Celebration, 35th Anniversary Exhibition IV
The “self-portrait-as” has been a major focus of my work since 2000 when I began painting self-portraits-as First Ladies in The White House Collection. Through this device, I have developed the self-portrait-as into a distinct and original genre of figure painting that embraces the complexities of contemporary life. By dangling between the images of First Ladies and my own reflection, an inherently performative act of painting, I explore the American riddle. Through these self-portraits-as, I explore hot-button topics including sexism, racism, abortion, and handguns. I subsequently have added other personae to my self-portrait-as portfolio including Christine Blasey Ford, Frida Kahlo, Kamala Harris, and, in the case of Heart of Dixie, self-as Leigh Corfman.
Heart of Dixie (Self as Leigh) is a work in The Pussy Paintings, which were commissioned by Topic Magazine for Federal Project #2, curated by Joanna Lehan. The series uses self-portraits-as women who have come forward to expose and condemn sexual harassment and abuse by men. Heart of Dixie explores the accusations by Leigh Corfman that Roy Moore, while working as a young prosecutor in the Etowah County Courthouse, Alabama, sexually assaulted her in 1979 when she was 14 and he was 32.
In The Pussy Paintings, the cardboard painting support of the portrait component reflects the perceived worthlessness of women in our society. These portraits are mounted on “wallpaper” with patterns that enhance drama and content while providing social and political context to the work.
I was born in Huntsville, Alabama and grew up in Oxford, Mississippi during the civil rights movement. That childhood experience instilled in me social justice issues that continue to drive content through my work — painting AND politics. I sat on the front steps of my home and watched the tanks roll into “Oxford town” to assure that James Meredith entered the University of Mississippi. The father of one of my close friends was almost killed trying to quell the riot. The US Army camped on our school playground. In short, we were under siege.
Oil on cardboard mounted on acrylic Tyvek
78 x 48 in.
Throughout that memorable year, my public school teacher often shared her creationist beliefs. We covered all the bases! As religious as she was, she tolerated the objections some of her fifth graders raised to her opinions. She may have introduced me to the fundamental paradox of human nature that has informed, what may seem to be the antithetical nature of my work: although I am inspired by the political, I eschew single-minded “political art” to embrace a more inclusive, nuanced art that addresses the human condition.
In addition to my politically-charged, large-scale installations such as America Selfie, (which was commissioned by that same institution that refused to recognize the rights of James Meredith), I have developed the self-portrait-as into a distinct and original approach to figure painting that embraces the complexities of contemporary life by exploring hot-button issues including global warming, poverty, sexism, racism, and handguns.
Recent exhibitions include HEROINEITY: Laura Elkins, Karen Finley, Katya Grokhovsky, Cindy Sherman, Martha Wilson, Suzanne Lacy and Andrea Bowers, curated by Yulia Tikhonova at Eastern Connecticut State University; Coping with COVID (Self-portrait with Hands Tied), a response to the personal toll of the pandemic, was included in Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize exhibition that opened in London in September, 2021 and then toured the UK. During summer 2022, Site:Brooklyn included War Flowers, that addresses the war in Ukraine, in Drawing in All Mediums, curated by Ashton Cooper. In 2020 I attended Escape to Create Residency in Seaside, Florida and that same year was awarded a grant to join Vermont Studio Center, now COVID postponed until December, 2022.
I live and work nine blocks from the US Capitol.
Space One Eleven Involvement: Exhibiting Artist: Domestic Dilemmas 1994