doodled portraits

As many of you know, instantmatic art can be one of the most enjoyable. Similar to photographs, they remind us of the moment in which they were created. Even better than photographs, they capture the actual impression carved into our subconscious by a moment of clarity. Here I’m including the doodled portraits my friends or myself have drawn at a particular moment in time.

The first one is drawn during a magical night of life and love during Burning Man 07. I kept on taking pictures of my group, yet they didn’t turn out as magical as I expected (in fact, we looked horrible… and crazy looking). The reality that could be captured by the camera, wasn’t the same as the one that we were living in our mind. Thus, the creation of this portrait. In that particular night, 5 of us submerged into a wonderful journey that I can only describe as one of the best moments of my life. I’m not one to be “altered” all the time, but sometimes, as my friend Kai says, you’ve just got to “open ya mind.”

The second one is “submitted” by my friend Abe during one of those nights in which you are out and hungry, yet there’s nothing open but diners. So, as I was doddling a “Buy My T-Shirt” idea…. Abe was staring at me doodling me. I don’t need to say that it turned out quite fabulous. A true example of the copy of the copy. Now, that I’m uploading this photo, it becomes the copy of the copy of the copy. Thank you God for abstract thought.

The third session is done on one of my favorite souveniers.. coasters. This one comes from San Diego. Sitting at a bar, my friend and collaborator Cat drew me on one side, and I drew her on the other side. The drawings turned out disastrous (because it was a bad idea to use a wet coaster)… but the idea remained a pretty cool one. Looking back at it, maybe it is two sides of the same “coastered” coin?

Now, this is my favorite favorite. Also made by Cat. This time on actual paper, and idealizing me slightly… she simply nailed my profile. I just love how notebooks have that quality that unifies everything you do by the penetration of ink through different pages. It is a drawing decorated by past and future journal entries. In a world where all of our experiences come through us without a context (a never-ending present tense), ink splattered reminds us where whe’ve been, and what came after.

This one is made by someone I used to know, and I can only imagine that this person doesn’t want public credit for this amazing drawing (if the person does, then I’ll “update” this entry at some point). So, as we say in Spanish… with this portrait, I’m naming the miracle, yet not the saint. This art piece is another example of a copy of a copy of a copy. Based on a photo, turned into a drawing on cardboard (a medium I wish to get more into), and now a photo again. Kinda like recycling, eh?

Now, nothing says you’ve lost it like sitting on a curb where cars are going really fast… a curb that can easily be missed by a drunk driver/senior-citizen/tourist, killing you in an instant. Marc and I thought it would be a good idea to just sit on a Market St. intersection and watch the cars turn away last minute. As we sat, and sketched… these are the images that came flowing that boy’s fingertips.

I hope you guys enjoyed this entry dedicated to the exploration of hand-drawn portraits. They definitely connect you more to a memory than the memory itself. Why is that? Maybe it is because they objectify an experience that would remain subjective otherwise. It is when we deflower the virginity of a journal page, that we seal the memory as an actual fact, taking away any doubts of it being a dream.

-Alex

p.s. Anyone who wishes to submit their own portraits that document a moment in their lives (or our lives if I was there), feel free to send them my way.