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- Artist Name:
- Kalliope Amorphous
- Location:
- USA
- Statement:
- “All art is the memory of our dark origins, whose fragments live in the artist forever.” -Paul Klee
I am not a photographer or a narcissist. I am an artist with a camera. I want to push the boundaries of what I define as self and other by playing with ideas of identity, gender, archetype and the myriad ways in which they can be represented. I am inspired and fascinated by all of the subtle variations in mood and character that human beings are capable of. I can more deeply explore these moods and emotions by physically transforming into them for a moment in time.
Self portraiture became a natural extension of my artistic desire to work with photography, coupled with my reclusive personality. This work is entirely self-contained. As photographer, subject, costumer, makeup artist, and post-processor, I have complete control over the resulting imagery, and am also able to work alone at three in the morning if the spirit moves me.
Ironically, I have a hard time identifying with my work as “self” portraiture, because all of these characters and personalities seem to be their own. I just try to give them life for a moment, acting as a screen for them to play on. In the same breath, they also represent loosely fragmented aspects of my own personality, inspirations and affinities.
I work entirely with available and improvisational lighting. All costuming, styling, makeup, photography and post processing are self-created. I shoot digital, yet prefer a more traditional photographic aesthetic over heavily digitized post processing. All effects are created in camera.
I find a powerful link between the written word and the wordless image. The still image is without words, yet is capable of equally as much poetry. There is a paradox there that is quite beautiful, and I love being able to work with it. In a good session, that collaboration will be tangible in the finished work.
In addition to conceptual self portraits, I have also been working on an ongoing series of portraits of artist, musician, and composer Diamanda Galas, whom I believe to be one of the most important artists on the planet right now. These portraits are artistically manipulated, both physically and digitally, and represent an unexpected move toward non-self portrait work and alternative-process imagery.
My heroes are saints, rabblerousers, eccentrics, sages, poets, hippies, misfits, old folks, madmen, Goddesses and drag queens.
- Biography:
- Kalliope Amorphous is an artist working with the conceptual self-portrait photograph. Born in Providence, RI, she spent the bulk of her formative years in New York City, dabbling in everything from spoken word poetry to performance art. Her primary body of work has evolved into an exploration of the self-portrait photograph as a catalyst for exploring ideas of identity, gender, archetype and myth.
Kalliope’s previous incarnations in theater and performance art can be seen in her theatrical approach to lighting and costuming, as well as her character inspired images. Her work ranges from interpretations of pre-existing iconography to compositions meant purely to provoke and challenge perceptions and first impressions.
Self-taught in photography, Kalliope takes an intuitive approach to composition and lighting and works without the aid of professional lighting or studio equipment. Makeup, costuming, photography, and post processing are all self-created.
Kalliope has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe and currently divides her time between Rhode Island and New York.
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