Self Portrait 1996

Bo Bartlett made this self-portrait, and right away, I want to get lost in those eyes. The way he's positioned himself, sort of shielding with his arm, it’s like he's both revealing and concealing at the same time. What was he thinking as he built up those layers of paint, trying to capture his own likeness, his gaze? I think he was trying to represent a truth about himself. I like the quietness of the color. That window light softly illuminating one side of his face, and the way the dark sweater sort of swallows him up. The gesture of his arm is so interesting, kind of like he's warding something off. When I think of the history of self-portraiture, there’s Rembrandt, of course, and so many others who have used their own image to ask questions about identity, about mortality. There’s a bravery in that. And I see that same spirit here.