| SM Shifflett » Artist's Statement |
I was born in the middle of the twentieth century, a time where we as a society are bombarded with literally thousands of images every day. At times I feel numbed by such constant visual onslaught; when I see images that make me feel something, I owe it to myself to question why. Francis Bacon once said he wanted to create images that traveled from the viewer's retina directly to their nervous system. This is an increasingly more difficult goal for an artist to meet.
Images that make me feel are those that reflect the human condition. Such images transcend time, language and culture. When an image is compelling, I feel connected to the artist. I know what it feels like to want to create such art: to express what is innately human. I want to break through the jaded shell our society has imposed on us and make those who view my art feel something. The quest is to arrange pigment on a flat surface and make the viewer feel as strongly as I feel when I look into the eyes of a Caravagio or a Van Gogh, to speak where language falls short.
Images that succeed are introspective. To be able to express a deep emotion or sublime feeling, one has to first feel it. When artists were painting on cave walls they were trying to capture the power they felt the beast possessed, in turn expressing their own power. When painters were painting about the glory of God they were in truth painting their own humanity. That is why we do not have to hunt or believe in God to be moved by these images: we see something of ourselves in them. Since I recognized this, I have felt the need to explore the idea further, to be honest and blatantly selfish in my expression of humanity.
This path has turned me in the direction of erotic art. In the past, artists in Western society have had to keep this part of themselves closeted, for fear of persecution (or worse). Artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Joel Peter Witkin, and Karen Finley (among many others) have helped start a dialogue in and beyond the artistic community about the creation of erotic art. For those who are morally or otherwise opposed to artists who make them ask "what is art: there is tremendous value in beginning to question why a work of art inspires so much feeling, even if it is outrage. I think the outrage lies in the not-so-obvious: much of the work deemed obscene isn't about lewdness, but about a hidden self-questioning brought to the surface. We see "obscene" images daily; in the culture at large, we do not blink an eye at a fourteen year old girl made up and posed seductively on a magazine cover, yet certain types of expression are subject to more vehement scrutiny than others. By inspiring a vigorous questioning of the function of art, erotic art pushes us to seriously question ourselves.
Making art has always been a way to question myself. I am not trying to make any breakthroughs in the art world. I am not trying to express ideas that have never been expressed, but ideas I may not have expressed. Making art helps me learn about myself and through art I become part of what stirs us to remember how to feel.
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