After spending six months abroad, I arrived home and realized that I saw the world completely differently. It was like I grew four inches and had an entirely new perspective. Now that I know more about other cultures and how they compare with my own, I am more aware of my surroundings and the impact they have on me. This series of screen prints focuses on the impact of multiculturalism, specifically with my perspective on the cultures I became acquainted with on my travels. Being abroad exposed me to Asian, S.E Asian, European, Scandinavian, and Latin American cultures. The body of work before you explores the differences while highlighting the similarities between cultures. Whether it is through ourselves, our religion, beliefs, or practices, we all are more similar than we know. The screen prints are sized to be like extra-large postcards. I love this motif because it reinforces the movement and fluidity involved in travel. It harks on the physicality of moving as a person, but it also alludes to how ideas, culture, knowledge, and these intangible things have the ability to move as well. The screen prints were made with two different screens using techniques and materials like screen filler and photo emulsion, rainbow rolls, and inverted stencils. I took realistic images and gave them a more graphic quality in order to accent their connections. The figures are not identical, yet they look alike because of the manner they were manipulated in. I used my color choices as another way to stress this along with creating an appropriate mood for the figures.
In my recent work, I have been interested in exploring the concept of control and the ongoing struggle for or against it (in what context?). My print series entitled “a psychopath is still a path” is an attempt to investigate the nature of the psychological state of psychopaths and the manner in which they are viewed by the public at large. Both are exceedingly messy and mixed areas. By definition, psychopaths are generally understood to have no control over urges and carry out actions that a “normal” person would consider anti-social or dangerous. Many psychopaths behave irrationally, but maintain a poise that is disturbing to others. In this behavior, there is an underlining tension between chaos and control, of being something at once volatile and measured. Outsiders (or people who do not engage in psychopathic tendencies) tend to at once be fearful and fascinated by people with this mental condition. I am attempting to communicate these concepts by using humor, to almost flip the “deviant” behavior by putting it in a positive light. Thus, I have created what one might be call a “self help book” that goes in the other, or what some might call wrong, direction. I have chosen to do this series using screen printing because of the flat quality that screen printing lends to work. This inherent attribute of the medium mirrors the sort of emotional detachment that is associated with the mental state of psychopaths as well as using the same graphic quality that most pamphlets and brochures have. In doing this I am peaking into a peculiar and unexpected world, one that I hope unnerves and fascinates the viewer.
As an artist I am interested in creating images that make the viewer reflect on aspects of the world that would not normally be considered. On one level, questions of living according to social norms and the perspective of being inside the mind of a socially unacceptable individual, such as Nikola Tesla, are considered. Tesla, the creator of alternating current, which is the electricity that we use today, created hundreds of other useful inventions. He was never accepted by society due to his severe psychological matters, such as a fear of women and an obsession with birds. Also reflected in my art are uncertainties of what is considered acceptable with the use of the technological advances of Tesla’s ideas in the modern ere. I incorporate Tesla’s personal difficulties concerning his inner turmoil while trying to function and interact within the world as the basis for the narrative behind my work. I integrate his inventions regarding electricity and imagery that are symbols of some of his more idiosyncratic personality traits. Using screen printing allows for a flat, graphic depiction of an image, which aids in the concept of the work; revealing the simplicity and truth behind complicated ideas and a misunderstood personality. Screen printing also comes across unrealistic, with the lack of detail and the use of brilliant colors, which adds to the mythical quality of Tesla and his ideas.
Growing up in the state of Florida, I have watched development and population growth change the environment around me. Through my courses in environmental studies in college, I have slowly realized that not only is this ugly industry of suburban sprawl expanding across our nation, but it is also destroying the habitat of our native animals. In a relatively short time, human have transformed native lands into parking lots, highways and shopping malls leaving behind abandoned, degraded fragments of natural wilderness for animals to inhabit. . With so little wild space to occupy, these animals must spill over into non-native habitats. If no territory is left for these panthers, bears, tortoises, foxes, and other native animals, then where will they flourish? Through a specific use of color, my print series work references how human made environments have stolen natural land from native animals. The backgrounds of these images depict Walmarts and junkyards, but the colors represent local Florida habitats, reminiscent of the everglades, wetlands, forested uplands and the scrub. The animals I have chosen to illustrate are animals that face habitat degradation fragmentation at an alarming rate. Populations are in decline and suffering from lack genetic diversity due to such small population sizes. We have forced this struggle upon our native animals by neglecting to develop our landscape in a sustainable manner. Through my art, I hope people look at the landscape in a different manner- and ask themselves what they think should naturally exist in their surrounding environment.
