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Artist Statement
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I am a person who responds to emotion. Throughout my life, I’ve found that the experiences that rouse feelings of intense emotion within me are the ones that create the clearest, strongest, and most vivid memories. Inspired by events in my life, but striving to create work that resonates with all young adults, I’m constructing a series of narrative drawings that address the drama, emotional turmoil, pain, and frustration often associated with being involved in a romantic relationship.
The most important thing I convey to my viewers are the negative emotions associated with romantic relationships; feelings like sadness, frustration, or loss. I allow my audience to sense a character’s emotional state and experiences in each story I tell through gestures, body language, and facial expressions. I want to communicate these emotional moments, which I believe are universally applicable to people of my generation, in a language everyone can understand.
Although I have a specific situation in mind when I create a narrative, it’s most important that each individual finds his or her own way to relate personally to the drawing. My audience’s understanding of my narratives will and should always be colored by their own experiences. My desire for tapping into shared experiences causes me to make my narratives somewhat ambiguous; it is possible to imagine a variety of stories. Ultimately, however, the overarching idea is clear. For example, the emotional themes in my drawing Abrupt Upset on the Beach “Just…Don’t” are exasperation and remorse. One can see two passionate, head-strong individuals in a relationship where, as a result of their personalities, there is frequent drama. Alternatively, one can see a break-up taking place. Personal experience determines the way the story is read. Whatever way one sees it, the upset, exasperation and dejected remorse are understood.
For me, art is a way that I can communicate and share my ideas with the outside world, it’s important to me that people can involve themselves in my art. My art allows me to express myself and provides an emotional outlet, but is also a way to unite a vast audience on the basis of common ground. I want to communicate common experiences and construct my narratives in such a way that the greatest number of people find that it reflects their personal tale of woe.
Long Statement (PDF)
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