Non Verbal Communication in Commissioned Portraiture

My on-going studio practice and research engages issues surrounding representation, non-verbal communication and interpretation in current and historical painted commissioned portraiture. For this presentation I will be reflecting upon a portrait, recently commissioned by Manchester Metropolitan University, of Dame Sandra Burslem. With reference to this work and that of selected other portrait artists, I seek to outline, within my current methods of practice, ideas and issues relating to representation within a commercial artistic framework. This will address working process, theory and research in response to institutionally commissioned portraits, a genre frought with artistic compromise due to limiting practical demands and social expectations. Throughout the presentation I will investigate depiction of character and narrative in a field where pictorial responses are often seen to illustrate personal qualities and values inherent in the subject that act as visual metaphors and statements about the aspirations, expectations and philosophy of the individual and institution.