Self-Portrait 1980

Editor: Here we have Jody Mussoff's "Self-Portrait" from 1980, created using colored pencils. The expression is very direct and the angular earrings are eye-catching. How do you see the work in terms of materials and technique? Curator: I see a focus on the materiality of colored pencils, particularly in relation to ideas about craft versus fine art. The drawing is presented without varnish, allowing the viewer to notice every stroke of the pencil on the sheet. How might the accessibility of the colored pencil influence Mussoff’s choice of it? Editor: It seems democratic; anyone could pick up pencils and try this. Does that relate to the rise of self-portraiture as a genre, maybe? Curator: Exactly. There's a connection between the democratized medium and the exploration of identity that becomes much more common as the means of production are simplified. It becomes less about needing formal training and more about needing materials, labour, and ideas to explore selfhood. Consider how she portrays the labor, how the process and her artistic work challenge hierarchies that separate "art" from "craft." Editor: That’s a really interesting point. So, it's not just the final image, but the accessibility of the materials and the labour involved that give the work meaning. Curator: Precisely. The repetitive, visible marks emphasize the labor, bringing us to reflect on how art-making itself, as a material process and social practice, can question traditional categories. Editor: I never thought about colored pencils carrying that kind of weight. It gives the drawing a whole new layer of significance. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about how art is *made* reframes the conversation to being about its making instead of solely what it portrays.