Artist Statement
Emotion, in my life experience, is the root of all drama. In this body of work I direct actors and models through a sequence of emotions. Rather than assume the role of observer in a dispassionate way, I choose to actively set up these performances in the studio. The resulting photographs are surreal, subconscious reconstructions and rearrangements of 'reality' that come out of the experience of improvising the emotions. The chiaroscuro of the spotlight illuminating the figure in the darkness implies a tension between real life and the imaginary. The work takes on a dramatic focus, which is the basis of my art.
Process Statement
For this project I put out a casting call via word of mouth asking for actors who would be interested in being photographed improvising emotions. I got about 20 callbacks and began 6 months of shooting in late 2010. From these actors I made about 3000 images. The final edit I decided to choose the 4 actors who wore formal attire. I think this expresses 'presentation' to the viewer while the spotlight expresses 'performance'.
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