Artist Statement
Nikki Sainte Phalle, a prolific woman artist of the 20th Century stated, “Maybe Art is more about Obsession than Talent than people Think” this quote has resonated with me as to why I create art.
This series of artworks focuses on the creation and destruction of culture which stems from my personal background of being mixed race and third generation Americanized. The artworks I seek to create are expressed through the manipulation of paper: whether that be through origami, the art of folding paper that typically has no cuts juxtaposing this with the complete opposite, and allowing the cutting of paper.
In the contemporary art scene I chose to incorporate Photography with this textile approach to art, documenting the craft side to art: this aspect of handmade, but also using Photography, both the digital and analog way that the process of making photos brings as well as serving as a documentation process to how we view art.
I seek to invite the viewer to make their own connections to the pieces, but also acknowledge the specific iconography and symbolism behind my work representative of this conglomerate idea of culture. I would like the viewer to engage in my artwork by listening to the loudest thoughts left unsaid when experiencing these conflicting emotions of what it means to me to be American. Culture shapes one identity, where if not to express oneself through words, will my obsession with art suffice instead?
