My work usually focuses on what drives people, ranging from elegant patterns, stress, to hunger.  My style strives for perfection, is meticulous, and clean-cut, all of which probably mirror my work as a classical musician.  I work in all kinds of mediums including graphite, paint, lino-cut prints, calligraphic mediums, and more recently, Photoshop.  I am interested in what makes people tick and how their behaviors are determined.  For that reason, I am using a psychological approach on my recent piece, I.D.id It For The Likes.  This piece illustrates the desire of most people to have an acceptable identity.  It is human nature to want to fit in with society and to know who we are.  I.D.id It For The Likes explores the different influences on our behavior that help (or hinder) us to find this acceptable identity.  These influences include body image, monetary success, nationality, intellect, people around us, and what society deems acceptable through the media.

Here are a few videos that go along with my project idea!

This first one is about wanting to be accepted, and then thinking that you’re not.  The woman really captures the emotional turmoil that this causes.

This second video is about defining your identity in relation to other people.  So you’re not really finding your identity and who you want to be, you’re molding your identity out of your friends and what they think of you.

I see my piece as kind of a collage.  Found this guy, Larry Carson, and he has a more raw collage style.  Very interesting work that I feel I am somewhat drawing inspiration from.

Before:

After:

So this is what I have so far.  The blue background is just temporarily, it will be different once I figure out what to do with it. 

This is Gustave Courbet’s, “The Desperate Man”. 

This is the desperate Katie.

And finally, I give you, “Katie Courbet”.

 

New idea for the Desire project.  Instead of using the desire for social acceptance, I think I’m going to do the desire for an acceptable identity.  The main idea is still pretty much the same, but this new main idea explains better what I want to get across to the viewer.  The desire for an acceptable identity is shaped by reciprocal determinism,
group socialization, identity crisis during adolescent years, psychosocial crisis, and the theory of mind.  All or most of these psychology terms and definitions will be  incorporated into my piece somehow.  Our desires have everything to do with our brains, so I think it is appropriate to work psychology into the project.

I’d say this was a success.  Wasn’t trying to make it super realistic or anything.  Utilized correctly: layers, adjustments (gradient). erasing adjustment, brush tool.  That’s the most success I’ve had with photoshop.  I quite like it