Symposium Year
2021
Preview
Start Date
3-20-2021 2:00 PM
End Date
3-20-2021 2:55 PM
Description
Artist Statement
Art has always been a means for my voice and a way of trying to make the world better, through celebrating culture or exploring wishes and fantasies. My art is dynamic, colorful, and tends to focus heavily on conceptual themes.
My work explores the unnaturalness that is obsession with food and its consumption; however, it also reflects my own personal obsession. Food as a whole, especially the act and idea of eating, has always been central in my life both culturally and personally. Enjoying and celebrating food is one of the driving forces of that culture. Food is what brings people together.
Instead of creating pieces that either celebrate food or demonstrate its importance in culture, I wanted to take a more satirical stance and create pieces that comment on this food-consumption-dichotomy in an abstract way. The type of satire that this series uses is Horatian. I use a variety of mediums including oil and acrylic paint, permanent markers, magazines, and items such as tires and plastic silverware. Integrating similar types of food ties each piece together, as will the strange aesthetics and techniques, such as cutting holes, animal heads with human bodies, and similar color schemes. Through traditional painting and drawing techniques, forms and foods are rendered realistically in a satirical, fantastical setting. Using traditional techniques and figures to create unique pieces produces an amusing contrast. Through anthropomorphism, body morphism, and food, it highlights the uncomfortable and amplifies the ridiculous nature of obsession and consumption. I have discovered that I create my best paintings after spending considerable time looking at the artworks of others. I also prefer to paint from life whenever possible so I can carefully examine my subject. Lastly, I cannot be overwhelmed by time constraints when I paint, so I will devote many hours to a single painting.
My last four years as a student at ODU have been instrumental in refining my skills as an artist thanks to many of my professors.