My Artist Statement

Below is my artist statement for this semester. I've thought long and hard about this and I'm ready for the upcoming residency in January.

Artist Statement

The military trained me to look and act in a certain fashion, and compliance brought me rewards. Time spent in the service has had a lasting effect on me and I want my art to communicate this experience and my perception of the military. My experience in the Navy has created a great sense of pride, but also bitterness towards military requirements stifling my individuality through subservience. I translate the pride and enjoyment found in the structured military lifestyle, but at the same time I juggle with the bitterness and resentment I feel towards the military by employing fragile and inedible mediums and exaggerated, misleading color palettes. I emphasize the idea of the individual and the cherished medals and ribbons through the deliberately introduced imperfections.

My paintings, sculptures, installations and photographs have similarities through size, color and repetition. I create a commentary on the removal of an individual’s identity by incorporating mass-produced readymade items. The conclusion of military service returns the individual’s identity, and I represent this in my work through rugged hand-made objects. My paintings, ceramics, wax and enamel allude to the notion of non-conformity within the military system through blemishes and a child-like quality that realistically identifies the people in our military. By focusing on symbology through small military accessories, I experiment with the playful and memorable moments during one’s time in service.

Flags

I've been wrapping up a few projects that I have yet to show on my blog. They both revolve around the American Flag.

 The first idea continues the use of homemade inedible insignia candy individually wrapped. They are piled in the center of an American flag which is cleanly laid out on the floor. The act of laying the flag on the floor is a form or resentment in my work because it is such a dishonor to our flag, and on the other hand it is used as a blanket or table cloth to keep the candies clean and free from the floor.

The second idea deals with images I collected from other military members. The images are of different ways each person stores their medals and ribbons when not in use or after service is complete. They are Photoshopped and altered to emphasize the ribbons. They are then lined up as an archive would be and generically labeled. I am also working on a project that contains a miniature flag hung from the ceiling with these photos hung evenly on each side. The ribbons have been cut out of the images to emphasize the idea that our flag and country leaves a lasting memory in service members through their routine achievements in the military.