Fashion Images

Voyeurism Artist Statement + Some Images

Artist Statement
Voyeurism in Photography


The images my series consists of are personal and autobiographical. Voyeuristic by design, they attempt to portray a sense of ambiguity, making the viewer not know and then know. The ambiguity is empowered by obscuring the face, leaving the figure questionable and the audience in question. My intention for the promiscuous nature of the images is to confuse and demand time from the viewer to look beneath the surface. This allows the viewer to fill in the unsettling blanks and not really know on what terms to take the photographs. I hope to create a tension that is echoed by the predominance of the female subject matter and the uncanny composition, as well as to raise emotions such as uncertainty, suspicion, and voyeurism about a particular female figure. I wanted to believe the images did not stem from my own emotions, but they are about me and hold a personal truth. However, I do not intend to make the series about the individual, but more about the person watching the individual. Therefore, it is important to not reveal the face. It has been known that the eyes are a ‘window’ into a person’s soul. For this very reason, I do not want the viewer to have access to this ‘window’ so there is a more powerful encounter between the artist, sitter, and spectator.
By using an ‘anonymous’ figure, I am shifting the emphasis onto the viewer, forcing them to bring their own assumptions and preconceptions to the work. The objective of these photographs are to allow the viewer to look at someone they do not know for what would normally be an unacceptable amount of time. This, along with the awkward poses and unusual postures, allow a certain kind of vulnerability and intimacy, which creates a curious underlying tension in the viewer. This tension is magnified when the element of distance is added, which creates a more voyeuristic feeling. This depth allows the images to convey the feeling of someone watching because the viewer has to look through the space. A clearer image becomes apparent the farther the camera pulls back, yet the figure is still anonymous and ambiguous. By carefully pairing the more abstract images with the more literal, the photographs collaboratively work together strongly as a series but at the same time, they are not dependent of each other. The particular pairing of the images let the viewer know that more than one person is involved within the frame, which can lead to different forms and guises of reactions, such as skepticism, insecurity, and exploitative tensions. Through these reactions, the fascination of observation is exposed, as the images hold an interest that compel the viewers to want to look and see and ultimately the viewers themselves are in fact the practitioners of voyeurism.

Artist Lecture: TJ Demos

Artist Lecture: Alan Berliner

Artist Lecture: Anthony Goicolea

"As if being passed a methodological torch from artist Henry Darger, Goicolea shares with his audiences an epic personal mythology revealing the insights and struggles of an artist creatively interpreting the existential and societal dilemmas of his past, the present, and predicted future. His work examines a broad range of topics including but not limited to romanticism, personal identity, mythology, masculinity, ritual, obsession, sexuality, environmentalism and of course, adolescence."

Narrative Statement + Some Images

Jacquelyne Pierson
Voyeuristic by Nature

The images comprised in my series, Voyeuristic by Nature, are autobiographical, personal and honest. Their naturally ambiguous nature allows the viewer to have a sense of not knowing and then knowing. This ambiguity is empowered by the obscuring of the face, leaving the figure questionable and the audience in question. My intention for the promiscuous nature of the images is to confuse and demand time from the viewer to look past what is on the surface to inspire emotions within each individual. I hope to create a tension that is echoed by the predominance of the human figures and the uncanny composition. The images are to raise emotions such as uncertainty, suspicion, and voyeurism about two particular figures and their relationship. Through the portrayal of a filmic narrative, I am shifting the emphasis onto the viewer, forcing them to bring their own assumptions and misconceptions to the feelings that are presented with each individual image. The awkward poses and unusual postures allow a certain kind of vulnerability and intimacy, which creates a curious underlying relationship between the audience and the photographs. The particular pairing the final images will have will allow them to collaboratively work together strongly as a series but at the same time, they will not be dependant of each other. This pairing will let the viewer know that more than one person is involved within the frame, which can lead to different forms and guises of reactions, such as skepticism, insecurity, and exploitative tensions. Through these reactions, the fascination of observation is exposed, as the images hold interests that compel the viewer to want to look and see and ultimately the viewers themselves become the voyeurs.

New Images

Artist Statement

The images comprised in my series, Separately Together, are autobiographical, personal and honest. They hold a voyeuristic nature, which reveals their ambiguity making the viewer have a sense of not knowing and then knowing. The ambiguity is empowered by the obscuring of the face, leaving the figure questionable and the audience in question. My intention for the promiscuous nature of the images is to confuse and demand time from the viewer to look past what is on the surface. I hope to create a tension that is echoed by the predominance of the human figures and the uncanny composition. The images are to raise emotions such as uncertainty, suspicion, and voyeurism about two particular figures. Through the portrayal of a filmic narrative, I am shifting the emphasis onto the viewer, forcing them to bring their own assumptions and misconceptions to the narration. The awkward poses and unusual postures allow a certain kind of vulnerability and intimacy, which creates a curious underlying relationship between the audience and the photographs. The particular pairing the final images will have will allow them to collaboratively work together strongly as a series but at the same time, they will not be dependant of each other. This pairing will let the viewer know that more than one person is involved within the frame, which can lead to different forms and guises of reactions, such as skepticism, insecurity, and exploitative tensions. Through these reactions, the fascination of observation is exposed, as the images hold interests that compel the viewer to want to look and see and ultimately the viewers themselves become the narrators.

Anderson Gallery

Jacquelyne Images

These are some images I have been working with right now. I have more and plan to take a lot more. My whole concept is based off of a narrative, but not one in particular. I want the audience to somehow be able to relate to what is going on in the photographs or somehow put themselves in that position. However, I am trying to make the images speak to the audience in some way, shape or form. I want there to be some sort of narration that gives off a voyeuristic emotion within the viewer. Right now, the images do not really separate themselves from a one moment. I am continuing to shoot more and more so the final prints give a sense of time lapse and not look like they were taken over a course of a few days. I started using only myself, but when I brought another figure into the photographs, the narration I wanted to achieve started to show. I still have some questions on presentation and how the feel of the overall images. I am thinking about printing them large and having some close together while others are more spread about the wall. I want them to have a loud feeling but not overpower the viewer. So my question is, how should I present them? Would they work big? And what about having some black and white? I posted the sky pictures because I wanted to incorporate photographs with the figures that represent them as individuals. the sky photographs were the first I took, but I plan on maybe doing some illustrations or taking more "detail" images that would work together and separately with the original images. Basically, I want the narration to have a progression that portrays the individuals. So any ideas or suggestions would be helpful...