Monday, November 30, 2009

The calm before the storm





(Vintage Mink fur coat, Vintage velvet blouse, H&M Scarf worn as headwrap, Forever 21 Leopard print tights, Aldo Shren Wedge Boots, UO Peacock Belt, Piece of a Girl locket earrings)

Finally an outfit post. Took these pictures right before I bleached my eyebrows...no one recognizes me! Ahhh...
I must tell you about this coat. It belonged to my great grandmother Naomi Queen and it's unbelievable. When I was a little girl it hung in our hall closet for years and years in a giant blue bag...and I dreamed of one day having a place to wear it. Its to the floor and so heavy, I suppose perfect for Iowa winters :)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Art Reception




Art Reception





Art Reception





Art Reception





(Storets shoulder padded sheer dress, Aldo Shren Wedge Boots, DIY Leather Cuff)

My art reception was a great success. Lots of people came and all of the food I made was gone by the end. It was so fun to see everyone, and most of my family was able to come see it...which was so wonderful! All of the stress and anxiety was worth the result. Thanks to everyone for coming to see all of my hard work. xo

Happy Thanksgiving


With my big brother last night...back in Omaha for Thanksgiving with the family. I promise to finally put up some outfit posts soon. I just have to convert my images from RAW to Jpegs...and I have to do this at school. Ooooh and I have lots of pictures from my art show reception! Yay!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

That's it, I'm doing it.

I can't get over the bleached eyebrows, so I'm just going to do it. Shh, don't tell...I don't want anyone to try to talk me out of it.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

aesthetics

(tfs)

Let's face it. I love all things shredded, destroyed, deconstructed....and well, wedges are my favorite.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

opening up the face


(Stockholm Street Style, tfs)

I've been having an urge to bleach my eyebrows. I know a few of my friends would kill me if I did, but it opens the face up so much and its so edgy....you get a completely different look without doing much...hmm...

Predicting the future


My mother used to have pictures of us taken by photographers when we were little. This one is my favorite, for obvious reasons.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Artist Statement

Writing an artist statement is often time more difficult than making the work. So it keeps changing, evolving...but this is where it's at right now.


For as long as I can remember I have had an obsession with idealized beauty. I have been simultaneously attracted to and repulsed by the idea. I am interested in the duality between a recognizable and unrecognizable form with the ambiguity that lies therein. The forms I create have a feeling of nearness, yet- most of the women I create seem untouchable. They have been taken beyond the point of harm and remain in a distant realm, constantly confronting their gaze with the viewer. Showing vulnerability, while at the same time having a direct resistance or a detachment to the ideals they personify is important in these images.

I often force my own image into this mediated representation of an unattainable standard of beauty. Referencing an image of myself, while not directly creating a self-portrait, I question individual identity in relationship to the struggle with the collective imaginary stereotype generated through contemporary western culture. An ideal female doesn’t exist; the dilemma lies in trying to create that form.

The way my work is made makes it unclear whether or not they are paintings, drawings, photographs or sculptures and why they exist in these forms. Transferring manipulated photographic images and then painting and scraping, sometimes even removing what has already been put down, is an important part of the body of work. My hand never leaves the work, yet sometimes it is unclear in what part I am appearing. A loss of distinction between subject and object or between self and other speaks to an internal desire that cannot be fulfilled. This impression of perfection doesn’t last long, and beauty will ultimately fade. The resulting depiction can be seen as grotesque, though at times the way I create the images allows them to be too beautifully rendered to appear violent. I often don’t allow the figures to occupy a meaningful ground, one that has been directly transferred from its original source. As a female, and one obsessed with a view of beauty and fashion, I want to question the passive, sensual role that I feel is depicted in these pervasive cultural images. Weaving together a decomposition laced with the idea of preservation is always at play in the images I make.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Secret life of girls

(oil on canvas)

I've been such a bad blogger. I've been having such bad anxiety about the hanging of my senior show, that I have been taking myself way too seriously. So today I've decided to reflect back on how I used to be. I used to make narrative paintings of my friends and I in funny poses. I just found this one in my closet today, and decided it was necessary to post. It's interesting how much my work has changed, and nice to see how far my hand has come along. Ushi, I still miss you.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Painting Garb NOW



(Free People open back top, Long Underwear, Doc Marten Combat Boots)

There's something really endearing about such poor quality photos and such simple paint garb clothing. I got out of bed this morning after killing many brain cells this week with chemicals, and couldn't handle looking in my closet. What resulted was this poorly put together ensemble. And so I spent the day painting, both in my studio and then at the new location of the restaurant I work at- monica's! Hopefully we will be up and running again tomorrow, because my cash flow is running low since we have been closed since Sunday. So usually managing and serving at the restaurant is how I manage to sort of not be a starving artist :) Okay, back to painting....pretty sure it will be an all nighter at SA tonight.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Circa 2007





I was thinking about how much I miss my bff Ushi-bang (Ariel) and how I haven't seen her in over six months!! Ahhh...It makes me so sad. So I decided to post some pictures of us from 2007 when we were basically living in a palace in Minneapolis, just for fun. There were nights of photo shoots in bathrooms(all of these are in bathrooms), whiskey on the rocks, cowboy boots, and layered fake eyelashes...then there were mornings of coffee, omelets and shopping in uptown. Such fond memories.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Sterile Environment





(Gray Studded and Leather Embellished Vintage Sweater, Forever 21 Faux Leather Stirrup Leggings, Preston and York Oversized Scarf, Sam Edelman Harness Booties)

After our beautiful new $3 million dollar art building was flooded last year, we were relocated to an Old Menard’s Building. MENARTS! Putting a lot of art students in such a sterile environment only left opportunity for exploration beyond the structure. The outside junk is so interesting, being that we have now occupied the area for the past year….and the weather has been so beautiful lately, it was just too much fun to go scavenging around behind the building.


Oil Painting

(Oil on board)

Peggy Bundy




(Vintage Leopard Print Cardigan, Cheap Monday Lace bodysuit, H&M Scarf, Museums Smykker Necklace, Bullhead Black Skinny Jeans, Vintage Ralph Lauren Lace up Booties, Forever 21 Black Ring, vintage silver rings)

I bought this sweater over the weekend and haven't wanted to take it off. One of my favorite vintage shops in town called "White Rabbit" labeled it as a Peggy Bundy sweater, so of course I couldn't resist. I came to class and people said "Lauren, you're wearing color today!" haha....I didn't realize just how often I wear black, or gray...oh well.
So I hang my show on Friday, which ultimately means I spend at least 12 hours at the studio every day. I'm already tired and its only tuesday...yikes! I've got lots of work to do, so I must be off now....