Chuck Close Living artist Photo-realism Portraits Close is a living artist whose large head portraits sell for six figures. He was born in Washington. Wanted to be an artist at age four. Wasn’t good at sports. Dyslexic- School work was hard. Family supported his decision to be an artist. University of Washington-highest G.P.A. in their art school Also studied at Yale and then received a grant and went to Europe. Self Portrait 1997, Oil on canvas

Photo-Realism Hotel Empire, Richard Estes

Chuck Close and Photo-Realism Large scale portraits Family and friends Uses Graphs to enlarge Photographs Six figure paintings Frank. 1969 Oil on canvas 108 x 84”

Early Works Phil.1969 Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 84"

Phil Watercolor. 1977, Watercolor on paper 58 x 40"

Big Self-Portrait. 1967-68. Acrylic on canvas. 107 1/2 x 83 1/2" Study for Self-Portrait Photographed 1967; dated 1968 Photograph, pen and ink, pencil, masking tape, acrylic, wash, and blue plastic strips on cardboard 18 5/8 x 13 3/8" The Museum of Modern Art, New York Big Self-Portrait. 1967-68. Acrylic on canvas. 107 1/2 x 83 1/2"

Linda1975-76Acrylic and pencil on canvas 108 x 84" Linda / Eye Series V (Magenta, Cyan and Yellow) 1977 Watercolor on paper 30 x 22 1/2" (each) Linda. 1975-76. Acrylic and pencil on canvas. 108 x 84"

Fanny / Finger-painting (detail at left). 1985. Oil-based ink on canvas. 102 x 84"

Jud / Collage. 1982.Pulp paper collage on canvas. 96 x 72"

1986 Watercolor on paper 30.25 x 22 .25 " Leslie/Watercolor 1 Leslie/Watercolor 1.1986. Watercolor on paper 30.25 x 22.25”

“When every kid on the block  wanted to become a policeman or fireman, I wanted to be an artist. It was the first thing I was good at, the first thing that really made me special. I had skills the other kids didn’t have. Art saved my life.”

An Obstacle 1988 health problems Hospitalization Paralysis In December of 1988 one of Close’s spinal arteries collapsed and he was hospitalized. He was then paralyzed from the neck down. He was able to regain some leg and arm movement through hours of intense physical therapy.

Chuck Close Photo-Realism In 1988 Chuck Close was hospitalized due to the sudden collapse of a spinal artery. He has since been paralyzed from the waist down. He continues to paint on the same scale that he had always painted on. Now he has attendants that help him with the preliminary work, but he still does the actual painting. Sometimes he sits on a forklift, and other times he uses a special mechanical easel that raises, lowers, and rotates his canvases for him.

Overcoming All New studio New techniques New style

“ I had to recover enough to paint. There is nothing else I can do “ I had to recover enough to paint. There is nothing else I can do. There is nothing else I want to do” Chuck Close

The Studio When I was walking around I was 6 foot 3, and people didn't tend to approach me very much, and one of the interesting things about being in a wheelchair is it sort of cuts you down to size and perhaps out of sympathy or whatever people feel much more like coming up to you. I'm more accessible I guess down here.”

Chuck Close Photo-Realism Chuck Close was influence by the images of the Pop Artists. He felt the same way about America’s dependence on the second hand visual experience. None of his “portraits” are traditional. They tell us nothing about the subject’s lives, feelings, character, profession, or social status. His works are merely paintings of photos of faces. The overwhelming detail forces us to think not about the subject, but about the image itself- how and why it was made.

