Big Self-Portrait 1968

Chuck Close made this enormous, black and white self-portrait using graphite, sometime in the late 60’s or early 70’s. The first thing you notice is the sheer size of it and the incredible detail. It’s not about hiding the process, but reveling in it. Look at the way Close builds up tone with countless tiny marks. It's like he’s creating a map of his own face, one tiny little zone at a time. I think about the cigarette dangling from his mouth. It’s so casual, so nonchalant, yet rendered with such precision. It's like he's daring you to look, to really see him, warts and all. The tonal range is amazing. In places, it looks almost photographic, yet up close you can see every mark, every decision. Close reminds me of Gerhard Richter, in that he also worked with photographs to produce paintings that, in turn, referenced photography. These are artists who invite us to consider the nature of representation itself. What is real? What is artifice? It's all up for grabs.