tag

portrait

51 works

Portrait is the archive's face problem: when a person, role, source image, or mask is asked to become legible.

Meaning

Portrait in this archive does not always mean likeness. It often means a face or upper body being forced to carry a role.

Many portraits are unstable: masked, doubled, animalized, iconic, textual, or sourced from public images. The face becomes a contested surface rather than a simple identity.

The portrait tag therefore sits between body, icon, identity, and witness. It asks what a face can tell the viewer, and what the painting has to damage or exaggerate before the face tells the truth.

Humility (TEETH) - Two frontal heads share a scene with a narrow architectural or tunnel-like white shape between them and warm brown…

Humility (TEETH)

2026-06-06

Spin Doctors - Two Princes

hero watchful red sun / red star smile

Barnes and Noble - A blue-clothed seated figure faces right in a dark brown and green room, while a bright pale-blue shape hovers…

Barnes and Noble

2026-06-01

MGMT - The Handshake

blue jacket wings / flying tie memory

Hot Pink - A frontal long-haired figure in a bright blue coat stands against green and blue blocks, with a pale face and a…

Hot Pink

2026-06-01

PinkPantheress - Blue

blue jacket cool icon contemporary lane

Akuma

group

2026-05-30

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Falling Out the Sky

cool jacket red sun / red star resolve

Friend of Akuma - A pale-faced figure with black hair occupies the right side of a dark interior; green angular forms and a small red…

Friend of Akuma

group

2026-05-30

Foo Fighters - All My Life

watchful jacket strange doubling

There's No Crying In Table Tennis - A red-faced figure or mask with open mouth appears under black triangular shapes, with small objects and a hand-like…

There's No Crying In Table Tennis

2026-05-13

Mac Miller & Earl Sweatshirt - The Star Room

starcleman diagonal color guy red sun / red star

My Friend Color Guy

2026-05-03

Pixies - Mr. Grieves

helmet hot strange color guy

HE PREACHES IN THE SUN - A portrait-like dark-skinned figure in a pale blue garment stands before a gold field, with red cross-like marks…

HE PREACHES IN THE SUN

group

2026-04-05

Labi Siffre - My Song

cross solemn blue jacket Christian

THEY BURNED HIS ROOF - A close brown face with darkened eye sockets and a pale blue shirt fills the frame against a yellow-gold ground.

THEY BURNED HIS ROOF

group

2026-04-05

Grizzly Bear - Sun In Your Eyes

blue jacket Christian resolve icon

Clavicular - A pale bust-length head and shoulders emerge from a black ground, with brown hair, yellowed facial tones, and a…

Clavicular

2026-04-01

Kanye West - Wolves

cool memory icon contemporary lane

Faces (Aloof) - A large yellow-brown mask-like face fills the right side, surrounded by dark, multicolored gestural paint and a blue…

Faces (Aloof)

group

2026-02-15

faces mask identity portrait

Faces (Black Boy) - A close cropped dark-brown face sits against a red ground, with bright white eyes and a small red mouth.

Faces (Black Boy)

group

2026-02-15

faces pressure eyes portrait

Faces (Glasses) - A pale face with square yellow glasses and purple hair fills a vertical frame against purple and dark tones.

Faces (Glasses)

group

2026-02-15

watchful faces identity portrait

Faces (Jojo) - A yellow and purple face wearing an orange-purple cap or hat is cropped close, with teeth or a white mouth shape at…

Faces (Jojo)

group

2026-02-15

faces diagonal teeth mask

Faces (Peco) - A pale face with dark hair is cropped below a tan hat marked by a red star against a muted blue-brown ground.

