Carrie M. Nelson

Senior Capstone Exhibition

"Visceral Reflections"

Statement:

 

Within the natural landscape, there is a balance between abundant generosity and heartless inhospitality, impeccable beauty and deadly terror. In art, the landscape has been idealized, romanticized, fantasized and depicts a pristine splash of light and color.

 

I am tackling the landscape by increasing the idealization, drawing inspiration from Disney conceptual art and the stark stamp of the silhouette. These influences play a prominent role in my painting style and which I use to help accentuate the concept of the landscape as another realm of reality.

 

I am interested in this push-pull relationship between landscape as fantasy and landscape as reality. In my images, the silhouettes feel removed from the colorful backgrounds instead of being a part of them. This works to remind the viewer that they will always be removed from this romanticized ideal and never a part of it. In my images, the silhouette acts as a barrier. In order to access the natural image of beauty, one must first traverse the silhouette. No amount of looking past it changes the fact that it is always there.