Monday, April 9, 2012

Artist Statement- Mariana Miller

When art is critiqued the two questions that are always asked of the artist is “ What have you made” and “Why?” The “what” is usually obvious to the viewer, but explaining why the piece was made could take years to develop.

Coming from Columbia Basin College and doing the majority of my art studies at Central Washington University, I have had the chance to explore and work with a range of artistic mediums. Before I had arrived to the University I was very single minded. I knew what kind of art I liked as well as what I didn’t care for. I only wanted to work with two-dimensional mediums and completely avoid anything three-dimensional. Very soon I realized that an artist must open their mind to everything and follow the guidelines of a Renaissance man.

The “what” in my work comes from what I see. I am inspired by much more than painted images. Techniques, color, and form are the principles that dictate my motivation to learn and conduct research for more information. I am influenced by the imagery of the unconscious in surrealistic work but swayed by the color palette of the great Renaissance and Baroque painters. The subject matter that repeats in my thoughts involves the human anatomy. Even if a human figure is distorted in a body of work, there are key components that are universally recognized and therefore create a connection between the viewer and the piece. I have been driven since high school to portray humanoids in a manner that both interests and disturbs the viewer.

My “why” has been the most recent development. Interest in the human body went into a deeper exploration to find what I paid attention to for my inspiration. My work now revolves around the make-up of emotion and the human response to emotion. By the use of psychologically symbolic colors and expression I hope to convey narratives that the viewer can connect with.

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