My project deals with the contradictions in the ways that college-age heterosexual relationships develop. Through the use of color and composition I am attempting to portray the void that is left when physical intimacy comes before emotional intimacy. In these screep prints I am using photographs from my senior project involoving the same content as a basis for each image. This process begins by taking black and white photographs of my models, then translating them into stencils for the screen. Color, line, and sapce become important in conveying the emotions between the two subjects to the viewer. I am attempting to use like colors throughout the series to attach the images to one another. The male in the pieces becomes more anonymous as his face is diminished from the grame. The bright colors are used to push the images on to the viewer in an abrasive manner. This mirrors how these issues are pushed on to people in life in a way they almost can never avoid.
Monuments found throughout many cultures, symbolize historic events or memorials of a population’s cultural heritage. As an Anthropology major, the diverse view of memorializing found among cultures fascinated me. The body of work I have created encompasses an alternative view of how monuments should be represented, built and maintained, while also displacing them from their current environment, as monuments are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location. By choosing specific world-renowned monuments, shrinking them in size and placing them within nature away from their original contexts, I am attempting to challenge our western perception of the function of the monument. The series depicts monuments as ghost images in white with black silhouettes to signify the possibility of passerby seeing the once grand object as a mere roadside attraction.
I grew up in a quiet suburb, and wasn’t exposed to city life until much later. During my first trip to New York, I remember being in awe of the giant spaces created, yet being crushed together with others down narrow entrances and exits. I remember being forced to turn left here, walk through a revolving door that literally cut me off from my parents, and separated by others in stairways. My visits to New York as a child and stays in Rome when I became older showed me the importance in architectural choices as far as managing the movement of individuals. Cities are monumental gathering places for people. Any given day, there can be millions of people crammed together, rushing past one another. Urban architecture is made to accommodate these moving masses, it is an attempt to create order and control over individuals and their actions. Most interestingly, while pushing people together physically, it separates them emotionally. That isolation created in the city can be so dehumanizing. My work shows show everyday urban spaces separate individuals. Cut off from people through a revolving door, forced to walk apart on a split street, or stuck on separate escalators, the individuals are silhouetted to show how depersonalized they are. With the use of screen printing, I am able to layer and blend many colors. White, yellow, and orange show the lights of the city. Brown and gray are the dirt and grime. Blue, purple, and black are the shadows and the night. Forms are inexact and sketchy, a reference to the quick movements in the city. Each scene only contains two individuals. They are isolated from society, and from each other.
In my series of screen prints, I have chosen to explore the subject of personal growth, balance and development through culturally spiritual practices. I am using imagery representing gods, goddesses, and symbols from Hindu religion. I chose to commence my series with a powerful image of Ganesha, the lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. In Hinduism, he is also worshiped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. I wanted this print to set the tone for the rest of my series; my objective is to depict a process wherein one could reach an inner spiritual balance. For my second print, I decided to make the series more personal by using an image of myself portrayed as Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, prosperity, wisdom, generosity and courage. This image represents the “goal of life.” The third print depicts me as Shiva, who is Lord of the dance, goodness, humility, and every good quality a human should have. Finally, the last image is the most powerful Hindu symbol, pranava or OM. The entire symbol represents the fourth state, which is the awareness of one's own spiritual identity, completely the journey that I have created through my prints. The use of bright acid colors reference pop art, I want to transform these images from solely religious iconography to a personal exploration of pop imagery through screen prints. The series represents the personal journey that I have embarked on, transcending Hindu symbology in order to reach my own sense of balance and harmony.
As a student majoring in critical media and cultural studies, I have researched the effect western hegemony has on our culture’s ideal of body image. As a culture we are bombarded with messages telling us women need to be thin and men have to be muscular. Through my print series I will show the cultural hegemony on body image and how we try to modify ourselves to fit this ideal. The prints will progress into a solution of accepting our bodies instead of playing into the dominant notions of the media. My first print signifies how the images in the media are funneled in our brains on an everyday basis. The next piece shows the extremes we go to, to fix our imperfections; such as cosmetic surgery. The third one symbolizes the realization that our world is full of a variety of body shapes and sizes. It expresses that there is not one body type that defines beauty. The final print is a self-representation accepting and loving ones body, in this case my own body. Throughout the series I have used real images and manipulated them in Photoshop to bring a realistic element to each piece. I used a palette of vivid hues to convey the connection these issues have to advertising in the media.
