SARAH EVANS

ALTAR OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Altar of Self-Actualization utilizes the historical conventions of its genre in conjunction with contemporary context to create a new understanding of the functions of an altarpiece. The Renaissance-era personal devotional piece was historically commissioned by wealthy patrons looking to express piety. Often depicting the patron alongside a holy figure, these pieces provided sacred imagery for the individual to reflect upon in prayer. The intimate size of the personal altarpiece promotes portability and frequent worship, and ultimately the creation of a personalized ritual for the individual/patron. Through the use of my own likeness and contemporary objects and dress, themes of ritual and devotion are translated into contemporary understandings of growth and selfactualization. Allegorical objects take on a personal symbolism within the narrative as opposed to the ubiquity of religious iconography. In the center panel, an emancipated self beckons to the naïve “lamb” of my younger self as a reminder of my personal strength and agency. Through this work, Renaissance-era devotion to icons in hopes of salvation is transformed into a modern devotion to maintaining one’s fully realized self in a sort of “self-salvation.”

References to masterworks such as Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love and Bouguereau’s Innocence inform the work both thematically and contextually, creating a canonical foundation upon which I explore modern reinterpretation. to harmonize color, sometimes a social issue like people’s ignorance about heritage might inform a given color palette.