“Put simply, the words ‘portrait’, ‘portraiture’ and ‘portrayal’ refer to the activities of artists and writers who make works to describe the individual human subject. The appeal of this type of work is that the successful portrait is both a revelation of the unique characteristics and qualities of the person as well as a reflection of general humanity.”(17)
Craig Judd made the above statement while discussing Dani Marti’s video portrait of Peter Fay. Marti is but one of a number of artists who through a process of filmed interview seek to explore and portray the human condition. Another is David Rosetzky: some of his earlier video works in the late '90’s feature personnel confessions from friends, exploring the interaction of public and personnel in an individual’s psyche within the context of ‘contemporary lifestyle culture’ (18). His 2008 video portrait of Cate Blanchette (commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra) is in a similar vein: choreographed, highly stylized, and involving the subject speaking as in an interview (19).
(Stills from Portrait of Cate Blanchett, David Rosetzky, 2008, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra)
An important thing to note about the work of Rosetsky and Marti is its reference to film and the TV confessional. The two examples cited both focus on exploring and describing an individual: the subject is interviewed, and their responses form a part of the portrait. While it is important to acknowledge this method of human portrayal through video, this is certainly not the only way that video portraits have been made. There is a second distinctly different approach: namely, one that references painting. Here, the focus is not on intense self revelation through a combination of visuals and the spoken word, rather the impression is that of a photograph given movement; the artists do not necessarily seek to push and explore the potential of their medium but rather use video to imitate the stillness of painted portraiture.
(Video portraits by Patrick Lawler)
From this second approach, many video portraits may be seen online (such as the two above) recording the faces of individuals who gaze awkwardly back into the camera, trying to hold a smile for the duration of the clip. Video portraitists such as Joan Logue record her subjects for ten to twenty minutes as they pose in silence. As stated on her website, she is a pioneer in this form of portraiture, having developed her practice from 1971 when a young African boy first stood in front of her camera and gazed into it. With regards to pioneering though, it must be noted that five years earlier, between 1964-1966, Andy Warhol made over 500 ‘film portraits’, also called ‘screen tests’. People who came into his factory were invited to stare into a camera for a number of minutes remaining as still as possible in order to test their ‘screen potential’. In this way, the film portraits of such people as Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan were created.
Warhol’s screen tests have indeed had their influence, with experimental film makers such as Jeff Scher (who I will discuss later) citing them. Logue seems though to have started without knowledge of Warhol, and certainly continued with her video portraits for longer than the making of the ‘screen tests’. Used in such a prolific way, video portraiture seems to be a commercial development from the photograph or water colour portrait sketch of previous decades.
(Robert Wilson, Brad Pitt, 2004)
Another artist who has engaged with this medium is Robert Wilson. His take, however, is more developed, with its poetic overtones reflecting his background in theatre. Minimalistic and heavily referencing painting, his works push video towards creating the illusion of a still image, with the subtlest of movements in the subject suggesting otherwise. In the case of his 2004 portrait of Brad Pitt, Pitt is shown standing almost motionless, staring back at the camera against a blue lit wall. This, however, is soon to change, with the addition of rain, a fun yet slightly ominous soundtrack, and Pitt's own slow shift in position.
It may seem unusual to start speaking of video portraits in the context of an art practice that focuses on animation, but there appear to be distinct connections and shared concerns between animated portraits and their video counterparts - certainly enough to make a study of the latter informative in understanding the former, such as for considerations of sound track.
Craig Judd made the above statement while discussing Dani Marti’s video portrait of Peter Fay. Marti is but one of a number of artists who through a process of filmed interview seek to explore and portray the human condition. Another is David Rosetzky: some of his earlier video works in the late '90’s feature personnel confessions from friends, exploring the interaction of public and personnel in an individual’s psyche within the context of ‘contemporary lifestyle culture’ (18). His 2008 video portrait of Cate Blanchette (commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra) is in a similar vein: choreographed, highly stylized, and involving the subject speaking as in an interview (19).
An important thing to note about the work of Rosetsky and Marti is its reference to film and the TV confessional. The two examples cited both focus on exploring and describing an individual: the subject is interviewed, and their responses form a part of the portrait. While it is important to acknowledge this method of human portrayal through video, this is certainly not the only way that video portraits have been made. There is a second distinctly different approach: namely, one that references painting. Here, the focus is not on intense self revelation through a combination of visuals and the spoken word, rather the impression is that of a photograph given movement; the artists do not necessarily seek to push and explore the potential of their medium but rather use video to imitate the stillness of painted portraiture.
(Video Portraits by Timothy Ryan Poe)
(Video portraits by Patrick Lawler)
From this second approach, many video portraits may be seen online (such as the two above) recording the faces of individuals who gaze awkwardly back into the camera, trying to hold a smile for the duration of the clip. Video portraitists such as Joan Logue record her subjects for ten to twenty minutes as they pose in silence. As stated on her website, she is a pioneer in this form of portraiture, having developed her practice from 1971 when a young African boy first stood in front of her camera and gazed into it. With regards to pioneering though, it must be noted that five years earlier, between 1964-1966, Andy Warhol made over 500 ‘film portraits’, also called ‘screen tests’. People who came into his factory were invited to stare into a camera for a number of minutes remaining as still as possible in order to test their ‘screen potential’. In this way, the film portraits of such people as Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan were created.
Warhol’s screen tests have indeed had their influence, with experimental film makers such as Jeff Scher (who I will discuss later) citing them. Logue seems though to have started without knowledge of Warhol, and certainly continued with her video portraits for longer than the making of the ‘screen tests’. Used in such a prolific way, video portraiture seems to be a commercial development from the photograph or water colour portrait sketch of previous decades.
(Robert Wilson, Brad Pitt, 2004)
Another artist who has engaged with this medium is Robert Wilson. His take, however, is more developed, with its poetic overtones reflecting his background in theatre. Minimalistic and heavily referencing painting, his works push video towards creating the illusion of a still image, with the subtlest of movements in the subject suggesting otherwise. In the case of his 2004 portrait of Brad Pitt, Pitt is shown standing almost motionless, staring back at the camera against a blue lit wall. This, however, is soon to change, with the addition of rain, a fun yet slightly ominous soundtrack, and Pitt's own slow shift in position.
It may seem unusual to start speaking of video portraits in the context of an art practice that focuses on animation, but there appear to be distinct connections and shared concerns between animated portraits and their video counterparts - certainly enough to make a study of the latter informative in understanding the former, such as for considerations of sound track.
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