Unraveling Layers of Identity

Author/Artist Name

Jay schroederFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 4-9-2021

Artist Statement

I’m a firm believer that art is something that should be done with passion and honesty. Difficult topics should not be avoided, despite backlash or hate. Making art about important topics, as heavy as they can be at times, is incredibly rewarding. For me, art does not need a censor and I believe art with a message should be unapologetically honest, come from the heart, without doubt or hesitance. My photographs and videos explore themes of body and identity in an expressive and performative way. I explore how these themes interact with one another in a way that allows for viewer interpretation.

My photo series Canvas focuses on the connection between art and body. In this piece, my body becomes the canvas as thrown paint splattered against my back with little to no control over how it was done. This creates a series of ten images in which my body/back went from having no paint to being close to completely covered in it. I blur the line between subject and object to confront the portrayal of female bodies as objects rather than subjects. As a Queer artist with an androgenous body, I decided that I would become the object.

The photos Kiss me and Fly with me, are tongue in cheek ways of addressing suicidal ideologies. As one who has experienced such thoughts, I have found that sometimes the best way to cope with and address these parts of myself is through humor. These images visualize the mentality of suicidal ideation from my experience. Research shows that typically people don’t kill themselves because they want to die, but because it is the only way they can think of to escape from their current reality. Depression does not define a person. Rather, it is a part of them and their identity. This work uses humor to reframe social stigmas around suicide. I have no shame in my mental illness or my suicidal past. It is a part of me so why not talk about it?

I have been inspired by Kate Gilmore, a video artist who touches on themes such as feminism and inequality, especially in the art field. She works in a way that gives ode to abstract expressionists, most of which with recognition were or are men. Queer artists are still underrepresented, much like female artist are. Most My work is in conversation with queer artists who photograph queer bodies, such as, Zanele Muholi, Mickalene Thomas, and Robert Mapplethorpe, who advocate/advocated for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Advisor/Mentor

Mike martin; Michelle Burdine; Dr. Gamble; John Utgard

Description

The names I’ve been gifted, 2021, 17 x 36

Kiss me, 2020, 11 x 16

Fly with me, 2021, 11 x 16

Canvas, series of 10 images, 2020, 14 x 11

Queer is beautiful, 2021, 15 x 16

Feels good, 2021, video

Bathed in his blood and still a filthy sinner, 2021, video

Release, 2021, video

Who Cares, 2021, video

Motherly father, 2019, video

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

schroeder, Jay, "Unraveling Layers of Identity" (2021). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 70.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/70