E. Ogier
Web Porfolio for E. Ogier
UnCommon Women (and other lies we tell ourselves) E. Ogier Blog | Welcome to the web portfoilo of E. Ogier
"I have always been more interested in the people and environment around me than in any exploration of the static object. People come with these deeper levels of personality and emotion through which infinite symbolism can occur. I have two purposes with my artwork. One is to use this human symbolism with a purpose of critiquing our system of culture and the framework we process each other with that has been instilled with us since birth. The other purpose is arguably my most personal. To share experience is often the greatest pull on an artist’s need to create. I share my experiences in order to not only connect myself to others around me (other artists and the viewer) but to hopefully illuminate some sort of truth in the connection of the human race as a whole. The usage of text within the visual arts has a long tradition dating back to the medieval manuscripts of Christian Europe. Dadaists and surrealists used found text with appropriated images to create their irrational, odd art. More recently photographers, like Lorna Simpson, use the culture loss of meaning behind text to enhance their work by selectively using those powerful phrases to address issues of racism, culture and stereotypes. The power in the combination of text and image is unmistakable. It has the ability to create layers upon layers of meaning as well as express emotions, experiences that may otherwise go unnoticed or uninterpreted." “i will not” series One of the many duties of artists is to illuminate that which is often invisible. Today’s culture of split second change, everyone is going a million miles a minute trying to keep-up. It isn’t until we slow down that we see the beauty, the injustice, the oddity that is life and human nature. We all as human beings are not perfect. We have aspects to our selves we do not enjoy or appreciate…whether it is our own fault or not. As we grow, adults, friends, family and especially the media all tell us we need to look a certain way, act a certain way, and to be a certain kind of person. Children are taught to put on this mask of who they are expected to be and that they need to maintain that mask. If true self is shown…disaster. In the series “I will not” it was my purpose to expose insecurities of my subjects as a way of equalizing us all. We all fear. We all hope. We all dream. We all hate ourselves in some capacity. Whether because of our upbringing or our culture, we are not alone in our pain or in our victories. While many of the images are composed similarly, the text when read opens up the subject to the viewer exposing a unique set of fears and uncertainties that can be related to by all. UnCommon Women (and other lies we tell ourselves)
The women’s space is a sacred space, a holy place of love, compassion and community. Women’s working together to build something is a beautiful phenomenon that is truly an honor to experience. I spent four years studying at an all women’s university and can that this is all very much true. But there is a flipside to this utopian view. Gossiping, bitching, name-calling, arguments: all a constant in the competitive lives of women. This series explores the tensions between women in a feminist environment. Stressors of school, friends, family, and work often manifest themselves through unhealthy interactions. The text, roughly handwritten and mean-spirited is laid over scenes of cathartic release, dancing, drinking, and nudity. Using color 120 film, taken with a simple holga camera, in a digital format gives the work a primal quality while still allowing me to have control over the work. The interaction of text and image is meant to convey to the viewer the emotional turmoil of trying to reconcile these opposite faces of the whole all-women experience." - E. Ogier
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Made by E. Ogier 2007