Throughout my life I have developed a keen interest in psychology and how individuals view the world. In this print series I am focusing more closely on children’s perceptions of the world and how they believe the world might perceive them. In the works I have created thus far, I have incorporated symbols from Alice in Wonderland, a childhood story that highlights a child’s struggle against growing up. Each of my prints depicts an Alice-like character (modeled more after the original dark-haired Alice Liddell) shown taking a journey through different environments. On her journey, Lacie, as I have wryly named her, will come across different people and situations. I focus on recapturing the wonder of childhood imagination, and juxtapose this with the unthinking cruelty characteristic of children. While Lacie discovers the world and runs into trouble, I have been recovering my old way of thinking and seeing the world. Adulthood, and the expectations that come with it, tends to blind and bind people. As a child, I did not know everything but I did know my own mind. In a way, this series is about finding that balance between one’s childhood perceptions and those we acquire in adulthood. By using screen-printing to create solid lines and bold colors I am creating an illustrative look for the series like that of a children’s book.
In this series of screenprints, I have chosen to bring to light the unrealistic expectations of beauty with which women are faced with in our society. In my work I emphasize the extremes to which women go to arrive at a blatant exaggeration of the female form. I seek to blur the line between what is perceived as "high-fashion" and that which looks sickly. Having struggles with anorexia in the past, I draw upon my own personal experiences in an attempt to depict not only the morbidity of the fashion world, but also the strained eloquence expressed through sickness and frailty. These elongated female forms are an extension of myself, meant to mimic the poses of fashion models while probing the question: what is real beauty? I am working with this subject matter through screenprinting because of the innate flat quality which directly relates to the shallow nature of fashion and beauty. The process of creating layers also allows for elegant linework to prevail throughout my series and unify my pieces.
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After spending six months abroad, I arrived home and realized that I saw the world completely differently. It was like I grew four inches and had an entirely new perspective. Now that I know more about other cultures and how they compare with my own, I am more aware of my surroundings and the impact they have on me. This series of screen prints focuses on the impact of multiculturalism, specifically with my perspective on the cultures I became acquainted with on my travels. Being abroad exposed me to Asian, S.E Asian, European, Scandinavian, and Latin American cultures. The body of work before you explores the differences while highlighting the similarities between cultures. Whether it is through ourselves, our religion, beliefs, or practices, we all are more similar than we know. The screen prints are sized to be like extra-large postcards. I love this motif because it reinforces the movement and fluidity involved in travel. It harks on the physicality of moving as a person, but it also alludes to how ideas, culture, knowledge, and these intangible things have the ability to move as well. The screen prints were made with two different screens using techniques and materials like screen filler and photo emulsion, rainbow rolls, and inverted stencils. I took realistic images and gave them a more graphic quality in order to accent their connections. The figures are not identical, yet they look alike because of the manner they were manipulated in. I used my color choices as another way to stress this along with creating an appropriate mood for the figures.
In my recent work, I have been interested in exploring the concept of control and the ongoing struggle for or against it (in what context?). My print series entitled “a psychopath is still a path” is an attempt to investigate the nature of the psychological state of psychopaths and the manner in which they are viewed by the public at large. Both are exceedingly messy and mixed areas. By definition, psychopaths are generally understood to have no control over urges and carry out actions that a “normal” person would consider anti-social or dangerous. Many psychopaths behave irrationally, but maintain a poise that is disturbing to others. In this behavior, there is an underlining tension between chaos and control, of being something at once volatile and measured. Outsiders (or people who do not engage in psychopathic tendencies) tend to at once be fearful and fascinated by people with this mental condition. I am attempting to communicate these concepts by using humor, to almost flip the “deviant” behavior by putting it in a positive light. Thus, I have created what one might be call a “self help book” that goes in the other, or what some might call wrong, direction.
