Throughout my years of being an artist, there have been a few individuals that offered me inspiration in the works they have shared with the world. This project offered me a chance to consider each of them and thereby influence the creation of my final work.
A long time time creative influence I have been an admirer of is Leonardo DaVinci. His artistic and scientific developments in the field of human anatomy are legendary. What I find the most inspirational about his work is that it was all done through traditional media, which of course was the only way information could be recorded during his time. But the fact remains that his sketchbooks on anatomy and proportion are still studied to this day, as I personally experienced when I took my “Construction of the Human Anatomy” class during my time at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The second artist and possibly the biggest influence I had in this project is Barbara Kruger. I first learned about her work when I took a class at UIC with Jason Pickleman, and her style struck a chord with me. A year later, Jason reached out to me over email and alerted me to the Barbara Kruger exhibit that was at the Chicago Art Museum. He had remembered that I took a particular interest in her work, and the timing could not have been more perfect! Walking around the exhibit, I jotted down several notes and took photos of the works that spoke to me. Even before visiting the exhibit, the first thing I had noticed about Kruger’s work was its “angry energy”. It is bold, raw, unflinching, and in your face. It was intriguing to see how DIY her earlier works were, such as “Your Body is a Battleground”. Her newer works show that she experiments with recycling old work and language to fit today’s standards of understanding. The language she uses is not eloquent or complicated, and it certainly does not hold anything back.
Kruger’s work seeks to not only challenge the patriarchy, but confront it. Her style feels very “no holds barred”, and forces onlookers to question the society we live in. I noticed that while the format of her work has changed, her mission and message has not. Why? Because from the 70’s until now, the problem with the patriarchy still has not been solved.
My project also seeks to challenge the patriarchy, and the objectification of women. What I seek to explore further is the issue of internalized misogyny and self-objectification.
