Files
Academic Level at Time of Creation
Senior
Date of Creation
Fall 11-21-2025
Artist Statement
Being Black and Puerto Rican in a predominantly white area requires a flexible sense of self. I struggle to express my complex cultural identity in a way that feels authentic. Instead, I often feel like I’m performing an oversimplification of who I am. This body of work explores multifaceted identities through clown imagery. Clowns enact emotions through bold makeup, patterned clothing, skits, and props. It is their job to play the part. Similarly, I choose to hide behind the appropriate social mask out of a sense of obligation. Clowns are joyful symbols of humor and childhood, but thanks to horror films like IT and Killer Clowns from Outerspace, they are also haunting. I depict this duplicitous nature by painting my subjects in vibrant colors and incorporating unexpected imagery. I’m inspired by the surrealism of Odilon Redon, the ornate patterns of Khinde Wiley, and the saturated iconography of Takashi Murakami. Paint allows me to layer and revise in much the same way as applying makeup. No matter how you feel about clowns, the ideas of masking or performing the self are universal.
Advisor/Mentor
April Webb; Lu Colby
Description
The theme of my work was focused on identity and the symbolism of clowns as my subject matter. I achieved this through oil painting on canvas with two pieces that had 3D elements of balloons that came out of the canvas. With one of the pieces, I depicted a sad clown, and, in the hands, it was the balloon reaching out of the top that became deflated which added to the theme. In another work I showed a portrait of me as the clown to show how myself relates to the sense of masking.
I wanted people to see how these depictions can not only relate to me personally but to others that have ever felt the need to mask or cover up. I wanted to show that through clown imagery because it's a big part of their job. So, what people would have seen are four oil painting on canvas.
Photo Credit
Samira Johnson (photos taken by me)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Samira, "Fragments" (2025). B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499). 85.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art499/85