I have chosen to do this series using screen printing because of the flat quality that screen printing lends to work. This inherent attribute of the medium mirrors the sort of emotional detachment that is associated with the mental state of psychopaths as well as using the same graphic quality that most pamphlets and brochures have. In doing this I am peaking into a peculiar and unexpected world, one that I hope unnerves and fascinates the viewer.
As an artist I am interested in creating images that make the viewer reflect on aspects of the world that would not normally be considered. On one level, questions of living according to social norms and the perspective of being inside the mind of a socially unacceptable individual, such as Nikola Tesla, are considered. Tesla, the creator of alternating current, which is the electricity that we use today, created hundreds of other useful inventions. He was never accepted by society due to his severe psychological matters, such as a fear of women and an obsession with birds. Also reflected in my art are uncertainties of what is considered acceptable with the use of the technological advances of Tesla’s ideas in the modern ere. I incorporate Tesla’s personal difficulties concerning his inner turmoil while trying to function and interact within the world as the basis for the narrative behind my work. I integrate his inventions regarding electricity and imagery that are symbols of some of his more idiosyncratic personality traits. Using screen printing allows for a flat, graphic depiction of an image, which aids in the concept of the work; revealing the simplicity and truth behind complicated ideas and a misunderstood personality. Screen printing also comes across unrealistic, with the lack of detail and the use of brilliant colors, which adds to the mythical quality of Tesla and his ideas.
Growing up in the state of Florida, I have watched development and population growth change the environment around me. Through my courses in environmental studies in college, I have slowly realized that not only is this ugly industry of suburban sprawl expanding across our nation, but it is also destroying the habitat of our native animals. In a relatively short time, human have transformed native lands into parking lots, highways and shopping malls leaving behind abandoned, degraded fragments of natural wilderness for animals to inhabit. .
With so little wild space to occupy, these animals must spill over into non-native habitats. If no territory is left for these panthers, bears, tortoises, foxes, and other native animals, then where will they flourish?
Through a specific use of color, my print series work references how human made environments have stolen natural land from native animals. The backgrounds of these images depict Walmarts and junkyards, but the colors represent local Florida habitats, reminiscent of the everglades, wetlands, forested uplands and the scrub. The animals I have chosen to illustrate are animals that face habitat degradation fragmentation at an alarming rate. Populations are in decline and suffering from lack genetic diversity due to such small population sizes. We have forced this struggle upon our native animals by neglecting to develop our landscape in a sustainable manner. Through my art, I hope people look at the landscape in a different manner- and ask themselves what they think should naturally exist in their surrounding environment.
My project deals with the contradictions in the ways that college-age heterosexual relationships develop. Through the use of color and composition I am attempting to portray the void that is left when physical intimacy comes before emotional intimacy. In these screep prints I am using photographs from my senior project involoving the same content as a basis for each image. This process begins by taking black and white photographs of my models, then translating them into stencils for the screen. Color, line, and sapce become important in conveying the emotions between the two subjects to the viewer. I am attempting to use like colors throughout the series to attach the images to one another. The male in the pieces becomes more anonymous as his face is diminished from the grame. The bright colors are used to push the images on to the viewer in an abrasive manner. This mirrors how these issues are pushed on to people in life in a way they almost can never avoid.
Monuments found throughout many cultures, symbolize historic events or memorials of a population’s cultural heritage. As an Anthropology major, the diverse view of memorializing found among cultures fascinated me. The body of work I have created encompasses an alternative view of how monuments should be represented, built and maintained, while also displacing them from their current environment, as monuments are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location. By choosing specific world-renowned monuments, shrinking them in size and placing them within nature away from their original contexts, I am attempting to challenge our western perception of the function of the monument. The series depicts monuments as ghost images in white with black silhouettes to signify the possibility of passerby seeing the once grand object as a mere roadside attraction.
I grew up in a quiet suburb, and wasn’t exposed to city life until much later. During my first trip to New York, I remember being in awe of the giant spaces created, yet being crushed together with others down narrow entrances and exits. I remember being forced to turn left here, walk through a revolving door that literally cut me off from my parents, and separated by others in stairways. My visits to New York as a child and stays in Rome when I became older showed me the importance in architectural choices as far as managing the movement of individuals. Cities are monumental gathering places for people. Any given day, there can be millions of people crammed together, rushing past one another. Urban architecture is made to accommodate these moving masses, it is an attempt to create order and control over individuals and their actions. Most interestingly, while pushing people together physically, it separates them emotionally. That isolation created in the city can be so dehumanizing.
