TitleSelf-Portrait (closed eyes, eyeshadow, lipstick)
Artist
Susanna Coffey
(American, b. 1949)
Date1994
MediumOil on linen
DimensionsUnframed: 12 × 11 in.
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, January 26, 2000
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY, Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Three Zero, New York
Object number2000.2
Label TextSusanna Coffey has focused on self-portraiture since the early 1990's. Her self-portraits depict endless variations in her expression, the color of her flesh, her hairstyle and her eyes (open or closed), which she describes as a "feminist investigation into the notion of standardized beauty. "In each piece, " she says, " I try to find a certain image that reflects a standard, or idea, about feminine beauty and then search for a way to counter that ideal."Coffey’s intimate investigation of a woman’s “painted face” as the concept for a painting of her own face makes interesting use of the information most women are taught at an early age – the application of make-up, the first line of defense in “enhancing” one’s appearance. Coffey deconstructs this gender-specific education, removing emotion and eye contact, seeing it as only a painter might: as instruction in the application of color.
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