There seem to be an endless number of talented artists creating portraits using assemblages of unexpected items; licorice, junk, toys, pills, pencils, diamonds, pushpins and more. We have already featured nine different artists who create portraits from such items unusual work on this blog and now I’m introducing you to a tenth, Mary Ellen Croteau.
Mary Ellen Croteau Bottle Cap Self-Portrait
Mary Ellen Croteau, who we have since learned passed away in 2019 at age 68, had been working with plastic bottle caps to create colorful columnar sculptures, but while crafting these, she became compelled to create a large self-portrait with them.
“Plastic bottle caps – like bags, a plastic product that can’t be/ isn’t recycled. I conceived of an “endless column” of these caps, after Constantin Brancussi’s (sic) iconic modernist sculpture. One became two, and two became many…: – Mary Ellen Croteau
“…While making these columns, I noticed the smaller caps tended to nest inside one another, and the color combinations reminded me of Chuck Close’s painted portraits. So I got sidetracked and started on a large self-portrait made entirely of bottle caps. The piece measures 8 feet by 7 feet. No paint is used, except to delineate a few shadows where white board was showing through. In a few cases, the caps are trimmed in order to fit a tight space.” – Mary Ellen Croteau
close-up of the nose:
close up of eye in progress:
The final assembled piece displayed for Art on Armitage in Chicago:
Mary Ellen Croteau was an artist whose work directly addresses the absurdities of social norms, and lays bare the underlying bias and sexist assumptions on which our culture is constructed. She lived and worked in Chicago, IL.
See more of her unusual art here.
Nine other artists who create portraits and images with objects. Click on the image to see their work:
above, from top to bottom: Bernard Pras’ portrait of Bruce Lee, Zac Freeman’s portrait of Garrett, Scott Blake’s self portrait made with MDMA, Jason Mercer’s portrait of Kim Kardashian made with licorice vines, Christian Faur’s portrait made of crayons, a diamond and sapphire gemstone portrait of Marilyn Monroe, Federico Uribe’s portrait of a tiger made with pencils, Charles Manson made of rubik’s cubes, and Eric Daigh’s pushpin portraits.