Artist Statement

My work is mainly focused on the female form. Women today and throughout history have fought many tough battles to gain freedom and equality. In American society, a woman is granted almost all the advantages a man has, but with this new found equality we struggle with our relationship to our femininity.

Women’s bodies have been the focus of many art historical works, but it is not until the twentieth century that female artists are able to find their own voice. I strive to create an image that is engaging, empowering, and slightly vulnerable – an image that makes the viewer a bit uncomfortable, but inspires thought. I am searching for the distinction between a female nude being sexually fetishized, and asserting femininity that is beyond arousal.

In my nude self-portraits I hope to reject the standard art historical image of a passive woman. By using my own body, I am taking control of how I’m portrayed, but there is a lack authority in how their work is perceived. In speaking about self-portraiture, a strange paradox exists between the artist and the viewer. The female artist in using her own image may feel a sense of self-empowerment, while a viewer may reduce the image to eroticism, which turns the power over to them.

If the image of a naked woman is constantly viewed as a fetish or sexual obsession, there is no room for feminine expression. In addition, the line between female assertion and sexual explicitness is unclear. When does an image shift from being a work of feminist art to provoking sexual arousal, or does that difference not exist? Many women choose to use their own bodies in their art to enforce the ownership and power over the image, but once the image is viewed by another person, much of that power is lost.