Senior Thesis: Reliquary

My senior thesis project was something that I had been fearing and looking forward to for a very long time.  It was my time to show what I was made of: to go bigger than I had ever gone before, to work harder, create more, give more, and to in all ways create a series that was better than anything I had created before.  I like to think that I reached my goal. 

After creating my original body of work, Woman of Folklore, I decided I hadn't pushed myself enough.  I made the costumes, the lighting was great, my idea was clear, and I had a message; but it just wasn't good enough.  It wasn't deep enough.  You could see that my heart wasn't in it.  I had to start again. 

Then I saw the book Heavenly Bodies by Paul Koudounaris, and fell in love.  It was everything I loved in my art: the dichotomy of beauty and fear.  But not only were the images terrifying and awe inspiring, they inspired something that had been growing in me for quite sometime: the question of Christianity.  

The reality of christianity and the undeniable truth that some see in the bible has been something that has cast confusion and doubt on my heart for many years.  I have never seen this all loving God.  How have you?  With all the things wrong in this world, how can you believe in an over arching God who knows everything; knows the terror that happens in this world, and still believe he loves us?

I know I am not alone in these questions,and it is my hope that everyone-from christians to atheists- considers these things as well.

Artist Statement

Fate 

I started the series with Fate.  Do we control our own destiny, or is it predetermined?  The red string is from an asian myth of how those who are destined to meet are bound together by a red string.  The candles are for prayer: one common way to send a prayer is to light a candle, and what does one pray for more than to change their fate?

I hand beaded/painted the dress to mimic the heavily 

beaded bones and clothing of the catacomb saints.

Another inspiration for this series was the byzantine icons.  Icons were sacred images of Christ, the Virgin, or Saints, and allowed for direct contact with the sacred figure.  This allowed a direct route for prayer from person, to saint, to God.  

If one made donations to the catacomb saints, they could 

acquire indulgences, or "passes" into heaven.

Death

Death is something that awaits us all, but for some, it comes too soon.  Why are we faced with natural disasters, deadly environments, and disease? Why do these things befall the innocent and good hearted?

Later in their careers, the catacomb saints were covered with veils in an attempt to make them more pleasing to the public, who had begun to withdraw with fear. 

In the victorian times, it was common to photograph the bodies of loved ones who had passed.  It was often the only photo a family would have of the deceased.  One of the most common ways to recognize one of these photos is the unnatural positioning and blackening of the hands.  Stands were often used to help support the arms and head of the deceased to acquire a lifelike photo.  

Soul

How does one determine the goodness of their soul?  One tries to be good at heart, but how do you know if your soul will go to heaven or hell?  How do we know these places exist?  Perhaps there is nothing after ones passing.  

To represent the soul, I went with the theme of baptism, as one is unable to ascend to heaven if they are not baptized.  

In my hands I hold holy water, and it over flows with the questions of it's importance.

Creation

                                      

 With the evidence of evolution, it is hard to accept that the earth was made in 7 days by an all powerful God.    

The first thing God created was light, which is symbolized by the light in my hands.  The helmet is meant to mimic a form of Frankentstein's monster: something brought to life without God. 

This image was done in a single, long exposure with two flashes.  First, the flash in my hands was fired, then the studio strobes were fired. In the above out take, one can see where my eyes shifted in between flashes.

War

War was one of the most obvious and most difficult to shoot.  There are so many casualties to war.  It destroys our families, our humanity, and our earth.  And yet war is all around us, in our past, in our future, and even fought in Gods name.  However, finding symbolism for war beyond the simple blood and weaponry was near impossible. 

 Soldiers who were thought to die for christianity in Rome were dressed in armor and given swords. 

I gave myself more skeletal makeup in this photo to strike fear in the viewers.  War is not something that can be glamorized, it is raw and harsh.  I avoided the gold and jewels that are seen in the others in favor of a more simple look.  

The Opening

Overall the experience was truly gratifying.  I had such lovely helpers, Marissa and Holly, as well as the ever supportive, James.  I would not have been able to complete such awesome work without your help!  And also a large thank you to everyone who came to my opening!  It was so wonderful to have you all there to support me.  I was beyond excited to see each and everyone of you.  

