Noam Chomsky

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

Recently, I attended the Brattleboro Literary Festival (October 1-4, 2015). Also, I helped set-up various venues for the readers and authors, who, as you can imagine, have diverse backgrounds, literary genres, and subject matters. For example, author Laura J. Snyder, a TED speaker, discussed how in seventeenth-century Holland, scientists and artists alike sought the discoveries of nature through the microscope, the mirror, and the camera obscura. While another, Nina MacLaughlin wrote about the challenges of being a female carpenter in a male dominated occupation. 

I discovered a photograph of Noam Chomsky featured in the Brattleboro Literary Festival booklet. He was pictured in a promotional piece for his Requiem for the American Dream, with no identified photography credit. Between two of the readings I was taken by the depth of emotion that is evident in his expression, so I began to draw Chomsky from this photograph. The eyes in my version are a bit more reflective or contemplative than in the photo. I find subtle unconscious changes emerge as I draw, whether in tweaking an eye or aging someone. Drawing regularly can provide powerful insight; it is fascinating to look at someone and imagine how they may age.

I'm not sure if I will bother to complete the top of the head.  I have learned along the way that there are occasions when you do not have to draw the whole head to get the essence or the expression. The shape of the mouth and the eyes convey so much. In fact, capturing the eyes alone with accuracy can be enough. There is much truth in the cliche of the soul being in the eyes.