"Kirsten Moore Art 399 Portfolio" by Kirsten Moore

My work questions our perceptions of space and time. I am interested in the way my personal experiences and choices are both shaped by time and are constantly changing. This ranges from broader struggles with health and identity to everyday decisions about fashion or conversations with friends. Our perceptions of our individual lives change over time, and past versions of ourselves can intermix and influence our present selves. There is nothing more intriguing to me than blending multiple dimensions by overlapping realistic figures with a two-dimensional pattern and allowing them to merge into a single landscape. This transports the viewer into a different version of reality and allows them to be open to new ideas or ways of thinking. I also incorporate non-naturalistic colors, which can change the meaning of a piece, allowing there to be questions about whether the piece is set in the same reality as ours or not.

Recently, I have been drawn to my personal perfection of Christianity and how I, along with fellow Christians and non-Christians, view it. I challenge what the world and other Christians define as “Christian” or “Christ-like.” I find unique and often challenging ways to introduce the God I share my heart and soul with, while also still taking into consideration the views of others. Through this exploration of the world's view of Christ and Christianity is a fairly new one, I know that these paintings encourage people to view a religion that I hold very near and dear to my heart in a new light; one that may challenge the preconceived notions God and the Church for both Christians and non-Christians alike.

My artwork often takes into consideration my interests, experiences, and emotions, such as my PTSD, insomnia, childhood memories, religion, and individual choices about fashion or sexuality. When looking at my pieces, we can see a common visual theme of using patterns. In my piece “CHANGES,” there is a pattern of repeating exclamation points on one part of the diptych and repeating question marks on the other half. Within my pieces “Fashion: In Squares,” “Tip Toe,” and “Checkmate”, you can see a repeating pattern of black and white squares, reminiscent of a chessboard. There is also a pattern of stylistic, minimalist eyes in my “Insomnia” works, spreading across painting, ceramics, and digital media. Finally, you can see the pattern in my “Sisters” piece, with X’s and O’s filling the background, reminiscent of a tic-tac-toe game. All of these patterns, the same repeated images, are meant to show patterns in life--simple, repeated cycles, and habits we form over time. These patterns and habits can change our worldview, how we simply see and interact with others, time, and even ourselves. These cyclical patterns merge with our perceptions of reality, fading in and out of memory, overlapping our conscious and subconscious, creating a new mind space.

I am drawn to artists who make us question reality in some way. Ideas imagined by renowned surrealists intrigue me, much like Devan Shimoyama and his use of blending two dimensions of reality or consciousness. Though he isn’t a traditional surrealist, the way he uses patterns to flatten out the design of his figures and their environment creates such a surrealist atmosphere; an atmosphere where reality and other planes of dimensions merge into one space. Dawn Mellor creates a very similar space of diverting from a pure sense of reality by placing bold, eccentric patterns over the faces of her figures, distorting their features and their place in that world. This manipulation allows you to question why they are in that space, if they are the only ones like that, or if everyone shares that similar style and look. This mimics the color choice of my “Nonchalant” and “Sisters” piece, making you wonder if they are the only ones with such color in the realm they exist in. Yayoi Kusama’s use of repetitive circles in two-toned environments influences how I decide to implement color and pattern. For Kusama, the repetition of consistent circles playing throughout each of her pieces provokes me to dive deeper into the realm of repetition throughout my pieces. This allows for the same pattern to be seen throughout each of my pieces that carries the same concept, like the stylistic eyes in my insomnia-related work. I want my work to open new ways of thinking for my viewers, either about their own life or the lives of others. For my religious pieces, though these atmospheres do not directly mimic the style of this artist, I look to Chris Woods as a role model in the arch of modern Christian art. The way he puts Christ in very modern and public social settings is fascinating, and it makes you wonder what His role is in this earth today versus when He was alive and how relevant, close or distanced we are to Christ as a society today.

I hope to make room for more content from our internal conversations with ourselves to make their way into our daily external conversations with others. Hopefully, in this way, my work can open a gateway to a new and more open reality.

Advisor/Mentor

Dr. Rebecca Williams, T. Mike Martin

Description

My work mostly consists of a mixture of oil and acrylic on canvas. I often try to question our perceptions of space and time. I am interested in the way my personal experiences and choices are both shaped by time and are constantly changing. This ranges from broader struggles with health and identity to everyday decisions about fashion or conversations with friends. Our perceptions of our individual lives change over time, and past versions of ourselves can intermix and influence our present selves. There is nothing more intriguing to me than blending multiple dimensions by overlapping realistic figures with a two-dimensional pattern and allowing them to merge into a single landscape. This transports the viewer into a different version of reality and allows them to be open to new ideas or ways of thinking.

My artwork often takes into consideration my interests, experiences, and emotions, such as my PTSD, insomnia, childhood memories, religion, and individual choices about fashion or sexuality. When looking at my pieces, we can see a common visual theme of using patterns. Within my pieces “Fashion: In Squares,” “Tip Toe,” and “Checkmate”, you can see a repeating pattern of black and white squares, reminiscent of a chessboard. There is also a pattern of stylistic, minimalist eyes in my “Insomnia” works, spreading across painting, ceramics, and digital media. Finally, you can see the pattern in my “Sisters” piece, with X’s and O’s filling the background, reminiscent of a tic-tac-toe game. All of these patterns, the same repeated images, are meant to show patterns in life--simple, repeated cycles, and habits we form over time. These patterns and habits can change our worldview, how we simply see and interact with others, time, and even ourselves. These cyclical patterns merge with our perceptions of reality, fading in and out of memory, overlapping our conscious and subconscious, creating a new mind space.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Moore, Kirsten, "Kirsten Moore Art 399 Portfolio" (2021). Professional Practices (ART 399). 110.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/110

COinS

Murray State's Digital Commons

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Collection Title