Artist Statement

My current work deals with the subject of identity.  The many things that can affect identity, such as one’s religious background or gender characteristics, are explored through visual representation.  To investigate this subject, I am focusing on my self.  Each artwork represents an aspect of personal identity in consideration of history, environment, and my own perception of myself.  This work is titled as a series: Frame 1, Frame 2, etc. because they are snapshots of my identity which is continually changing and developing--like a movie.

Personal memories or ideas do not have bodies until I assign them one in my art.  The rosary in a recent assemblage represents memories of a Catholic childhood and the wooden frame represents “Fine Art” perceptions.  I have also recently used my own (long) hair to symbolize an idea of femininity and how it applies to myself.  Many of the colors in my work mimic those found in nature or draw on common color-associations.  White is used to support spiritual aspects, and flesh tones speak of the human body.  Shadows and silhouettes are also represented to give form to the bodiless self known to each individual–called spirit, mind, or soul.

My most recent artwork, Frame 4: Kristen Gale Bock is about my name and its personal significance.  I have designed a beer label since the origin of my last name is “beer” in German.  By presenting the label on a real beer bottle with a promotional description written on it, I am addressing how the name of an artist is for sale.  People would love to own “a Picasso,” “a Lichtenstein,” or “a Kiki Smith.”  Viewers' perceptions of artists are mostly made by their artwork and by the artist’s name, since these are an artist’s means of becoming known.  My first name is derived from a once popular television series.  Presenting my name humorously demonstrates a non-serious approach to nominal classification.  It also points to the irony in the general arbitrariness of naming when compared with the noted weight of the name of an artist or celebrity.

I am interested in the works of Lesley Dill--in how she has used images of bodies, including her own, with text.  Cindy Sherman’s Film Stills and History Portraits have been influential, as well as Kiki Smith’s print work dealing with her body, and Eva Hesse’s sculptures.