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David
R. Shapleigh MFA
 
 
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Belmont,
MA, USA
-MFA:
Boston University
-Academic
affiliation: Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA
Exhibitions:
Carol
Schlosberg Alumni Gallery, Montserrat College of Art, “Faculty
Exhibition”
2006,
Beverly, MA
Long
Beach Arts, “Works on Paper”
2006,
Long Beach, CA, Honorable Mention
Caladan
Gallery, “Black and White”
2006,
Beverly, MA,
Upstream
People Gallery, “8th Annual Faces Online Art Exhibition”
2006,
Omaha, NE,
Honorable
Mention
Worcester
Art Museum, “New Work”
2005,
Worcester, MA
Artist
Statement
In
my work I am as objective as possible about the subject I am working from.
Working in this manner will force the viewer of the piece of work
to do the same. I want the
viewer to look with his or her eyes and not allow his or her stored visual
references or prior information to block this viewing process.
The work is accessible to the viewer but not readily or easily
processed. Our society has
been greatly influenced by film, television, and other visual resources,
so that most people do not or cannot look at an image or object in front
of them and describe what they see without using their stored visual
images of similar situations. Films
and television display images at a rapid rate and generalize these images
for fast reception so that our society has become accustomed to viewing
images in this manner. By
placing an object out of its context, a drawing of the back of my head six
times larger than the actual size, I have provided a different visual
setting that forces the viewer to have an objective perspective or visual
understanding of the object.
My
recent work is an exploration of my head through drawing with compressed
charcoal, powdered charcoal and graphite.
Included in the ongoing series are images of the back, right side,
and three-quarter left front of my head.
This work is done through direct observation from multiple mirrors.
Originally, I started with a police style “mug” shot of a front
and a profile view. I choose
this as a starting point because it makes the viewer look at my head
objectively, as an object that they have never seen before.
When this series is completed, there will be eight views of my
head.
www.davidshapleigh.com
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