Abstract
Figurative artists have both embraced and eschewed facial expressions for various reasons: stylistic norms of portraiture; the desire to depict a narrative realistically; showing the subject as shy or demure; or the conveyance of distance and disconnect. The research aims to explore the necessity of a facial expression or gaze for the viewer to glean emotional meaning. The accompanying body of work conveys emotional content without the subjects’ eye contact or demonstrative facial cues: through cropping and rotating the figure and background, positioning, or additional covering, the face or eyes are obscured. Therefore, the work must rely on other aspects of the composition to convey a psychological state and create an intimate connection. Pose, extreme perspective, and body language are used to evoke feeling and mood. This series and research show that while a conventional portrait including all the typically visual cues is valid, there is equal validity in omitting the gaze.
How to Cite
DeLorenzo, C., (2014) “Omitting the Gaze”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 27(2).
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