Concentration Statement

For my end-of-year concentration project, I went into it thinking I would simply explore how I could incorporate design structures and portraits together in an interesting way. Each piece would consist of a repetition/radiation/concentration/gradation structure, a pencil/acrylic portrait, and newspaper/mark-making to integrate the two. I used my worst project as my first concentration, because what came out of it interested me and I wanted to explore it further. As I continued with my 2nd and 3rd concentrations, however, I came to realize that I was doing the exact same thing I had done last year---exploring different emotions. The first concentration features a cool-color design and rather sad facial expression, the second had bright, warm colors and an angry expression, and the third had busy colors and an alert expression. So I guess what I am exploring is how design can both be integrated into a portrait and how it can describe the emotional expression of the portrait.