Faces (Peco)

group

2026-02-15

faces red sun / red star sun / star teeth

Sunburn - A yellow circular face or sun with wide eyes sits in front of a red star shape, with the word smile near the upper…

Sunburn

2025-12-18

Ween - Push th' Little Daisies

helmet hot fear strange

Eighteen Hundred Thousand - A dark portrait head in a red helmet or hood appears before a blue starry ground, with a white panel and red stars…

Eighteen Hundred Thousand

2025-12-13

Jean Dawson - Prize Fighter

helmet red sun / red star resolve boxer

Sam Altman - A young face appears on the left with mismatched eye colors, while a large black-brown mass or animal-like shape…

Sam Altman

2025-09-30

Computerwife - Ignore Facts

machine watchful fear color guy

Faces (Clown Girl) - A clown-like face with red mouth and yellow-green facial patches is surrounded by dark purple, pink, and cream…

Faces (Clown Girl)

group

2025-05-29

Pharrell Williams - Happy

faces smile mask fool/hero

Faces (Pearl Earring) - A pale blue and pink face with long hair or veil sits against a vivid pink and gray ground, with a small blue facial…

Faces (Pearl Earring)

group

2025-05-29

faces identity portrait

Faces (Sharkbait) - A blue, shark-like or mask-like face fills the frame with small red eyes and a vertical central mark.

Faces (Sharkbait)

group

2025-05-29

cool faces frown mask

Faces (Thinker) - A skull-like head with bright blue eye openings and dripping yellow paint sits against gray-brown textured paint.

Faces (Thinker)

group

2025-05-29

skull faces frown mask

Sensitive Young Fascist - A pale, worried face with blue eyes and messy hair is set against a deep burgundy background and black shirt.

Sensitive Young Fascist

2025-05-16

Yves Tumor - Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood…

lonely fear resolve contemporary lane

Common Bitch (Self Portrait) - A gray bulldog-like head wearing a black-and-white ruff or collar stares forward against a brown background.

Common Bitch (Self Portrait)

2025-04-11

The Voidz - Business Dog

tie resolve cartoon animal

Oobi Groupie - A soft pale face-like form with sparse blue dots and pink marks emerges from a loose beige and gray field.

Oobi Groupie

2025-03-23

Passion Pit - Folds in Your Hands

flower contemporary lane hand eyes

Box Monster - A large yellow-green and black face-like form is built from smeared paint, with blue lower blocks and red-white side…

Box Monster

B-side

2025-02-25

Yves Tumor - Noid

skull gloves boxer identity

Skrillex Hair - A yellow-green head with dark hair fills a brown-black field, with large red letters spelling SKRILLEX at top and…

Skrillex Hair

2025-02-25

kitty ray - $krillionaire

skull tie frown cartoon

Alfonzo’s Portrait - A large brown-faced figure with a white hood or surrounding shape holds a microphone-like object against a white…

Alfonzo’s Portrait

2024-08-01

collaboration blue text: RED frown blue text

Bastard Writing - A ruled notebook page is filled with red and blue scribbles, faces, circles, arrows, and handwritten phrases.

Bastard Writing

2023-02-25

fear collage memory teeth

Mixed Media Mess - A top-down mixed-media sheet is covered with blue tape-like strips, red and black paint, paper fragments, and…

Mixed Media Mess

group

2022-10-03

mixed media Girardian collage expressionist

Mixed Media Monster - A horizontal mixed-media sheet is dominated by blue and red looping marks and dense layered scribbles across white…

Mixed Media Monster

group

2022-08-31

mixed media Girardian collage teeth

Auditions for the Rose Bowl Parade - A vertical panel shows stacked small face panels at left, two large round-headed figures at center/right, and white…

Auditions for the Rose Bowl Parade

2026-03-30

Ween - Hey There Fancypants

ping pong helmet stage / ring wings / flying

Mural - A room or bathroom wall is photographed with large loose painted lines and objects visible in the room, documenting…

Mural

2021-12-01

mural collaboration interior portrait

William Stanley Moore - A warm orange-red memorial-like painting shows a standing man in a hat at right and a pale portrait head at lower…

William Stanley Moore

2025-07-11

The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

solemn tie jacket memory

Table Tennis - A gray, scraped interior-like field shows a large foreground hand over a dark circular head or paddle form, with a…

Table Tennis

2026-05-21

MF DOOM - Kon Karne

crown ping pong tense tie

Bad Day - A face surfaces out of weather — frown, ringed eyes, a storm of marks that won't settle.

