SMP Studio Art 2001

Carolyn Fort

 

 The most important purpose of my work is to please myself. I draw what I enjoy to look at and the issues that interest me. In my most recent body of work, I have been very interested in two issues. First, I am concerned with the interaction between the model and the viewer and second, I am interested in how society views women and the nude pictures displayed in the media such as Playboy magazine. The two issues are very interrelated. The gaze is very important in my work. It is how my models acknowledge the viewer, how they assert their status, and consequently how the viewer responds to them. By portraying Playboy models in life size drawings, I am reclaiming these images that are published as "entertainment for men" as a female artist and, more importantly, as a woman. Their size reminds the viewer that these are depictions of real people, not just fantasies available to the viewer.
For quite some time now, I have been exclusively interested in drawing the female body with color pastels. Pastels have proven to be the best medium for me as far as depicting colorful, sensual nudes. I have been looking to artists such as Pierre Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas for their use of color and admiration for the female form and to contemporary artists Lisa Yuskavage and Ralph Gibson for content inspiration. By creating drawings of models in sexually provocative poses and through my use of Playboy magazine, I hope to show my love of depicting beautiful, voluptuous women but also to use my artwork as an outlet for my concern about the way women are portrayed in society. Prevalent through all my work, is my desire to please myself. I draw the nude because I enjoy it, not to tell a story or present an idea. I strive to create an art that I enjoy and hopefully my audience will as well.

 

please visit my:

Artist Statement

My Work

Back to Art Studio SMPs