Mom

Mom: paint, lazer prints, frame.

Mom artist statement:

A mother is defined as one who gives birth. This piece is an exploration of my relationship to success in creating art as a form of existential fulfillment. The installation has a few key vehicles for meaning.

The pink color used in the installation relates to a personal sense of higher self and realization. This color, juxtaposed with a thin sheet of fabric creates a membrane, adding a level of removal between the viewer and “myself” so to speak. Membrane is an important aspect to the piece and can be defined as follows: “a pliable sheet-like structure acting as a boundary, lining, or partition in an organism.” The rip in the membrane is representational of a window into myself, with only a small area of clarity and vulnerability. This area allows the viewer to dissect the relationship between the only two “images” plainly placed within the space.

Directly behind the membrane’s rip --hanging on the wall at eye level-- there is a framed image of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa with a heavy blur applied to the image. On the floor, facing the blurred Mona Lisa, there is a life-sized image of my foot with a detailed tattoo of the Mona Lisa. These two juxtaposed elements create relationships between vague vs. clear, as well as personal vs. ubiquitous.

The vague representation of the Mona Lisa represents a removal of meaning from a work considered to be "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world." To me, the removal of the meaning has occurred through mass reproduction of the work, as well as a cultural pressure to revere a piece with an inherent lack of conceptual principle. Ultimately the blurred image serves as a symbol of spectacle, and lack of meaning, but at the same time it is still a symbol of ultimate greatness, even when distorted. 

The act of getting a tattoo for this piece adds a performative layer to the installation, creating a sense of intense dedication or obsession with the concept of ultimate greatness. The tattoo imposes a permanent pressure on myself to make work that is considered iconic and great. The placement of the tattoo on my foot, serves as a reminder that in every way I move forward as an artist, I still must ultimately measure myself against what is considered to be "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world."

The relationship of the two images brings me to a personal crossroad in which I ultimately desire to create great work that is iconic and respected, however I desire to make work that is meaningful and purposefully great, as opposed to an image like the Mona Lisa who’s greatness is dictated by an arbitrary sense of cultural authority.

I titled the piece “Mom” because the relationship in the piece ultimately expresses the birth of myself as an artist, and the birth of my work.

Installation Research

Stalemate

Stalemate: video/performance piece

Stalemate Artist Statement:

I grew up in a very conservative and religious family. It seems as though my family used and still uses their religion and views to invalidate opposition to their opinions and sense of morality. As I have matured and reached a point of individuation that does not align with my family’s long-protected views, I have began to feel like the “opposition” that they seek to invalidate with their views.

On Easter Sunday, my brother engaged me in an argument regarding how my life goals to make art are going to be able to support me and create change. We went back and forth in what seemed to be a “match,” with each of us wanting to claim victory over the other. The argument ended with no clear victor as neither of us was willing to submit to the other’s views.

Growing up, my brother taught me how to play chess. Being older and more mentally adept than me, he would win these games with little to no difficulty, time and time again. It wasn’t until a few hours after the argument on Easter Sunday that my brother and I were discussing these memories and we ended up finding an old game of chess and decided to play. Once the game began I began to notice a certain synchronicity between the previous argument and the game of chess we were currently engaged in. However this time, over 10 years since we had last played chess, I won the game. And I won again, and again, and again after that. This exchange was the main inspiration for the piece.

I created a head garment for the piece to take the piece into my own personal context. The head garment contains a few key elements: the structure is a color of pink that I associate with higher self and realization. This color, juxtaposed with a thin sheet of fabric creates a membrane. Membrane is an important aspect to the piece and can be defined as follows: “a pliable sheet-like structure acting as a boundary, lining, or partition in an organism.” The rip in the membrane is representational of a window into myself, with only a small area of clarity and vulnerability. The head garment my identity as an artist and an individual.

I decided on the Nombre de Dios Catholic Mission as a site to perform my piece. The site is rife with religious content and is called “America’s most sacred acre.” By using this site as well as donning the symbolic mask, the setting brings myself, as an artist and an individual, into the territory of religion, a symbol of family views and lack of understanding. I created the frame so I was standing directly in front of a crucifix, a symbol of persecution. This use of symbolism is partially used to subvert religion while also connoting a certain sense of personal persecution in feeling that I have very few people on my side.

The framing implies chess or some sort of competition going on although it is unclear exactly what, much like it is difficult for some to understand my ambitions, but nonetheless there is a confrontation and a competition. In this performance, I am playing chess against those who I perceive as opposition. The piece ends with a revelation of the chessboard. This creates a relationship between the crucifix and the crosses on the chess pieces. This reinforces the concept of subverting religion, but it does so in revealing that I indeed achieved checkmate against my adversary.

Ultimately I decided to call the piece “Stalemate” because although the piece ended in victory, there is still an existential question mark for the viewer, and there is still a conflict that may or may not be resolved.  

Site Specific Research