Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Mark your calendars

Paintings of the Mundane: Observations from inside the life of another at Blank Page Gallery, 917 W Douglas Wichita, KS. Using images taken while working temporarily as a part-time caregiver to a 100-year-old woman I give a glimpse into her life. I highlight the pedestrian moments that define her everyday activity and encapsulate my responsibilities to her.




Opening reception will be held Final Friday, June 27, 2008 7-10pm with live local music (musician TBA). Paintings of the Mundane will be on display June 27- July 10.

(all images from source photography)

Check back for more info.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Thesis Proposal...

Artist Statement:
The pressure to meet expectations in relationship to individuality is an experience that we all encounter in differing ways. There is a continual negotiation and renegotiation between what is expected and the actuality of the acting out of that expectation. It is the search for reconciliation of self within the framework of society, and it is common to all people. Within that search it is often the tangents away from the patterns that become the most authentic expressions of the individual.

My work explores patterns of social and behavioral expectation in relationship to individuality, particularly as it exists within the home. Through my work I am observing how individuals confront and express these expectations differently. I use visual patterns that have a more formal undertone (Damask and Paisley) to reference more formal or proper behaviors. I appropriate patterns from traditionally domestic decorative elements, such as fabric, wallpaper, plate ware, and furniture in order to draw attention back to the home in order to reconfigure notions of what “home” is. The work explores social “norms” and considers deviations from them as a means of tracking individual experience.

Through my work I prompt viewers to examine behavioral and social patterns of their own - inherited or self-constructed. Examination of perceived social expectations will in turn lead to an exploration of personal deviance from or adherence to these patterns, ultimately leaving the viewers to ask themselves if they are adapting to perceived “norms” or adapting the “norm” to better fit their circumstance.
(Sorry the pics are kind of crapy...)







PS- my proposal was accepted...I'm officially in thesis!