A Definition

hu·man
n.
1. A member of the genus Homo and especially of the species H. sapiens.
2. A person: the extraordinary humans who explored Antarctica.

adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of humans: the course of human events; the human race.
2. Having or showing those positive aspects of nature and character regarded as distinguishing humans from other animals: an act of human kindness.
3. Subject to or indicative of the weaknesses, imperfections, and fragility associated with humans: a mistake that shows he's only human; human frailty.
4. Having the form of a human.
5. Made up of humans: formed a human bridge across the ice.


pal•imp•sest

n. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible.

A Proposition

This project is built around the idea of the palimpsest as a metaphor for personal identity. Considering one’s self as beginning as a blank document, one’s lived experiences are constantly writing one’s identity onto oneself. However, as an individual one has the power to erase, rewrite, or reinforce what is written, resulting in the in the palimpsest described above.
This project will seek to visualize this metaphor by using the artist’s body as surface on which to write passages the artist has found relevant or meaningful to her experience and allowing time and selective editing on the part of the artist to alter her appearance over the duration of the piece’s existence.
From this piece I hope to gain a more comprehensive understanding of myself as an artist and as a human being. This work is a physical manifestation of my ideology in the sense of value which I place upon ideas these texts present and the dichotomy between the very abstract world of the ideas and the concrete world of the body. By both expressing this juxtaposition in a visual manner as well as living through the experience of being harshly and consciously judged for my appearance as person covered in tattoos rather than as a person presenting ideas I hope to gain a greater understanding of myself as a person and as one who practices the social dialogue which is art.

An Expedition

Today we ventured into the heart of suburbia.

People, for the most part seemed largely underwhelmed.

I can't really say that I blame them.

There were a lot of other interesting things to be looking at.

We did get a few odd looks.

But I'm not really sure how much of that was me.

It was a curious experience none the less.

I guess that's how it goes.

A Portrait

An Attempt

I got a remote shutter button for my camera so these are some mostly unsuccessful attempts at self portraits.

A Series of Links

Adrian Piper

Everything #2/11b

Everything #10:

Call for Volunteers

Volunteer Response

An Error

Due some very poor judgment on my part (experimenting with the process seemed like a good idea at the time) unfortunately none of these actually came out as anything resembling legible but the in-process photos are still intriguing I suppose.

A Team Effort

A Work in Progress

A Beginning