I depict the beauty in the transience of life through the display of women posed in self-defined expressions of beauty, set in unconventional multimedia backgrounds meant to evolve with time.
My work emphasizes the impermanence of a piece of art—the inability for it to remain in one state forever. My concept stems from the 17th century genre of Vanitas which drives my creation of pieces that change subtly with time according to their environment. As pieces are exposed to UV intensity, air particulates, etc., their underlying chemistry evolves, and with it, so does the viewer’s experience. Unlike Vanitas, my work does not deal with the rejection of earthly pleasures or memento mori. Rather, it is concerned with the metamorphosis of beauty as time marches toward the inevitable end of existence--
a celebration of the course of life and the idea that all is in a perpetual state of change. As tribute to this beauty, I render delicate, blind-contour lines drawn from flora in the final stages of life. I call this Vanitas line work. The curls and twists of the petals, leaves, and stems pull one into a disappearing world as the line quality vanishes. The effect leaves the viewer to imagine where the form would have pulled them—perhaps moving them closer to see more subtle aesthetics of the piece. I believe that an artwork’s story is as interesting as its freshly finished state. How each particular piece was created is the work’s exchange with the artist. Yet the work’s conversation with the spectator continues after it leaves the artist’s hands. These stories are not for me to write for the painting; it is for the painting and the viewers to experience. Consequently, in the creation of my work, I am concerned with the use of materials that may change gradually over time, allowing the possibilities of such stories to bloom for the work of art. To me the interplay of art and science is significant. I have a deep need to connect with and explore art in a scientific way. Historically, experimenting with the production and interaction of media has been part of the artist’s process. Alongside searching for interactions that promote metamorphosis, I constantly search for pigment-rich materials in my surroundings from which I may harvest color. I collect and create pigments from plant matter, minerals, spices, metals and their patinas, and other obscure originations. The chemical reactions behind color and its longevity fascinate me. The variables of natural color—the intensity, lightfastness, hue, etc.—are vast depending on the time of year or location of harvest; thus, the results are difficult to predict. What I find captivating about the pigments I create is that some are alive and therefore have a finite lifetime. The process of experimenting to create pigments is essential to my work. With these handcrafted pigments I create abstract backgrounds in accordance with my Vanitas line work. These backgrounds are meant to interact with their environment and subtly alter their appearance. As a result, these procedures give me the ability to manipulate archival and non-archival materials in an effort to control what I can in a piece of art. To tap into the life cycle of art one needs to become aware of art's changes and embrace them. A piece of work changed from its finished state could be viewed as imperfect and in need of restoration. By embracing imperfection, one understands and ultimately accepts imperfection as perfect. The opinions of perfection and beauty often fail to take the importance of self-definition at face-value. My approach to display women in self-defined expressions of beauty is intentional with the hope to strike the debate over ‘male gaze,’ ‘female gaze,’ and ‘gaze’ itself. I find this important because of the differing opinions of beauty across cultures, generations, and as times change. We do not always sympathize with the concept of a woman presenting herself in the way ‘she’ perceives herself as beautiful, especially when her perception is at odds with the opinion of the viewer. Ultimately, the illumination and reclamation of self outweigh the opinions of the spectator. Through photo sessions with models, I record such self-defined expressions of beauty. During these encounters, it is important that the model is comfortable so she can display herself in ways she identifies as beautiful. The display of nudity in my work lends to the woman’s acceptance of vulnerability and the allowance of another seeing her as she sees herself. From there, I choose the photograph that fits my painting compositionally. The figure is then added using oil paint to a background consisting of handmade pigments. The contrast of archival and non-archival media results in differing rates of evolution. The figure is immortalized in archival media while surrounded by the evolving handmade colors. While times change, cultural views shift, and the woman herself ages, the depiction of her self-defined beauty remains unchanged. |
Education
B.F.A., Painting, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2008 Minor, Art History, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2008 Certificate, Women’s Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2008 News . . . |