Jieun Kong

From portraits that seem to be graffiti at first glance to Hyper-realistic portraits and portraits over 3 meters tall, Portraits have been created steadily by artists from the past and the present. The clients used portraiture to represent their virtue and power, wealth and beauty or other qualities (Tate). Along with photography, portraits are one of the most classical ways to see others. According to Britannica, ‘Projection is the mental process by which people attribute to others what is in their minds.’ (McWilliam). And in contemporary psychology, psychological projection means seeing oneself in others. Also, depending on the inner state, projection can be a starting point for empathy or hatred (McWilliam). I thought that if projection was possible on others, the projection could occur even in pictures of others. And I came to the inference that the audience would be able to recognize themselves through a portrait. In addition, I considered the direction portraits should take in contemporary art.

“Everyone is a mirror that reflects yourself.”

Although the exact source is unknown, this sentence gave me the idea of ​​a psychological projection and the direction of modern portraiture. In detail, in psychology, projection mainly appears as one of the defence mechanisms. Defence mechanisms, the concept that arose from the work of Sigmund Freud, are an unconscious strategy to defend oneself from anxious thoughts or feelings (Psychology Today). For example, there are cases when you have affection or hostility toward others, but you think that others have such feelings. Projection as a defence mechanism has a negative character. However, also there are positive projections. Various imitative behaviours that appear in the socialization process of children are behaviours that are made from identification with others and have a good influence on childhood growth (McWilliam). Also, we can understand and empathize with others because of the projection. For example, when we see a person with a sad face, we can infer the feelings by remembering when we made that expression (McWilliam).

Then, can we project ourselves into portraits of others through psychological projection? If we can understand feelings by looking at a picture of a person with a sad face, it seems that we can project psychology into portraits (McWilliam). An example of psychological projection in art is the painting of Mark Rothko, an American abstract painter. According to a survey conducted by the National Gallery in the United States, 70% of those who answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘Have you ever cried when looking at a work of art?’ said that they shed tears when they saw Mark Rothko’s work (널 위한 문화예술, 2020).

“I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on—and the fact that lots of people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I communicate those basic human emotions.” (Statement against “abstractionist” label, Rothko, 1957)

Mark Rothko has repeatedly emphasized the importance of emotion in appreciating his work (B, 2018). However, he did not give any description or title to his work. I thought about whose emotions the audience felt. Mark Rothko did not explain his artwork, but the audience saw the colours and combinations of colours on the canvas and they feel tragic, and sometimes they feel ecstatic. These feelings come from the audience. In other words, the audience saw Mark Rothko’s paintings and projected their emotions into his work.

Another example of psychological projection on works of art is Vincent van Gogh’s works (B, 2018). Anyone who studies art has heard of his life at least once. Although he was an accomplished artist, he has not recognized by the public and critics during his lifetime, Gogh cut off his ear due to a nervous breakdown, and he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. In addition, those aware of this fact appreciate the painting, subconsciously projecting the emotions Gogh assumed he must have felt while painting (The National Gallery).

In addition to psychological projection, there is a case that causes psychological agitation by pictures. Stendhal syndrome, also called Florence’s syndrome, is a psychogenic disorder that includes rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion, and hallucinations, which are said to occur when an individual is exposed to objects, artworks, or great beauty and ancient phenomena (Griffiths). The syndrome has named after the 19th-century French writer Henri-Marie Beyle (1783-1842), pseudonym ‘Stendhal’ (Griffiths).

“I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of ​​being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty…I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations … Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call ‘nerves.’ Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.” (Stendhal, 1972).

This passage from his book shows the psychological sense he felt. And Stendhal felt this feeling when he saw the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, where several iconic Renaissance artists and scientists such as Michelangelo and Galileo are buried and decorated with Giotto frescoes (B, 2018).

Portraits among the works of art using the human figure in a broad sense, the field of painting have a long history, and there have been many changes from materials to objects and reasons for portrait painting (Tate). In the classical period, the reasons to paint portraits were to advertise the status and other abilities of the client and used to record their appearance, or it has been used to express beauty and for religious or political purposes (Brilliant, 2013). 

Today, the purpose has changed in a way for artists to express their thoughts and aesthetic sense. Before the camera was invented and in widespread use, usually portraits were made by the commission. But into modern times, commissioned portraits have become increasingly rare. Instead, leading artists began to express their ideas in a new and unique way, such as Pablo Picasso and Egon Schiele, from friends to family, to strangers (Tate).

What are the changes in portraiture and portrait painting in contemporary art? At the turn of the 20th century, expressionist works that did not necessarily represent a specific person appeared. Rather than presenting realistic or abstract figures, expressionists put their own human experience into their work, incorporating human emotions and efforts, even if it is difficult to recognize or does not necessarily resemble a human (Sessions College). In addition, beyond the realm of portraiture, portrait painting has expanded the classical method of sculpting and painting to media such as video and photography, also as performance art (Saunders et al., 2009).

According to the National portrait gallery in the United Kingdom, contemporary portraits can arouse an audience’s interest and delight, whatever their style, medium, or subject (National Portrait Gallery). Viewers check out the label to learn more about the life and achievements of the artist and sitter. Also, contemporary portraits offer encounters with familiar figures from the world around us from everyday life. Artists often mix their themes and times to describe cultural moments and allow viewers to assess the particular sitters. Sometimes these portraits contain expressive and psychological characteristics of the artist. Furthermore, it indicates how important the individual is to us and leads to respect for the individual. They make us think about affection and admiration, recognition and inspiration (National Portrait Gallery).

As above, artists have the freedom to express their thoughts and psychology in modern times. However, there are some problems with portraits. First of all, it is difficult for the audience to recognize the artist’s ideology in contemporary portraiture (Editorial et al., 2020). Especially in Expressionist portraits, sometimes the external appearance of the character is omitted (Sessions College). In order to understand this kind of painting as a portrait, the audience should know about the artist, the sitter, and even their life. Contemporary art also has the problem of being esoteric (Charlesworth). Secondly, in general, portraits are static visual art. Just as fine art is often perceived as boring and appreciated, Portraits often leave the impression of boredom on the audience (Editorial et al., 2020). It is a hasty generalization that everyone thinks of art that way. However, audiences who are not interested in art often evaluate it as boring by looking at the visual elements of the picture until they are told the story behind its inspiration (Editorial et al., 2020). Lastly, portrait sales are sluggish. A portrait contains an image of another person. In the East, Portraits are not considered good in Feng Shui, which is a system that governs the arrangement and orientation of space concerning the flow of energy. According to Park, a portrait makes people feel like hanging out a picture of someone who died in the house (Park, 2020). Also, it makes people psychologically conscious of the gaze of others, making people anxious.

In my personal opinion, I think that as long as artists put their ideology and ideas into their works, the problems of portraiture as contemporary art will not be resolved. However, to solve these problems, I would like to suggest a method of incorporating unconscious psychological phenomena into the portrait. If the audience can feel this psychological phenomenon in the picture, they will be able to understand the artwork sensibly without any effort. In addition, the psychological projection was a material well suited to unconscious psychological phenomena. It happens to everyone who sees a painting, it is unconscious, and it can always be new because each person feels different sensations. And I thought that painting through psychological projection would ultimately become a form of art that the audience could find an answer for and fully show what the audience wants to see.

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