Bad Day

2022-01-10

frown eyes expressionist abstraction

Beautiful People - Two faces through a red window grid — an embrace seen from outside, half-dissolved.

Beautiful People

B-side

2025-07-27

Holden - Ce Que Je Suis

strange memory doubling interior

Broken by Superbed (Aryeh) - Black balaclava head, pale eyes and mouth — the face reduced to three openings.

Broken by Superbed (Aryeh)

group

2025-06-18

Jean Dawson & Rusowsky - KINKI FIGARO

fear mask contemporary lane eyes

Broken by Superbed (Rachel) - Mid-speech portrait — mouth open, necklace, the orange band burning at the corner.

Broken by Superbed (Rachel)

group

2025-06-18

Jean Dawson & Rusowsky - KINKI FIGARO

frown contemporary lane identity portrait

TIIM Player - Brown helmet-head with a red grin band on purple; TIIM in black overhead.

TIIM Player

B-side

2025-06-04

Jean Dawson - Triple Double

teeth mask cartoon text

Burnout - A pale field holding one smudged dark head — almost gone.

Burnout

B-side

2020-12-22

negative space lonely ghost expressionist

Cassius - A blue-jacketed figure stands at left beside a pale bust against a dark green field, with large vertical black…

Cassius

2026-06-15

Ugly (UK) - Hands of Man

solemn blue jacket gloves resolve

And Your Bird Can Sting - A portrait-like face fills the lower half of the painting under large red ME GUSTA text.

And Your Bird Can Sting

2026-07-09

Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be

red text boxer icon cartoon

Hollow Purple - A portrait-format painting shows Michael Jackson smiling against a red field, with a white rhinestone glove covering…

Hollow Purple

2026-07-11

Michael Jackson - Blue Gangsta

glove halo sunburst exposed ground

The New Don Quixote - A portrait-format painting shows a dark-skinned figure in a green suit, white shirt, and red jester cap standing…

The New Don Quixote

2026-07-12

Cassius Clay - Stand By Me

stool sword book Muhammad Ali

Saint Anthony - A portrait-format painting shows a faceless brown-haired figure in a black shirt and pale pants reaching toward a…

Saint Anthony

2026-07-14

MGNA Crrrta - $ome Drugzzz

faceless figure fish red fish saint

Rojo Como Yo - A portrait-format painting shows a crouched figure with a pale blue face, dark sweeping arms, a white shirt, purple…

Rojo Como Yo

2026-07-15

Kendrick Lamar - Poe Mans Dreams (His Vice) [feat. GLC]

crouched figure yellow text biblical figure Esau

Julian Casablancas - A landscape-format close-up portrait shows a blue-haired figure looking to the side with one hand covering the mouth.

Julian Casablancas

2026-07-16

The Strokes - Trying Your Luck

hand over mouth blue hair stage costume epaulet

Madonna - A landscape-format painting shows a light-haired figure in a red shirt with pale wrapped hands raised near the face.

Madonna

2026-07-17

Madonna - Lucky Star

hand wraps boxing stance red shirt star

Nerve Damage - A portrait-format painting shows two stacked mask-like faces.

Nerve Damage

2026-07-18

Pixies - I Bleed

stacked faces X eye crescent eye grin

All Day - A landscape-format painting shows Taylor Swift with orange-blonde hair, wearing a sleeveless black dress and a short…

All Day

2026-07-19

Kanye West - All Day (feat. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney)

closed eyes hands in hair dancing blonde hair

Travels With

figure 20 identity 15 mask 15 text 12 icon 11 eyes 11 teeth 10 fool/hero 10

Open Questions

When does a portrait become an icon?
Which portraits are likenesses, and which are roles?
What does the archive do when the face refuses to explain itself?

See Also

figure identity icon mask faces watchful