I am fascinated with Nineteenth and early Twentieth century photographic portraits. Within the vacuum of a portrait studio, the sitter paused and momentarily conjured up an ideal image of them self, only to relax and return to their habitual mannerisms once the lens cap was back in place. This unnatural pause for the camera is much like putting on airs for public view, and each day I feel the same pressure from society that the camera’s gaze creates. What is hidden by the façade fashioned for the camera and the public eye? What atrocities lie behind good posture and unshakeable gazes?
Staring into the revered photographic faces which have survived decades behind glass and in albums, I imagine the unavoidable trepidation of their lives. I notice the details of their coat buttons and wonder what consumed their thoughts as they caressed those buttons. I envision their daily lives caught up in the reprehensible tragedies that continue to affect us today: loss of a child, family suicide, oppression, sickness, hunger, death, the list goes on.
In my work I investigate the bizarre dichotomy between placid appearances and concealed inner turbulence. Through drawing, photography, video, installation, and performance, I communicate the often unseen, tarnished reality that exists behind every seemingly unscathed being. In my work I liberate truth as façades move aside and concealed information emerges to show that misery, abuse, and idiosyncrasies abide in all ages.
One video that directly addresses this peculiar relationship is Semi Sweet. This work first displays charming vintage photo portraits, however, after a short while, childish animated drawings take over the portraits, satirizing them. As the animations exaggerate tears, blood, rashes, and flames, it humiliates the figures, shrouds the stereotypical chaste vintage portrait, and reveals a corporeal, blundering human who once sat for the camera.
Through my work I declare the inescapable existence of trauma and give courage to others, who, like me, feel society’s lens urging me to canonize my conduct and conceal the background of my life with silence.
STATEMENT
Adrianne K.
Shurtleff-Meckel