And to answer your question: So what have you decided in regards to religion?  I have come to a new understanding, but I am no closer in believing or not believing, I have only learned of new hurdles I must cross to find my way.  

Women of Folklore: This Could be You

The last installment of this series is meant to bean end point for the series, but also a step for continuation.  The idea that just because you're not fighting in battles, your actions could mark you as a women of legend and lead to change in culture in our future. 

Model: Sarah Butcher

 

By fighting for women's rights, you too can leave a mark on our history and our culture. Perhaps you will be the next woman of folklore.

Feminist Protestor

My model stands in a bra as a stand against the idea that women "ask" to be raped through their clothing.

 

Common quote in protest signage

 

I wrote the sign to be a protest against feminist issues in general (although it is a sign used in many protests). 

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped make this project possible.  Without my models, the costume shop, the people who lent me props, as well as the people who helped me make stuff, I would not have been able to do this without you.  You are all awesome people. 

Women of Folklore: Molly Pitcher

This was an interesting one to shoot.  Molly Pitcher was a woman who fought in the in the revolutionary war, taking her husbands place on the battle field after he is injured.  I knew I had to give her some sort of "action," something that would go beyond her just standing holding her cannon puncher.  What would her surroundings be on the battle field?

Model: Sarah

Costume: Costume shop

Canon Puncher: James Chavey

In the battle of Monmouth during the Revolutionary War, Molly Pitcher left her post as a water carrier and took her husband's place on the battlefield after he was wounded by cannon fire.

Molly Pitcher monument

The costume was acquired from the costume shop, and edited to fit the time period, as well as for the conditions (I added some stains and rips to it). The cannon puncher was made from a broom handle, a paper towel role, and a black t-shirt.

Molly Pitcher, Unknown artist

My favorite part about this shoot was the cannon smoke!  The smoke was made from throwing baby powder and the use of a remote trigger.

Thank you so much for your help Sarah.  You were quite the trooper!

Women of Folklore: Joan of Arc

This was one of the hardest shoots of the entire series.  The chain mail was done by hand, the armor is knee pads and ankle pads spray painted silver, and the cross was acquired last minute from the antique store next door.  I'm happy that the costume pulled together at the end.

Model: Sam

Costume: Lexie Bragg

With the guiding voices of Saints, Joan of Arc won many battles for France to drive out the English.  After being captured, she was convicted by the church for heresy and witchcraft, and burned at the stake. She was later found innocent and declared a saint.

Finding costuming for this was very difficult.  There were a lot of variations of her armor, and not very much standardization.  I decided to do what would be easiest, and luckily, the costume shop had chain mail!  The sword was stolen from a friend.  

I wanted to show the "holiness" associated with Joan of arc.  I added the back lighting to give her a halo, and a more modern play on the gold circle around the head.  She is holds a cross in one hand and her sword in the other to show the importance of religion and the sword in her fight.

I want to give a big thanks to the costume shop for letting me borrow the chain mail.  I would have been so lost without you!

Women of Folklore: Blenda

Blenda's story is one of my favorites.  It is said to be the first example of equality between men and women-the beginning of feminism.

Model: Lucy Hodkiewicz

MUA/Costume design: Lexie Bragg

Sword: Dillon Moran

 

-->

While the men were away at war, Blenda led the town women to victory against the invading Danish army through cunning and creative tactics.

Blenda and the towns women approached the Danish army on the field of battle and thanked them for being their saviors, and saving them from the men of their own village.  They invited the Danish  to a feast to celebrate their emancipation.   The women fed the army and got them drunk on wine. Once the entire army was in a drunken stupor-the women killed them all. 

The men of the village were so proud of the women, they granted them the honor of wearing belts: a symbol of protectors of the village, as well as equal inheritance.

Selfie by Lucy

 I bought the dress from St. Vinnies and sewed on the trim and added the lacing.  The fur is from the costume shop, and the pin is a traditional Norse "tree of life" symbol, stolen from James and creatively attached with thread.

