Ars Gratia Artis: 2009

 I Am.

I have always had a fascination with personality traits, understanding them, accepting them, rejoicing in the flaws and quirks that make an individual, so it was natural for me to be drawn to portraits. When I studied the self-portraits of Durer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh I saw how each portrait showed a new aspect of the artist, showing an evolution of the art and their identity. I wanted to take a new approach to what a portrait contains, I wanted to show who the person really is and not just a physical representation.
The inspiration for this show, or at least the beginning idea, came from life. In high school I had issues with people judging me based on my appearance or just one aspect of my personality. In creating a show that literally breaks down a personality into single traits, I needed a way to convey that a person is more than just one characteristic, so the puzzle pieces became a huge part of my message.  

Each piece is a unique part of the person, a way to convey who they are and not just what the world always sees. It is the small pieces of a person that creates of a whole. With each new piece, a different aspect, a different piece of the puzzle, needed to be captured. Due to the separation of the personality, a duality is created that exists within each person. With myself I used body image as a way to possesses my own duality with my looks. The two pieces, I Am Ugly and I Am Beautiful, serve to create a tension between being beautiful and ugly. And it is in the duality that people find a balance, a balance that makes them whole.   

The casting process is used to give a life size representation to add dimension to each piece. The cast allows me to place a tangible representation of the person on each piece. The three dimensional element allows a mood and space to be created just as Edward Kienholz. The drawings that are on each piece serve to clarify aspects of the person, to add yet another element to the work. The life size drawings are the assembled whole, the person as they are seen from on a physical level.   As you take in the show, I invite you to take a look at yourself, to try and find what pieces make you a unique individual to the world.