Kourtney Stone
Digital Portfolio
What is Woman?, Rives, Ink, Charcoal, 42 in. x 29.5 in., Fall 2007
Even before my introduction to Simone de Beauvior, I was contemplating the cultural labels that define our lives and identities. How do you define woman, women, and Woman? What makes you a woman? What does it mean to be Woman? It's not the breasts; she has none. It's not the genitalia; hers are obscured. It's not the reproductive organs; hers are gone. It's not her hair; she has none. She is Woman.
(Untitled), approx. 2 in. x 3.5 in., o.b.® tampon box, rubber, string, Fall 2007
Changing the material will change the function of an object. Tampons are a discrete, less messy way to contain our human nature. Why stop there? Plug her up, and make it stop completely.
Sisterhood, screenprinted fabric, Spring 2008
Because sometimes art should be funny. Women unite.
If You Can’t Beat Them, approx. 6 feet tall, Japanese Maple, glass, Fall 2007
If You Can’t Beat Them (detail), approx. 6 feet tall, Japanese Maple, glass, Fall 2007
For as far as we think we have come with equal rights, there are still many glass ceilings and obstacles imbedded in society. Instead of knocking them down, and changing how it works, we've changed how we work. We've grown around them.
Untitled (Cast of the Negative Space of the Body), approx. 19 in. x 17 in. x 23 in., plaster, Fall 2007
The body is the origin of physical experience. Through the experience of an object we become aware of the space around us and our personal sphere of motion. This object captures the space around a person sitting in a stool.
Victoria’s Secret, porcelain, glaze, luster, 13 inches tall, Fall 2008
Porcelain is a material deeply rooted in history. It is a symbol of wealth and luxury. Lavishly decorated, Victorian porcelain pitchers were a status of wealth related to women's hygiene cosmetics. Today, women use brand name cosmetics and hygiene products as status symbols, such as Lancôme, Estée Lauder, Clinique, Victoria's Secret, and Eve. I created a body of objects that recontextualize today's products to the scale and material of Victorian pitchers. At first I honored the commercial form, replicating it to scale. I then proceeded to abstract it as a way to honor the sexualization of the packaging of these products and the products themselves. Victoria's Secret, Eve, Eve II, Eve III, are selected from this body of work.
Eve, Porcelain, glaze, luster, 13 inches tall, Fall 2008
Eve II, Porcelain, glaze, luster, 13 inches tall, Fall 2008
Eve III, Porcelain, glaze, luster, 13 inches tall, Fall 2008
From the Inside Out (multiple views), Stoneware, underglaze, terra sigillata, glaze, luster, approx. 13 in. x 14 in., Fall 2008
My work often comes from the source of which I am most expert, my own life. A close mother figure in my life developed lung cancer. I created this sculpture as a tribute to the strength and peace of mind with which she faced this experience. I also created it as a way to cope with the discovery of corruption taking the body from the inside out, with no one knowing.
Homegrown (Why Can't I?) (multiple views), Stoneware, slip, glaze, decal, twine, approx. 8 in. x 9 in., Fall 2008
For all the simple pleasures of a rural upbringing, there is little conversation about simple human nature. In rural towns, sexuality is barely spoken of in whispers, so to a young girl curious about her blossoming sexuality, there is little help or information to be found. Through her environment, her legs are tied together, not to be spread, and she is never told why.
Artist Statement:
I deal with feminist and sometimes personal ideas. Issues of feminism in today’s society, such as the ways women are viewed especially in relation to forces such as marketing and consumerism, and the ways women view themselves, are some of the ideas I use. I draw heavily from research and autobiographical experiences. My work is sometimes humorous, often critical, but it is important that the work tries to be empowering also.
The figure is a natural form of expression for my thoughts. Ideas manifest themselves as gestures. The female nude itself is a universally recognizable image with a deep history in art. Body language is a universal vehicle for communication of ideas, unlike speech or writing. In relation to the kinesthetic awarenesses in a phenomenological-based experience, the gesture of the human body becomes another element the audience can feel, relate to, and ponder. The gestures of my figures are symbolic, which creates room for interpretation by others, because I cannot ignore their points of view.
Through the philosophy of phenomenology, which essentially says that all human experience extends from the consciousness of the self and body, I became aware of my love for objects and the intrusion of their volumes into our space. Ceramics is traditionally rooted in the art object. My art objects are about phenomenology and the gaze. How does one respond to this little person is his or her space? Is it a figurine or a person? If each object has "its own reality" how does it feel to be looking in on that reality? What if the little figurine is staring right back at you? What if it's not, are you invading its space? Perhaps her size is that of a figurine, but is her reality congruent?
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