home

=Irene Sartorio HL2=

Beauty
Personal Statement:  My work throughout the two year long IB programme has focuses on feminine beauty. In today’s society the obsession with beauty is one of my major concerns and as young woman it affects me directly. This is why the purpose of my work is to portray my personal understanding of what “beauty” is and how this concept has changed in history. I have approached the theme following two major paths that depict women either manipulated, as I illustrate in my painting “The Marionette”, or empowered by beauty, as I portray in “Sirens”. Living in different foreign countries, I have learned to explore dissimilar cultures with an open mind, expanding my research considering pressing social issues present in the different countries. My methodical and diverse approach to my theme has provided me with a strong foundation of ideas and concepts on regards of beauty, which has pushed me to improve my technical skills.  I have been greatly influenced by James Rosenquist’s dynamic paintings, Andy Huang’s video “Doll Face”, Audrey Kawasaki’s powerful painted characters and by Alphonse Mucha, one of the founders of the Art Noveau style. What I thought was particularly important was that even if the artists are from different time periods, the concepts that they present can easily be adapted to today’s context.  I believe I have achieved a good understanding of my theme thank to the different ways I have challenged myself: through the variety of media I used; acrylic, oil, colored pencils, ink, collages, plaster as well as modeling paste on different materials such as canvases, paper and wood. Through the use of various sources varying from the internet to pictures I personally took and finally by the use of different scales, as I worked on large canvases but also on more accurate and detailed small ones.


 * [[image:Beauty-Today2.jpg width="950" height="712" align="center" caption="Beauty Today - colored pencils and collage "]] ||
 * [[image:Doll2.jpg width="600" height="447" align="center" caption="Innocence - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Flowers2.jpg width="750" height="559" align="center" caption="Blooming - acrylic and collage"]] ||
 * [[image:Lipstick2.jpg width="600" height="445" align="center" caption="Bombardment - oil on canvas and collage"]] ||
 * [[image:Masquerade2.jpg width="750" height="557" align="center" caption="My mask - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Mermaid3.jpg width="600" height="446" align="center" caption="Sirens - oil on wood"]] ||
 * [[image:Puppet2.jpg width="750" height="557" align="center" caption="Puppet - oil on canvas, plaster and wood"]] ||
 * [[image:Queen2.jpg width="600" height="447" align="center" caption="Evolution - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Spider2.jpg width="750" height="559" align="center" caption="Oblivious - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Throne2.jpg width="750" height="565" align="center" caption="Death of Beauty - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Me2.jpg width="900" height="671" align="center" caption="Observing (detail) - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:Me-gate2.jpg width="900" height="671" align="center" caption="Observing with mashrubeya - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:freedom2.jpg width="450" height="443" align="center" caption="Freedom - oil on canvas"]] ||
 * [[image:mrs-gray.jpg width="300" height="362" align="center" caption="Mrs. Gray - pen on raw canvas"]] ||