The Face of (Crimson to Champagne Shimmer)
A portfolio of 20 images printed on archival cotton paper
The Face of (Crimson to Champagne Shimmer) scans the history of the female face in film and links the closeup with how color and makeup create desire. Responding to memories of learning how to put on my face from an older sister cruising thru the cosmetics, the work considers how color and beauty inform our desire to look good, accentuate the positive and minimize our flaws. Colors found in the 20 images were selected from make up color palettes. The colors add visual power to the black and white images. The names selected and sampled from eye shadow, lipstick and powder palettes (i.e. champagne shimmer) reveal how color and makeup seduce and capture our longing to look desirable and enhance our appearance. The series borrows images of early film icon Marlene Dietrich from youth to her 80’s when she chose seclusion and privacy from public scrutiny, choosing to keep her face in memory only. Most will not recognize her, but for those that do there is an additional reward. By manipulating images beyond the point of accurate recognition, the works reveal cues about colors, poses and expressions found today in film and advertising.
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