Idea 3/3 - Autobiography

Autobiography/ Autobiographical are words that have stuck with me from the beginning of this portfolio. In a sense, these words kind of sum up the work I am producing. Though it is more universal than that. I am using my own "visual biography" to connect to others "biographies". I have been using universal themes and experiences such as loss, death, life, fear, happiness, love, lust, etc. So what does creating an autobiography out of my work really mean and say? What makes it important? Why should people care about "Sandy Swagger"... or is it even about "Sandy Swagger"?

I realize that I am using an autobiographical approach to my images, not to use it as an excuse to talk about me, but instead to bring attention to a single human life. And by bringing attention to a single human life, I expound onto other themes. I am pushing to portray that one individual out of 3 billion is significant and unique. But at the same time I am hoping to convey that no matter what your background, race, religion, or past experiences, you are not alone. That people go through good times and bad times and the world keeps moving. Hitting on both the significance and insignificance of life as a whole and as individuals. At moments I feel as though this work is becoming bigger than me, and bigger than I intended. This work started out with a curiosity to how my psyche remembered things and learning to cope with and better understand the good and bad memories I have accumulated over the years. Since then this body of work has become more about humanity, compassion, and finding importance and beauty in both the glorified moments and the worst of the worst.

I have found better understanding of myself, my past, and my life through this. I hope that the viewer will be able to experience my work in a way that makes them take a step back from the busy day to day life and look at who they are, who they were, and who they are becoming.

Artist 2/28 - Henry Darger

Henry Darger is an artist who worked much with the style of duplication and reproduction. His main occupation was that of a janitor in Chicago. He was orphaned at a fairly young age and then institutionalized. Darger has been explained as a bit of an excentric. " He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story.^[2] Darger's work has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art." (Wikipedia).

The main reason I am looking at Dargers art, is not so much the subject matter but more the technique and aesthetic. I am also working with the aesthetic of duplication. It seems as though something starts to unfold in the mind when we are presented with patterns and similiarities, so when we use people as these patterns/repititions, what are we really creating? What is the motive of the artist when they begin duplicating? And what does the viewer begin to experience when they realize these patterns and duplications?

"Artists are always struggling with the need to keep their work inthe forefront of their life, the need to not let distractions get inthe way. Darger was so devoted, and I think creative people have agreat admiration in terms of how he worked."

P.O.V. Outsider Artist Henry Darger: An Interview with Curator Brooke Davis Anderson. May 2008. Web. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/outsider-artist-henry-darger-interview-curator-brooke-davis-anderson

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idea 2/10 - symbols/symbolism

In my portfolio this semester, I have become hyper aware of the symbolism that I am creating within my work. These images are all significant portions of my life that I feel are mirrored in or related to experiences and emotions that every human being is capable of experiencing/feeling. I am dealing with issues such as pain, tragedy, happiness, love, lust, deterioration, etc. What I'm working with now is how to appropriately express these in my images. Obviously I do not want my work to be so explicit that it is easily solved within a minute of looking at it. So I'm playing with symbolism and mood to get the feeling across without having to say "this image is about my struggle with relationships" or "this image is about when my uncle died". Though the original subject of these images are specific to me, the outcome of the image and the way it is perceived should not be so specific but more of a hint or a general emotion.

I am struggling a lot with not putting in specific details that only pertain to me, but I fear that if I make my images so explicit it will make my work weaker. Using symbols/symbolism to intrigue the viewer and give them only hints to what the images contain I hope will allow them to be more universally relateable. And though I know it is far fetched to have work be universally relateable, I want the idea of 'humanity' to come through in these images.

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idea 2/4 - Humanity

Humanity:
1. All human beings collectively
2. The quality or condition of being human
3. The quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence
4. The humanities

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanity

The whole preface of my work this semester revolves around the idea of "humanity" or "being human". Psychology has always fascinated me especially when it comes to how we build relationships and why we do the things we do. When it comes down to it, we see a lot of nurture vs. nature. I'm (ofcourse) looking very intently at the "nuture" side of things. The experiences we go through shape and build our personalities, viewpoints, culture, and religious views.

I'm also really interested in an even simpler side of this, which is the idea of "just being human". Being ordinary, living through joys and struggles without the world stopping for you to figure out which direction is up or down. At the pace this world is going in, we often forget how shortlived and fragile life can be until we lose someone we love. I'm hoping to emphasize the beauty of just being alive by pulling out the moments in my life that are most significant to the person I am today, no matter how big or small. I want the message of "life goes on" to be prominent in the final series of images, and for it to show hope of tomorrow. I touch on some subjects which are uncomfortable for me to remember, recreate, and display - but the reason that I feel it is important to show these images is to represent that the hardest things to remember are often ones that are most important to our development.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."
-Robert Frost