A View In Retrospect:

A View From Within:

Having strayed somewhat from my initial concept of schizophrenia, there nevertheless remains to be some clear references to it, primarily that I am still depicting different persona within the same person.

Unlike schizophrenia which is an illness, I have decided to convey how within each of us there are numerous characteristics and personas that combine to form who we are, which is ultimately our identity. Through this project I have explored how the inner characteristics of a person express themselves physically, be that as clothing or through ones actions.

I felt that in appropriating Andy Warhols grid-like portrait system this would allow me to convey each unique identity as belonging to one individual. However, unlike Warhols bright hues I have chosen to sketch each photograph by hand and to display them inversely, so that what is seen is a white sketch on a black canvas. Sketching and stencil art are both a part of my identity though more importantly is that the single lines are like the bare bones upon which the body and personality is layered and constructed.

The twelve photos that I have used are very successful in that to a stranger they appear to be twelve separate people, while in fact they are all of me.

This is my identity, I am not merely a student nor am I solely a guitarist, I poses both and other characteristics that together make me who I am today, this is my identity and it is forever changing.

Dr. Professor. Lawyer. Guitarist. Builder. Lady. Chassid. Jesus & Soldier etc. etc…

Guy Steiner

Summary of my Project + Reflection:

This project has been a great exploration of who I really am. Perhaps it has strayed somewhat from my initial concept of schizophrenia though there remain to be some clear analogies. The main one being that I am still depicting different persona within the same person, me.

What I was exploring in this project is how the inner characteristics of a person express themselves in a physical expression i.e. the clothes and actions of a person.

I feel that the twelve photos that I have used do a great job of showing me as a different person / persona, and if you were unaware that they were all of the same person it would be very different to say they were fictional.

This is my identity, I am not merely a student nor am I solely a guitarist, I poses both and other characteristics that together make me who I am today, this is my identity and it is forever changing.

Finally!!!

Ok, So at long Last I have finished the design and construction of my website.
I have chosen to mimic Warhols grid-like design of portrait panels though instead of using the bright hues that he uses I have sketched each portrait. Each sketch appears in the inverse when it is rolled over by a mouse and when clicked on a larger image appears. The image that appears is the clear representation of the persona that I was trying to portray instead of merely a close of head-shot.

Who am I?

I have been taking photos of myself posing as different personalities, some are real personalities or identities if you please, while others are completely fictional. What I have tried to achieve through these photos is a means of expressing that one person can in fact be different depending on the time and the place.

Some of these photos were taken a couple years ago (as you can probably tell by the short hair) while others were taken within the past few days. I was one person two years ago and since then I have changed though there are numerous characteristics of my identity that remain. For example, two years ago I was a Yeshiva student in Israel though at the same time I liked art and drew constantly, two years later I am an architecture student in Sydney Australia and still like art and draw constantly (though now it is more often on CAD). Was I really in the Army or is that simply a photoshoped image? Am I a builder? no though I do like carpentry and making things. Do I like sport? yes I do like sport, I play tennis and I surf and I have for at least the past ten years. No, I am not Jesus, No I am not a chauffer and No I am not a woman!!! Though most of those other personalities I have pocessed at one point in my life and still do today.


Chauffer:



Soldier:

Artist:

Woman?

Hip-Hop Ali-G wannabee:

Builder / Handyman:

Tennis Player:

Music Lover / Guitarist:

Surfer:

Private Highschool Kid:

Carlebach / Nachman Hasid (something in between)

City Worker / Lawyer:

No Strings Attached

Here are a few drawings that I have done to explore this idea of 'no strings attached'

Travelling has exposed me to many diverse views and beliefs over the past couple of years and as a result I have seen many friends question their own beliefs and on occasion change them, or rather break away. Breaking away from what has been expected of someone has the potential to set one free though similarly fall apart. Likewise, is it these strings that hold a person and their numerous personas together? Is a person controlled like a puppet or do they really have free choice to behave as they please?

So, is life really preferable without strings attached? Sure we don’t want scams and we don’t want to be tricked but perhaps we really do need something to hold us together.

The Brain as Navigation:

While my site will allow people to explore it freely and move from page to page without any preset order I have decided that at least at the beginning it would be helpful to have some form of navigational bar.

In keeping with the concept of multiple personality disorder I thought it fitting to use that which we all use to navigate our thoughts, the human brain. From here the user can select different parts of it which will animate and take them to a new page.

New Site!!!

Hi, So I have just set up a new page, woohoooo.
GDSigns
Hopefully this will now allow me to upload the beginnings of what will ultimately be my website. Also, I intend to keep updating this site as my ideas and designs progress.

Remember me?

'Memory is the mother of all wisdom.'
- Aeschylus

Let me pose a hypothetical, if a person commits a crime though is injured in the process and as a result suffers amnesia, leaving him without any of his former memories does this change who he is? does this lack of knowing who you are or perhaps were grant this person a new slate in life? and a new begining? Most probably not, though in toying with this concept I have began considering making a website in which a person can input who they are so that at a later stage when perhaps they suffer from alzheimer's disease they can simply log in and find out who they are.

A process called snoezelen which is an emotion-oriented psychosocial intervention for sufferers of dementia aids in the recollection of lost memories.

Many popular Hollywood films have focussed on the idea of amnesia as a theme; the Jason Bourne trilogy, Eternal Sunshine off the Spotless Mind, 50 First Dates and Memento to name a few. There is always a need to find a way to deal with their memory loss, from watching a short video each morning in 50 First Dates to tatooing notes onto oneself in Memento. Though now I am proposing a new option, a website about yourself.

possible screens

Cubism

What kind of art or which artist for that matter best represents multiple personalities within the same person. Perhaps Cubism? and for that matter Picasso.




















Or how about Chagall's work. What I feel is appropriate in these artists work is the clear breakage of the faces into separate parts. the noses are defined by bold lines and perhaps more obvious is the cutting of the face into two, clearly an option to explore be that with hot spots as links or merely to represent two personalities.













Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe work is another example that I could explore to further my project. Though the same image is used repetitively it is interesting to see how he can change the feeling of the faces by the colors that he choses to use in each image. Some feel warmer and more welcoming while some feel cold and even sick.