SynergyZine 8: PORTRAITS

“Nothing in a portrait is a matter of indifference. Gesture, grimace, clothing, decor even all must co mbine to realize a character. ” -Charles Baudelaire From commissioned paintings of kings to stoic representations of politicians, the portrait has oft been used to lion ize its subjects and emphasize the more flattering facets of being. Humankind, in its basest desire seeks to immortalize itself and feed its insatiable narcissism, attempting to capture the dying light of its singular life.

The rise of humanistic expression has of late given way to a more diverse approach to port raiture that truly attempts to ca pture the soul of its subject. Much like a ttempts to explain existence through religion or the mysteries of matter through science, portraiture has become a most elusive artistic endeavor. Constantly adapting to new variants, the po rtrait is never quiet perfect, never an exact facsimile of its subject and, hopefully, never as simple as “point and shoot.” It goes beyond mere physical properties or a singular person’s countenance and into the driving factors that m otivate its subject’s action, inspire its speech, and inform its philosophies.

In this edition of SynergyZine , we have invited our contributors to hold the microscope to their su bjects, reading into every line around an eye or crumbling brick upon a building , sketching a description that takes into account the origin of those crow ’s feet or a particularly rakish grin. This is portraiture in depth. This is true art, rather than mere representation.

Our artists have delved into the inner life of their subjects, taking to the streets, so to speak, in search of characters possessing those vague mystical qualities that make a good portrait.

For instance, Valerie Chavez's pieces provide us with an a lmost anthropological look at several characters in the Tende rloin. Tutu,