Solo Art Show at Denison University
Artist Statement
What is normal? Throughout my research this term has come to be increasingly problematic. It all began when I read Raymonde Carroll’s book Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience, which compared the subtle differences in French and American cultures.[1] Besides a few personal discoveries, this book led me to realize quite how different “normal” can be from one culture to another, even two westernized countries such as these. Simone de Beauvoir brilliantly demonstrates the illusion of objectivity in her book The Second Sex where she explains her frustration with arguing with men who claim her opinion is based on her gender. She retorts that she holds this opinion because it is right, and then muses that what she really should answer is that she is indeed biased because she is a woman but that her interlocutor is equally biased by his own gender.[2]
As I pursued my research I came to one conclusion: objectivity is a myth. It is one of the paradoxes one has to deal with in History since the historian cannot appear to be biased and yet is aware that every author that has come before has written within the frame of his or her own bias. This is why we have terms such as ethnocentrism and historiography. When historians read a source we question who wrote it, when, why, etc. But how often do we stand back and ask the same questions of ourselves? This feigned objectivity led me to appreciate the abrasive subjectivity that is not only present but encouraged in Art. I found a balance between the objectively structured world of History and the subjective chaos in which Art comes to be. Perhaps it is this balance that has led me to create so much artwork about history and channel my opinions into the Art rather than the writing. Throughout the years I have found my fascination with History reflected in my artwork both as the subject of my work and in the materials I use, especially in my collages. And my subjectivity, which I attempt to restrict in my practice of History, runs rampant in my Art. It is my Biased Opinion.
