Vapid Connections
BFA Series, 2012
It seems that today’s fascination with the social media and networking has greatly influenced our society. So many inventions have been made to further connect us to each other, to make long distance not so long distance and expand the way in which we communicate. But how effective is this form of communication? Aspects of our communication, like body language and vocal tone are not present in these devices. We have deteriorated the inherent dialectic found within a healthy communication and conversation, and the result is a plethora of individual and mass interactions that are both distant and vapid. This loss of true human connection intrigued me. I wanted to make a series that pointed out the contradictions and complications of these technologies using facial expression, light, and color. This series is intended to express the connection between machines and humans and the absence of real human interaction. It seems like people have become absorbed in this false reality and shut out the surrounding world including one another.
In order to have a greater impact on the viewer, I have chosen large scale portraiture with some semiotic elements added. I was inspired for this series while watching someone stare into the television. I was intrigued by the vacant facial expressions and the light reflected from the screen onto their face. I wanted to show my point of view as an observer of this common but strange phenomenon of a person’s mind being absorbed into technology and the facial expressions that follow as well as that feeling of detachment and mental neglect.
In order to have a greater impact on the viewer, I have chosen large scale portraiture with some semiotic elements added. I was inspired for this series while watching someone stare into the television. I was intrigued by the vacant facial expressions and the light reflected from the screen onto their face. I wanted to show my point of view as an observer of this common but strange phenomenon of a person’s mind being absorbed into technology and the facial expressions that follow as well as that feeling of detachment and mental neglect.