Amanda Harris

My concentration would best be described as “The vivid exploration of human skin.” Throughout the year I have tried to push the idea in different directions and really discover how skin influences identity and perception. A person’s skin can say a lot about them. Discoloration of the eyelids show lack of sleep and bruised knees are a sign of clumsiness. These things, and others like scars and freckles manipulate appearance and in turn can impact one’s identity. Some people tattoo their skin to visually represent their self or get plastic surgery to cut out their imperfections. However, there is something beautiful about the natural imperfections in the human skin, which sometimes can tell a story better than any tattoo. Skin is a huge part of our individuality; our lines, wrinkles, veins, etc. vary greatly from person to person and make up our external self. Fingerprints are tiny details of our skin, but their uniqueness strongly links them to identity. However, once you take the view of skin to a microscopic level, it loses all connection to human characteristics and becomes abstract. Skin itself can also be perceived in a number of ways. By using textures and colors I was able to shift the mood to portray the idea of skin differently from piece to piece. For example, nudity can be both innocent and provocative, depending on how it is approached.

While trying to pick a concentration at the beginning of the year, I was leaning toward portraits. Not only did I need practice painting people, but I was fascinated with the idea of portraying someone’s personality and even their identity with only their face. However, I decided to take this idea a step further and paint portraits of skin. In the end, this tighter focus actually allowed me to show a larger variety of concepts. Even though many of the pieces are worlds apart, I think the idea adequately connects them in a cohesive group.