Declaration

For my concept-folio, I have decided that my topic is going to be “Identity”. I wanted to choose a topic that would allow me to be creative and show my own personal opinions, while staying away from typical concepts that have been done before in the past. In my Concept-folio, I plan on addressing the question “what makes us unique as individuals?” and figuring out what elements of a person are used when recognizing them. I will be focusing on images that deal with ideas like individuality, conformity, and personality to show what factors differentiate one person from another. Using these images, I hope to not only be able to show my own opinion on the importance of knowing one’s own unique identity and what it consists of, but also to provide enough materials for the reader of my folio to form their own opinion on the subject.

Critique #1

          “The Subway” by George Tooker portrays a frightened looking woman who is descending down a fluorescently lit hallway. On either side of her, metal bars are blocking off her route into other corridors. Although these bars are meant to distinguish the route to the subway, they have an ominous tone that gives the tunnel the appearance of a prison. All wearing similar clothing and expressions, the passengers in the background contribute to the overall eerie feeling of the painting. The bold color of the passenger’s jackets contrasts with their surroundings and puts emphasis on the uncomfortable brightness of the subway tunnel.
          The panicked woman in the center of the scene draws the viewer’s immediate attention. Her royal blue jacket catches the eye because it is surrounded by red, pale yellow, and white. In between two hallways, she is strategically placed in a position where the reader’s vision is lead to by the surrounding lines. The expression on the women gives the viewer the impression that she is taken aback by the scene before her. Her curved arm in front of her stomach could either be to protect herself from her frightening situation or to symbolize that she is sickened by what she sees. Tooker could be using the woman to portray his fear of conformity and express his thoughts on what he believes people are like today. Although her clothing is the same, the women’s expression is what separates her from the sea of people at the subway. She is obviously not one of them, and symbolizes the individuality which Tooker idealizes.