Daisy Slucher Art399 Portfolio

Author/Artist Name

Daisy SlucherFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Junior

Date of Creation

Fall 2021

Artist Statement

I am primarily a painter but use other mediums, such as videography, to further explore themes and flesh out my ideas. I make work about the over-sexualization of the female body that asks, “how can I give power back to the woman?” I defy the notion that women are sexual objects by portraying female figures in my paintings holding a confident gaze with the viewer almost challenging them to keep looking. Most of the figures are partially undressed to communicate the idea that a naked woman does not mean she is performing a sexual act or wanting to. I use bold, cautionary colors meant to catch attention and force the viewer to draw closer to the subject matter. Discarded clothes are a common piece of imagery that comes up across mediums and serves as a representation of this small boundary between a woman's body and the outside world. In my work, these objects are often placed on the ground to question whether the disposal of it is cause for alarm or part of sexual courtship. Part of my practice is community-based, through conversations about the female experience. These conversations inform my work and give me the courage to explore subject matter that can feel daunting to address.

I am deeply inspired by the painters Jenna Gribbon and Scott Avett. Jenna Gribbon is also depicting female forms that confront the male gaze and normalize the female nude to be something more than just sexual. The way she intentionally chooses to highly render some parts of the painting, like the subject’s butt to acknowledge that she knows you’re looking at it, to the way that she is able to simplify and suggest other parts in just a few strokes to better carry out her narrative is an inspiring technique to me. Scott Avett shows relationship dynamics and how vulnerable they are in the way he organizes his paintings. He plays with composition and scale in an interesting way that combines different settings and creates his own world, something I’ve tried doing in my own work. His subject matter is often mundane, but it draws you in because there seems to be a level of relatability. His brushwork is loose and he exaggerates colors to the point where the imagery feels slightly fantastical. I think brightly saturated subject matter paired with monotony is a common theme in my own work and something I would like to keep pushing.

Advisor/Mentor

Danielle Mužina; Mike Martin

Description

This body of work deals with themes related to the female experience. It primarily consists of figurative paintings but also includes a collage with photographic elements and more abstract paintings as well. There are 9 total pieces in this portfolio, including some works in progress. Most of the paintings are a combination of acrylic and oil on canvas with the exception of piece 1 being only acrylic, and piece 6 being strictly oil. Piece 8 is a collage with darkroom photo prints, acrylic paint, and magazine cutouts.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Slucher, Daisy, "Daisy Slucher Art399 Portfolio" (2021). Professional Practices (ART 399). 122.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/122