Private collection, New York Alex 1987 Black-and-white Polaroid photograph mounted on aluminum 32 x 21 3/4" Alex II. 1989. Oil on canvas. 36 x 30"

Roy II, 1994 .Oil on canvas, 102 x 84”

Kiki, 1968. Acrylic on canvas. 107 1/2 x 83 ½” 3-4 months to paint Kiki, 1968. Acrylic on canvas. 107 1/2 x 83 ½”

“There’s a real joy in putting these little marks together “There’s a real joy in putting these little marks together. They may look like hotdogs, but with them I build a painting.” Chuck Close Elizabeth, 1989. Oil on canvas, 72 x 60”

Judy, 1989-90. Oil on canvas. 72 x 60”

Chuck Close Self-portrait. 1996. Oil on canvas

Chuck Close Photo-Realism He magnified every blemish and imperfection. His early work was created using an airbrush, as to mimic the mechanical quality of a photograph. The process of creating the painting was equally important to Chuck Close as the finished image. Leslie. 1973

Chuck CLose C H U C K C L O S E

Chuck Close Photo-Realism “I paint heads because heads matter to everybody. If you paint a face big enough, it’s hard to ignore.” “My real subjects are not people, I paint portraits of photographs” “If you make something new and personal, it may not look like art at all.” Self Portrait 1991 Self Portrait. 1991

C H U K L O S E Alex 1987 Alex 1987

April 1991 April 1991

Chuck Close Uses a grid to enlarge the photos onto the canvas. Photo-Realism Uses a grid to enlarge the photos onto the canvas. Frontal head posed in almost a passport-photo view Unsmiling lips and dead-pan eyes. Used several different media to create his portraits: Airbrush, Fingerprints, Crayon, Acrylic Paint, Oil Paint, Pencil, Pen, Paper Collage, Keith Keith

C H U K L O S E Cindy 1988 Cindy 1988

C H U K L O S E Elizabeth 1989 Elizabeth 1989

C H U K L O S E Eric (in progress) Eric (In Progress)

What other artist have we discussed was concerned for the purity of color What style of art did he work in

Roy II Roy ll

Self portraits

Chuck Close Chuck Close

Questions Why do you think Chuck Close painted portraits? 2. How has his disability impacted his artwork? Does it make it better? 3. Describe Chuck Close’s artwork in 5 words.

Lucas 1991 Lucas 1991

C H U K L O S E Joel 1993 Joel 1993

Mark (1978 - 1979), acrylic on canvas Mark (1978 - 1979), acrylic on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Detail at right of eye. Mark, a painting that took Close fourteen months to complete, was constructed from a series of airbrushed layers that imitated CMYK color printing..

Lucas (1986 - 1987), acrylic on canvas Lucas (1986 - 1987), acrylic on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,. Detail at right of eye. The pencil grid and thin undercoat of blue is visible beneath the splotchy "pixels." The painting's subject is fellow artist Lucas Samaras.

     “I discovered about 150 dots is the minimum number of dots to make a specific recognizable person. You can make something that looks like a head, with fewer dots, but you won't be able to give much information about who it is.”

Art 1 Objectives: Students will . 1. Show an understanding and awareness of the work of Chuck Close. Understand how an artist gets ideas. 2. Use ruler skills in creating a grid - develop skills in enlarging a composition using a grid. Study proportion. 3. Recognize values and create values using line, pattern and simulated textures. Develop Contrast through values. 

Art 2 Objectives: Students will . 1. Show an understanding and awareness of the work of Chuck Close. Understand how an artist gets ideas. 2. Use ruler skills in creating a grid - develop skills in enlarging a composition using a grid. Study proportion. 3. Recognize values and create values using line, pattern and simulated textures. Develop Contrast through values.  Students will translate value into color in the creation of a portrait (or image) in the style of Chuck Close. Students will enlarge an image using a grid (math correlation)

Forsyth Country Day School Teacher: Rebecca Stone-Danahy Emily Branch; 4GKs; Portfolio, Art, Grade 12

South Central High School Teacher: Ira Varney, Grade 10 Kaitlyn Worrell, Self-Portrait, Painting, American Vision Nominee

Sanderson High School Teacher: Jeannette Stevenson, Grade 12 India Cox; You Know, the Girl with the Squares, Painting