Elizabeth White
MFA Candidate (scheduled to graduate spring 2007)
Photography, Video and Related Media Department/School of Visual Arts
New York

Artist’s Contact:

www.whitespaceprojects.com

Elizabeth@whitespaceprojects.com

Artist’s Statement:

Coming from a background in sociology and with an interest in psychology, my artistic interests maintain a focus on the relationship between the individual and society and aim to explore issues of power and control, especially as related to gender. Working in photography, video and installation, my work often deals with identity and presentation of self and the intersection of public and private spheres.

My installation Dressing Room, for example, uses double video projection to explore the relationship between self and reflection in the social and psychological site of the dressing room. In our culture, women in particular are held responsible for learning the language of clothing and for developing the related but separate skills of shopping and dressing.

Everywhere we go, our female bodies are regularly surveyed as meaningful territory on which social status, personality and moral character are written. Thus the capacity to project the way we wish to be received indicates mastery over our appearance and provides a sense of power within a system over which we have little control. Housing many of our hopes and fears, the dressing room then becomes a space in which this quest for power is continually played out through repetitive self-scrutiny. In this private area, we evaluate what will be our public appearance, considering ourselves as the objects of others’ gazes, simultaneously looking and being looked at.

Making public my self-surveillance, projections show me trying on dresses and looking at myself in an endless loop, pointing to the awkwardness and interminability of our efforts for satisfactory presentation of self. Filmed separately, the two video feeds amplify the distinction between self and appearance and interrupt the viewer’s privileged voyeuristic perspective.

Continuing to explore related issues, other recent pieces have dealt with the bodily grotesque, symmetry and the quest for perfection, and the staging of gender performance. Video clips and images from Dressing Room and other work can be viewed on my Web site.

Artist's Biography:

Elizabeth White received her BA in sociology from Vassar College and is currently a graduate student in the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts, where she was recently honored with an Aaron Siskind Fellowship. Her work has been shown in several venues in Berlin, New York and Washington, D.C. In addition to her own practice, White has experience in numerous aspects of the arts, including research, studio management, peer organizing and teaching.

About SVA’s Program:

The MFA Photography, Video and Related Media program at the School of Visual Arts strives to challenge traditional assumptions of how the media of photography and video are taught. The artist/creative interlocutor uncovers new ways of relating that reveal the richness that is embedded in the constant course of human culture. For the past 12 years, this unique program has lead the way in the implementation of digital technology to the photographic practice and in relating the photographic practice to the larger scope of cultural activity.

Emphasis is placed on critical standards based upon a full understanding of the history of photography, its relation to social and technological history, and an innate grounding in the practice of fine art. This program seeks to nurture a small and talented group of students so that they may harness their unique vision to make a positive impact on the cultural landscape of the future.

About SVA:

The School of Visual Arts in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been composed of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.