the pop art movement. Throughout their long and varied careers, both artists experimented with ideas of self-perception and self-presentation, which influenced subsequent generations of artists.
An entire gallery is devoted to self-portraits of contemporary artists working in an array of styles and formats and expressing the multifarious aspects of self. These range from Christen Austin鈥檚 series of imaginative and introspective paintings to Bryan Ida鈥檚 politically-charged ink on panel image, rendered in hand-written text taken directly from the Immigration Act of 1924, which excluded all Asians from immigration in the United States.
鈥淧ersona鈥� features three paintings by artist, actor, comedian, and musician Tom Wilson, who depicted himself as the fictional characters he portrayed in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Over the past 40 years Wilson has become a pop culture icon, and these paintings utilize the visual language of pop art to explore ideas of fame, identity, and commodification.
鈥淧ersona: Exploring Self-Portraiture鈥� will premiere at the Forest Lawn Museum on April 26, 2025. It features the work of more than 20 contemporary artists as well as historical self-portraits, spanning over 125 years. The exhibition probes the expanses of self-portraiture and examines the concept of visual representations of the self. 鈥淧ersona鈥� features paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, fused glass, digital art, textile art, illustrations, and more.
While the phenomenon of taking 鈥渟elfies鈥� is ubiquitous in the 21st century, the practice dates back more than 150 years. Nearly two dozen works from the Sedlik Collection of early self-portrait photography provide a glimpse into the human condition during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Made by professional and amateur photographers throughout the world, these remarkable images offer glimpses into artistic explorations, self-memorialization, and early photographic technology.
Self-portraiture was an important element of 20th-century avant-garde art. 鈥淧ersona鈥� features work by Man Ray (1890-1976), who was an influential figure in both the Dada and Surrealist movements, and Andy Warhol (1928-1987), who was among the most prolific and iconic artists in the pop art movement. Throughout their long and varied careers, both artists experimented with ideas of self-perception and self-presentation, which influenced subsequent generations of artists.
An entire gallery is devoted to self-portraits of contemporary artists working in an array of styles and formats and expressing the multifarious aspects of self. These range from Christen Austin鈥檚 series of imaginative and introspective paintings to Bryan Ida鈥檚 politically-charged ink on panel image, rendered in hand-written text taken directly from the Immigration Act of 1924, which excluded all Asians from immigration in the United States.
鈥淧ersona鈥� features three paintings by artist, actor, comedian, and musician Tom Wilson, who depicted himself as the fictional characters he portrayed in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Over the past 40 years Wilson has become a pop culture icon, and these paintings utilize the visual language of pop art to explore ideas of fame, identity, and commodification.
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鈥淧ersona: Exploring Self-Portraiture鈥� premiered at the Forest Lawn Museum on April 26, 2025.
