Abstract
My work is both a commentary on the pervasive societal ills of disposability and detachment in contemporary culture and an active participant in the same environment it criticizes. I demonstrate my simultaneous revulsion and fascination with disposable goods. I photograph myself with such chemically toxic substances as cosmetics, sodas and cleaning products, speaking to their harmful nature while also reveling in their shimmering color. Their clever design is no accident and I find myself giving into the marketing seduction. The same goes for such other harmful behaviors as obsessive use of cell phones and social media, and rabid consumption of reality television and gossip magazines. In my work, I want to show we are the consumers and the consumed.
I embrace excess with piles of wires, trash, screaming colors and all sorts of environmentally unfriendly materials such as foil, resin and neon spray paint. It feels a bit over the top at times, screaming for attention like an ad in a swarm of commercialism. We have become hoarders and foragers, sifting through endless stuff: accumulated waste, material goods, and information. This proliferation of technology has enabled greater access to our global community, but leaves us feeling helpless without it. I try to assault the viewer with extraneous material, in the same way media has assaulted me.
My ambition to make a political statement has evolved into a paradox. I criticize aspects of contemporary society while simultaneously celebrating them. My work asks the question: Is there a way out of these addictions?
DOI
10.5642/steam.20150201.28
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Orr, Julie
(2015)
"Screen Assault,"
The STEAM Journal:
Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 28.
DOI: 10.5642/steam.20150201.28
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/vol2/iss1/28
Author/Artist Bio
I have exhibited my work nationally from Frontrunner Gallery in New York City to Altered Space Gallery in Venice, California. In addition to being a visual artist, I am a designer for various, major Hollywood productions that have included Top Chef Masters 2, Lopez Tonight!, and the “Low Rising” music video for Academy Award winning group, The Swell Season. In my art and set design work, I love arranging visual elements in a way that is provocative and aesthetically interesting. I recently finished my Master of Fine Arts at Claremont Graduate University in the Greater Los Angeles area and received a Bachelor of Arts at Kenyon College.