SHARON KENDRICK
american psyche
The 1970’s golden age of cinema told stories that were darker and grittier, more real, with more nuanced and psychologically true character arcs. Pivotal moments and scenes in these movies are selected, then the character is isolated to amplify the gesture and emotion of the scene. It's the American mythology. From Travis Bickle’s I’m ready pose to Tony Monera’s determined loner searching for his next step, we learn from these actors, these movies, how to act in similar situations.
concept + design
artist statement
My subjects range from people I meet in life to iconic characters pulled from cinema.
In a digital age where we are bombarded with images, I slow time down and create more considered portraits, drawing my subjects by hand and from life when I can.
I seek the individual’s most essential, elemental form. I persuade line to move beyond two dimensional, to also capture movement, energy, restlessness, mood, ego and uncertainty. Drawing lets me strip away the extraneous and focus on gesture and emotion.
According to sociologist Erving Goffman, we are all actors. The persona we reveal isn’t decided in isolation, it’s molded by the feedback, glances and looks we get from everyone in our lives. Actors similarly craft their characters’ personas, and these become our blueprints to determine how to act, what gesture to use, what to reveal.
Portraits allow the sitter the opportunity to be intentional about their self-presentation and pose — and together we craft a celebration of this persona.