 

Memorial statue, Sweden

I had a hard time finding what a noble women would have worn for this time period.  Most depictions of Blenda had her in armor or chain male, but if she was out to trick the Danish army, why would she give away their plan by dressing for battle?  

Beowulf, a Canadian production

Beowulf and Grendel,  2005

I took my costuming ideas from Beowulf, a fantastical Norse myth that took places in the same time period. I chose this as my inspiration as I thought the cut, detailing, and accessories would be more accurate for a women of noble birth versus the peasant dresses I had been finding.  Obviously Beowulf is a popular story!

I'm really proud of how this shoot turned out.  The costuming is accurate, and I love the sword (which some might say isn't accurate, but it is very similar to the sword seen in the memorial statue; and I'm assuming that they wouldn't "wing it" with a memorial)!

A big thank you to Lucy for helping me with this project, you were the one I really wanted!

Model: Gretchen-horns test shoot

Meet the fall fairy.  What started out as a test shoot to see the appearance of the horns under a flash, took on it's own individuality through the amazing modeling of Gretchen, and makeup by Alicia.

I really had no ideas when we started shooting.  All I knew was that I wanted to continue practicing my lighting, and I didn't want to do the shoot "half way."  Gretchen really took the shoot into her own hands, pulling off all the grace and beauty of a greek statue. 

I liked the photos so much, I decided to photoshop her into a new location, one that would really help tell it's own story-something beyond just a "test shoot."

The horns are made from tinfoil, paper mache, string and paint, duck taped to a headband.  You will be seeing them again later!

Creative: Temptation

Every year Carroll has a Graphic Design competition.  I shot this photo specifically for the photoshop section of the competition. 

In Scottish folklore there is the Seelie and Unseelie court.  The story goes that the Unseelie court will lure humans down into the fairy world.  Once there, the humans are persuaded to eat the fruit-and once they do, they can never leave, giving the Unseelie court prisoners from which to draw their energy.

 

I made it into a fake movie poster because I wanted to play between fine art and commercial photography.

 

Here are the photos that went into the making of the final project

 

  

The crown and claw were both made of hot glue, and

then painted with yellow paint and gold nail polish. 

The background was hand drawn, scanned, recreated in illustrator,

then printed and made 3D by staggering the paper on cardboard.

Thanks Alicia for the makeup, and Marissa for her awesome modeling!

52: Week 51

 Week 51 was a Christmas shoot!  This is Danielle (again) who had laid claim to my next creative shoot.  This weeks shoot was based on Sugar Plum fairies/the Christmas queen.  I realized I hadn't done a shoot that required a good deal of editing for a while, so I decided to challenge myself.  This shoot was really fun, and one of my more intense shoots.  We stole the strobes from the studio to shoot in the chapel, but my teacher originally gave me the wrong combination to the lock, which lead to 5 people attempting to crack the code, only to end up calling him at 8pm to get the right combination.

The costume is all from the costume department.  The flower in her hair is an ornament, and the candy cane scepter was made by me!

And this is my lovely assistant Marissa!  She is a freshman photo major at Carroll who asked for my help in photography.  She was kind enough to work with me this shoot, and model for me while testing the lights.  This shoot would have been a lot harder without her help, so thank you so much Marissa!

52: Week 50

 Week 50!  I realized I haven't done any sort of hard core photoshop for a while now, so here is my attempt to remedy that.  This shoot was one I have had planned for a long time.  Originally intended to be a couple shoot with an ex boyfriend, I decided I would do it anyway, since I had already taken the location shots, had the poses in mind and the costumes picked out.

The location photos are HDR shots of Frame Park in down town Waukesha that I took last spring.  The model is my friend Carly who I photographed in the studio this pas week.

Week 50

Closed the dress, fixed the braid, erased fly aways, retouched makeup, and usual dodging and burning.

52: Week 49

Another idea I've had for a while.  Fabric back drop with eyeshadow to match. Makeup by Alicia Marie, model Taylor.

Week 49