Artist Statement

As a digital artist I am interested in dramatic lighting, people, and photography. Film noir is a genre known for its dark, expressionistic lighting and stylized camera work.   In general it means a type of crime film, primarily from the 1940s, featuring cynical malevolent characters in a sleazy setting and an ominous atmosphere that is conveyed by shadowy photography and foreboding background music. Because “film noir” literally translates to “black film,” I chose to use African American models for my work. In the 1940s film noir, African Americans were rarely shown, while in my work they are the only people shown. This invites the viewer to think about the role of black artists in film history and in society.
For this body of work I created a story about blackmailers and double-crossers, set in the 1940s and the 1950s. The “femme fatale” character, which is a film noir fixture, is the first person seen in this series of narrative photographs. The digital photos are printed on transparent film, and fixed between long sheets of Plexiglas to suggest old school film cells that filmmakers used before digital cameras. The viewer is invited into a dark space, and then activates the film stills with a flashlight. This involves the viewer in “detecting” the images and participating in the narrative. The image is projected on the wall, much as a film itself.
   

Final display look

My display will be using six 4ft pieces of plexiglass hung up by silver chains and plywood. The silk jet prints will be pressed in between the two 4 ft pieces of plexiglass. There will also be glow in the dark tape to direct the view to the instructions and the display.

MORE PICS FOR THIS PROJECT

Other pics for the BFA