Masked Identity

In Process

Don't mind my messy house and the cats in the background.

Artist Statement

There's a saying that goes something like, "I don't want to be famous, I want my work to be." I don't know who originally said it, but I've heard a few variations of it on different occasions. Most of my inspiration comes from that quote. I have never been the type of person to want attention or really be noticed in anyway. I'd much rather just blend into the crowd. As I've grown older, and my art has matured, I feel I've been forced to stand out. When I started college, I was at a tech school learning photography. My work was always getting picked out by the instructors and shown in later classes as examples. Even before that, I was picked by my high school art teachers for being "the best senior artist". I think most people would be thrilled with this kind of attention. While I was immensely grateful, I was not pleased to be called onto a stage in front of three hundred people to accept my award, or asked to talk about my photographs in front of a class full of strangers. I've of course, realized that being an artist includes showing off and talking about your work. I've learned to get through it but there's still a part of me that doesn't enjoy the personal attention. At the same time, I'm very hard on myself when it comes to my art. I'm a perfectionist and I want everything I do to be the best it can possibly be.

This project represents my struggles with not drawing attention to myself but still wanting my artwork to stand out and be seen. In the photographs, the women are copies of one another, accept for one who is slightly different. This is the way I see most of the world. Most people are just trying to be like someone else. To some extent, there is nothing wrong with this. It's good to have someone to look up to; a role model of sorts. It's when people don't understand the importance of being unique and being your own person. I have people that I look to for guidance and motivation but I want to do my own thing. I want to create something that no one has ever seen or done before.

The actual mask that the women are wearing is featureless. This has to do with the fact that I don't want my work to be coupled with my person. I don't want my art to rely on my name. I want it to stand on it's own as good art. It's also symbolic of wanting to blend in with the crowd, as is the similar attire of the women. The one woman might blend in at first glance, however upon closer look, she's slightly different. The three images go together to show that eventually, I feel like I'm standing alone, despite my efforts to be unnoticed.

The snake around the woman's legs represents three things. Snakes can mean many different things depending on context. The first symbol I'm using is fear. It represents my fears of standing out but also the fear that my art might not get noticed the way I want it to be. The second is transformation. I've gotten much more comfortable with talking about my art and being proud of what I've created. The third, and most prominent, symbol is evil. In some ways, I feel like it's wrong for me to want my art to be the best. I feel like I should be more humble and be ok when my artwork is not noticed or liked. The idea of wishing to be the best feels like an evil necessity of being an artist. The snake is also wrapped around her legs, restricting her movements. These fears which I have described are restricting, or at least slowing, my ability to grow as an artist. Evil is also represented in the background image. It has a eerie feel to it. The ocean is a huge unknown, just like the world. The fog cover adds to the effect. There is no way to see what is beyond the fog just like there is no way to see what will happen next is life.