IVP 3 - Lauren Anderson

When I began this project, I wanted to do something with the image of ideal female beauty and how it changes over time. Specifically, how people manipulate the idea of how beauty should be based on cultural forces. When I thought more into it, however, I realized how fluid the ideal image of beauty can be, especially when I broadened my perspective and explored the general concept of "beauty". What is perceived as beautiful can change from second to second, based on thought, influence of new ideas and opinions, new perspective, slight alteration, etc. In this way, beauty is truly difficult to capture (artists of all kind have been attempting to do so for a very long time after all), and I wanted to illustrate not just beauty, but how perception of beauty interacts with and is manipulated by time.
My mixed-media sculpture consists of a metal shell comprised of old, rusted lawnmower blades. These were hand-forged into a structure to hold the strip of canvas presenting an acrylic Venus that is suspended in the metal structure from lines of thread.