Nicole+Federica+Project+2+Artist's+Statement

media type="youtube" key="4fHj20zGITw?fs=1" height="385" width="480" In my second video piece, focusing on the body, I wanted a film that captured more than simple function. I wanted my piece to say something in a larger context whether it meant speaking to a wider audience and making the video simplistic and easily understood or commenting on a social norm. I knew I wanted to focus on a single part, having one section of the body be the central image, and also play off of the modern view of that body part (i.e. what is it’s primary function, it is seen as athletic, does it allude to an ideal associated with attractiveness?). I decided to highlight the eyes, an element of the body seen as the one of the most vulnerable parts. I wanted to play off of the issue of emotional exposure through the eyes as well as convey a message about present beauty. In sketching my video outline, I thought about every possible cliché: “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” “beauty is pain,” “the eye is the gateway to the soul,” etc. My intent was to convey all of these. Through my minimal yet semi-painful application of makeup and through limiting the view of just the eye at different angles as if the lens were my mirror, it showcased the overused expressions and also poked fun as the social commentary surrounding them. By the end result of the eye not looking much different that what I started with, despite many layers of makeup, it begs the question of // why // women put makeup on everyday –what is our motivation and do we feel it an obligation or again, a social norm? And by tugging and pulling on my eye in addition to using an eyelash curler that my classmates deemed a “torture device,” it also raises the question of // why // we do such things to feel beautiful –is it an image built into our society?