"I wanted to translate from one flat surface to another. In fact, my learning disabilities controlled a lot of things. I don't recognize faces, so I'm sure it's what drove me to portraits in the first place"

Definitely! In this quote, distinguished American artist Chuck Close assesses the profound impact his learning disabilities had on his profession and creative choices. Close is popular for his large-scale, photorealistic pictures, and here he provides a glimpse into the individual inspirations behind his focus on this subject matter.

When he states, "I wished to translate from one flat surface to another", Close is referring to his creative process. As a painter, his job is essentially to interpret the three-dimensional world and represent it on a two-dimensional canvas. This translation procedure is crucial to the visual arts, where the challenge is in precisely recording depth, emotion, and detail on a flat surface.

Close's reference of his discovering impairments reveals a deeply individual connection to his work. He struggled with prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder typically described as "face loss of sight", which hinders the capability to acknowledge faces. Interestingly, this difficulty-- commonly viewed as a downside-- became an effective driving force behind his art. His failure to recognize faces most likely propelled him towards producing pictures, an ironic twist where his profession focused intensively on faces.

His technique to art might likewise reflect a much deeper mental need to engage with the human face, possibly as an attempt to better comprehend it in spite of his impairment. Each picture ends up being a workout in decoding and translating the subtleties of the human visage, helping Close bridge the gap his condition created between him and others. The accuracy and focus needed to paint them might have used him a method to check out and perhaps alleviate his difficulties in acknowledging faces.

Lastly, Close's quote underscores how personal challenges can end up being catalysts for innovative expression. His specials needs could have been an impediment, however rather, they distinctively formed his iconic body of work. His portraits stand as a testimony to his perseverance, demonstrating how individual constraints can sustain innovation and creative accomplishment.