Chuck Close

There were so many things I saw in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that amazed me. It was incredible getting to see artwork that you've only seen in books or online. I can't even begin to describe just HOW different it is. One artist I want to talk about in particular is Chuck Close. 

I've seen his gridded abstract portraits before, but that can't even compare to seeing it in person. The COLOR alone was...I have no words to justify it. Here are some pictures I took of both that piece and the other photorealistic portrait hanging on the opposite wall:

Chuck Close was born in 1940 and still lives in New York today. His works vary in medium, but his primary focus is portraiture. I found it interesting that he suffers from Prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize faces. Close is quoted as saying on the subject, "I was not conscious of making a decision to paint portraits because I have difficulty recognizing faces. That occurred to me twenty years after the fact when I looked at why I was still painting portraits, why that still had urgency for me. I began to realize that it has sustained me for so long because I have difficulty in recognizing faces."

Later on in his career he chose to begin to "limit" himself, and therefore, explore his creativity by throwing away his paintbrushes.
"I chose to do things I had no facility with. The choice not to do something is in a funny way more positive than the choice to do something. If you impose a limit to not do something you've done before, it will push you to where you've never gone before."

In 1988 Close suffered from a spinal artery collapse which left him paralyzed from the neck down. Through months and months of physical therapy, he has been able to regain slight use of his muscles, but he still relies on a wheelchair. However, he continues to paint by literally taping a paintbrush to his wrist. His works are more-so abstract now, but still incredible. Over everything, this is such an inspiring story - he has never gave up on his artwork.