Jeannie Monaco / Artist Statement

I am fascinated by the complexity of human psychology; by the ways we develop our sense of self and by the ways our social experiences influence that development. I find myself drawn to self-portraiture because I am able to analyze feelings of fear, helplessness, and shame that werecreated during my childhood. The abstracted figures that make up this body of work are mutilated, deteriorated, wounded, and writhing in pain. The physical traumas that my sculptures depict are the manifestations of emotional distress I have experienced over time. I am also drawn to self-portraiture has come about because of its cathartic effect. I have ignored this part of my emotional being for so long and now it feels right and healing to explore it through my art making.

My sculptures are self-portraits, but are not actual representations of my likeness. The forms are sculpted to reference the gestures of the body, but lack specific details such as facial features, hands, and feet. Rather than using materials to mimic actual body parts and innards of the body, I let the materials I use retain their own identity and purposely abstract the forms of the figure. For instance, I puddle wax as a way to imply rupture, but choose not to make it look like blood and guts in order to focus on the emotional implications rather than actual physical injury.

Emotions such as fear, helplessness, and shame are expressed in my sculptures through the use of basic human gestures and symbolism. The emotional pain is heightened through my referencing of interior body spaces as an expression of internal emotional states. The literal layers in my sculptures express emotions and feelings that I hide from the world. By opening up the layers, I am exposed to the viewer. Sliced open and torn apart to expose what I am hiding underneath.

My childhood is the crucial inspiration for my work. My work focuses on my childhood as a way of analyzing a time when I felt emotions in an extreme manner and was unequipped to handle them. I only knew that the adults around me disapproved and thought my emotional responses a sign of weakness. I am still learning what I might gain by revisiting my childhood feelings. At the moment, the catharsis of revisiting is the greatest motivation for the artwork.

Ultimately, I want the viewer to witness a very intimate part of myself that can only be made tangible through my art-making. I also want the viewer to relate the emotions displayed in my sculptures to their own like experiences. My sculptures are not easy to look at. I think that shows how powerful emotions are and how more powerful they can become when forced to be repressed. My work shows that emotions are essential to life, even the less desirable emotions, because they are what build our selves.

Jeannie Monico ST. MARY'S PROJECT, 2007
	Artist Statement Bibliography Image Gallery Home Close Portfoilio (and return to SMP 2007 index)	ABSTRACT click here for the full artist statement I am fascinated by the complexity of human psychology; by the ways we develop our sense of self and by the ways our social experiences influence that development. I find myself drawn to self-portraiture because I am able to analyze feelings of fear, helplessness, and shame that werecreated during my childhood. The abstracted figures that make up this body of work are mutilated, deteriorated, wounded, and writhing in pain. The physical traumas that my sculptures depict are the manifestations of emotional distress I have experienced over time. I am also drawn to self-portraiture has come about because of its cathartic effect. I have ignored this part of my emotional being for so long and now it feels right and healing to explore it through my art making. My sculptures are self-portraits, but are not actual representations of my likeness. The forms are sculpted to reference the gestures of the body, but lack specific details such as facial features, hands, and feet. Rather than using materials to mimic actual body parts and innards of the body, I let the materials I use retain their own identity and purposely abstract the forms of the figure. For instance, I puddle wax as a way to imply rupture, but choose not to make it look like blood and guts in order to focus on the emotional implications rather than actual physical injury. Emotions such as fear, helplessness, and shame are expressed in my sculptures through the use of basic human gestures and symbolism. The emotional pain is heightened through my referencing of interior body spaces as an expression of internal emotional states. The literal layers in my sculptures express emotions and feelings that I hide from the world. By opening up the layers, I am exposed to the viewer. Sliced open and torn apart to expose what I am hiding underneath. My childhood is the crucial inspiration for my work. My work focuses on my childhood as a way of analyzing a time when I felt emotions in an extreme manner and was unequipped to handle them. I only knew that the adults around me disapproved and thought my emotional responses a sign of weakness. I am still learning what I might gain by revisiting my childhood feelings. At the moment, the catharsis of revisiting is the greatest motivation for the artwork. Ultimately, I want the viewer to witness a very intimate part of myself that can only be made tangible through my art-making. I also want the viewer to relate the emotions displayed in my sculptures to their own like experiences. My sculptures are not easy to look at. I think that shows how powerful emotions are and how more powerful they can become when forced to be repressed. My work shows that emotions are essential to life, even the less desirable emotions, because they are what build our selves.
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