Senior Exhibition

Oh this post is embarrassingly overdue. But in my defense, life has been nonstop since graduation (I had this silly delusion that it would slow down at least for a moment). A lot of great things have happened: first sale of a figure, first gallery show at the Meltem Birey Gallery in Philly...first day of grad school today! Yes, I'm working on my Masters of Art in Teaching at MICA now. In the next month or so I will have images of new work to post from my MAT thesis "Before, Behind, Between, Above, Below"

My senior exhibition was titled "What is Woman?" located in MICA's Decker Gallery consisted of four figures dealing with various aspects of gender construction. It seemed like a tremendous success to me, and I got some great feedback.

This is the artist statement I had posted at the show:

The figure is a natural form of expression for my thoughts. Ideas manifest themselves as bodily gestures. The female nude is a deeply rooted representation in the history of art, which establishes a cultural context within which I must work, while providing a springboard from which I can develop the concepts of my art. When creating my work I also consider that human experience begins in the consciousness of the self and body in relation to objects and space. The gesture of the figures is an element the audience can feel, relate to, and ponder.

My work is concerned with issues of feminism in Western society, particularly sexual power structures and gender binaries. Gender is a misconceived notion by society at large. What is Woman? Through whose eyes are we seeing our gender, our world, and ourselves? How should we define gender? My figures aren’t answers to any questions, but they are the results of examining how we interact with, respond to, and act within those socially erected structures.

Education is power, so I read everything from Simone de Beauvior to daily blogs to learn about feminist issues. I also spend time observing and gathering information about gender and sexuality from contemporary culture, including movies, music, the media, and politics, as well as the people in my daily life; peers, teachers, students, and my family. Drawing heavily from this research and autobiographical experiences, my work is often critical, sometimes humorous, but most importantly empowering.

Expectations, 2009

Hey Baby, 2009-2010

Pistil and Stamen, 2009-2010

It's not sexist, it just looks better, 2010

Here's a look at my beautifully designed showcards and business cards courtesy of my great friend and brilliant designer Andy Mangold