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JENNY
SCHMID
ARTIST
STATEMENT: My work freely combines influences
ranging from medieval engravings to contemporary American comic
culture. I am attracted to Old World print techniques that exploit
the aura, beauty and authority of history. My images always feature
a protagonist as the central oversized character. Her head is distorted
to emphasize her psychology and character rather than the corporeal.
"Sports
Mezzotinted" is a series of 12 mezzotints that I completed
in a year's time. The work was inspired by women in non-traditional
sports such as wrestling and hockey. These heroines are crowded
into the picture plane with all kinds of hybrid creatures as well
as trophies and medals. This poetic use of space and symbolic use
of images reflects the work that has influenced me, especially that
of Martin Schongauer. But because of the relevant subject matter,
the work has a distinctly contemporary feel.
As
well as having a foundation in history, my creative process is influenced
by contemporary artists such as street-artist Barry McGee and provocateurs
Nicole Eisenman, Paula Rego, and Lisa Yuskavage. Ultimately, my
prints serve as allegories for my own trials and adventures. Through
my work I consider the immediate problems of redefining gender,
desire and relationships.
This
contradiction between Old World and New World, humor and worry and
low and high art is what fuels me. I am just as inspired by a 300
pound 16 year-old female weight lifter as I am by the 18th century
artist William Hogarth, who humorously addresses a young woman's
downward spiral into prostitution in his series "A Harlot's
Progress".
I
am currently working on a series of lithographs, "The Downfall
of Young Girls." These large- scale stone lithographs reference
Victorian drama to reflect on the things that trip up girls in their
teen years, including drugs, pregnancy, anorexia and older men.
For
this series, I avoid heavy-handed politics and instead rely on the
creepy, ironic and humorously troubling to drive the message home.
Although there are hints that some greater social meaning may be
present, the allegorical nature of the images frees the viewer to
bring their own story to the work.
As
well as traditional stone lithography, this series employs more
contemporary print technology. I use the computer to create collages
of medieval imagery, and use photolithography to incorporate these
images into the work, thereby 'collaborating' with some of the artists
that influence me.
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