Date of Submission

Spring 2012

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Medrie MacPhee

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Edge Control

My current body of work examines the cultural significance of popular imagery featuring women of color. The majority of my pieces are based on images found in the media. My models are the women one would find in a men’s magazine spread, advertisement, pornography and/or music video. Images that seek to depict ideal forms of beauty are of particular interest to me, for notions of difference and exoticism complicate the objectification of the female form. Sexualized images of marginalized groups are heavily reliant on preconceived notions and stereotypes. As these images pervade our visual landscape they effect all individuals who are exposed to them. In particular, these images affect those who they attempt to depict. I am interested in the psychological effects of such imagery on communities and individuals. However, the primary goal of this project is to find out what these images strive to articulate and what these images mean to others and myself. Fragmentation is an important element in my work for it speaks to fetishization; in particular, the fetishization of the black female form. The repetition in my work references mass production, especially in regards to printed and digital media. My use of fragmentation describes the action of focusing in on one part of an individual’s body in exclusion to the rest. The object of the gaze becomes, through fragmentation, an accumulation of parts. She can only be perceived as whole once all of her parts are fully recognized; this process of realization is significant, for the women in this series demand recognition.

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