My work shows show everyday urban spaces separate individuals. Cut off from people through a revolving door, forced to walk apart on a split street, or stuck on separate escalators, the individuals are silhouetted to show how depersonalized they are. With the use of screen printing, I am able to layer and blend many colors. White, yellow, and orange show the lights of the city. Brown and gray are the dirt and grime. Blue, purple, and black are the shadows and the night. Forms are inexact and sketchy, a reference to the quick movements in the city. Each scene only contains two individuals. They are isolated from society, and from each other.
In my series of screen prints, I have chosen to explore the subject of personal growth, balance and development through culturally spiritual practices. I am using imagery representing gods, goddesses, and symbols from Hindu religion. I chose to commence my series with a powerful image of Ganesha, the lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. In Hinduism, he is also worshiped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. I wanted this print to set the tone for the rest of my series; my objective is to depict a process wherein one could reach an inner spiritual balance. For my second print, I decided to make the series more personal by using an image of myself portrayed as Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, prosperity, wisdom, generosity and courage. This image represents the “goal of life.” The third print depicts me as Shiva, who is Lord of the dance, goodness, humility, and every good quality a human should have. Finally, the last image is the most powerful Hindu symbol, pranava or OM. The entire symbol represents the fourth state, which is the awareness of one's own spiritual identity, completely the journey that I have created through my prints. The use of bright acid colors reference pop art, I want to transform these images from solely religious iconography to a personal exploration of pop imagery through screen prints. The series represents the personal journey that I have embarked on, transcending Hindu symbology in order to reach my own sense of balance and harmony.
As a student majoring in critical media and cultural studies, I have researched the effect western hegemony has on our culture’s ideal of body image. As a culture we are bombarded with messages telling us women need to be thin and men have to be muscular. Through my print series I will show the cultural hegemony on body image and how we try to modify ourselves to fit this ideal. The prints will progress into a solution of accepting our bodies instead of playing into the dominant notions of the media. My first print signifies how the images in the media are funneled in our brains on an everyday basis. The next piece shows the extremes we go to, to fix our imperfections; such as cosmetic surgery. The third one symbolizes the realization that our world is full of a variety of body shapes and sizes. It expresses that there is not one body type that defines beauty. The final print is a self-representation accepting and loving ones body, in this case my own body. Throughout the series I have used real images and manipulated them in Photoshop to bring a realistic element to each piece. I used a palette of vivid hues to convey the connection these issues have to advertising in the media.
Throughout my life I have developed a keen interest in psychology and how individuals view the world. In this print series I am focusing more closely on children’s perceptions of the world and how they believe the world might perceive them. In the works I have created thus far, I have incorporated symbols from Alice in Wonderland, a childhood story that highlights a child’s struggle against growing up. Each of my prints depicts an Alice-like character (modeled more after the original dark-haired Alice Liddell) shown taking a journey through different environments. On her journey, Lacie, as I have wryly named her, will come across different people and situations. I focus on recapturing the wonder of childhood imagination, and juxtapose this with the unthinking cruelty characteristic of children. While Lacie discovers the world and runs into trouble, I have been recovering my old way of thinking and seeing the world. Adulthood, and the expectations that come with it, tends to blind and bind people. As a child, I did not know everything but I did know my own mind. In a way, this series is about finding that balance between one’s childhood perceptions and those we acquire in adulthood. By using screen-printing to create solid lines and bold colors I am creating an illustrative look for the series like that of a children’s book.
In this series of screenprints, I have chosen to bring to light the unrealistic expectations of beauty with which women are faced with in our society. In my work I emphasize the extremes to which women go to arrive at a blatant exaggeration of the female form. I seek to blur the line between what is perceived as "high-fashion" and that which looks sickly. Having struggles with anorexia in the past, I draw upon my own personal experiences in an attempt to depict not only the morbidity of the fashion world, but also the strained eloquence expressed through sickness and frailty. These elongated female forms are an extension of myself, meant to mimic the poses of fashion models while probing the question: what is real beauty?
I am working with this subject matter through screenprinting because of the innate flat quality which directly relates to the shallow nature of fashion and beauty. The process of creating layers also allows for elegant linework to prevail throughout my series and unify my pieces.
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