Portrait of the Artist as a Well Trained Girl
Combining original photographs with pencil, paint, spray paint, found objects, and other media, this series tells a story of a woman artist brought up in the midwest. Once told she was "...well trained as a girl...", these pieces seek to describe the depression, confusion, and negative effects on self-esteem that we might experience when we listen to voices other than our own about our self-worth. How do we challenge the cultural indoctrination of girls? Is silence learned or inherited? When do we begin self-critique and if we're aware, why does it continue?
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A work in progress, these large scale collage have evolved from early print work in the darkroom to using magazines to collage, and my sassy, naked, stick figure drawings. Referencing vintage and historical images of women, using humor, glamour, and also poking fun at myself , I hope to help create both a dialog and a reminder of how attitudes are slow to change and our need to continue to challenge the "norm".
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