An Interesting Take on the Self-Portrait

Suzy Lake’s video installation in Hart House titled “The Natural Way to Draw” from 1975, depicts the artist using her own face to demonstrate how to paint a self-portrait according to the instructions from her text book written by Nicholaides. The video was projected onto a screen that was hung at the top of an old narrow stairwell. I found this piece to be intriguing on numerous levels. My background is more in painting than any other discipline, so this image of a women calmly and deliberately painting her own face peaked my interest. This painting of one's own face immediately calls upon notions of mask and make-up and beautifying and shielding oneself in order to be seen by others. The video is also a really intriguing take on self-portraiture! When I think of studying self-portrait paintings in art history, I seem to remember artists always translating an image of themselves onto canvas (or whatever ground was being used) by referencing their reflections in mirrors, or pictures of themselves while working. But, what could be a more appropriate surface to use for a self-portrait than yourself? I found the piece to be quite theatrical and it almost had a sense of ritual. Suzy painted her face according to a classical text book and she appeared to be very careful and respectful of the instructions she was reading. I definitely do see her as applying a mask and it seems like she is putting on stage makeup getting ready to appear in some classical Greek performance. As she continues the process of painting herself, she becomes increasingly stone-like and takes on a different identity. This could refer to how we wear many "masks" in life and also could play off of the degree of accuracy employed by artists representing themselves throughout the ages. Regardless, Suzy achieves a change of character by the end of the video. She commences by being very intimate with the viewing, exposing herself with hair back pulled back and no makeup. By the end, she has distanced herself from the viewer and appears stone-cold.