PAPER: Persona: Preserving Memory and Embodying Identity

Self portraits and body casts of dancers/costumes in handmade paper. These works are part of a long tradition of portraiture, artist self portraits and death masks in art history. The “life casts” of the artists’ face and body merge self-portraiture and gestural use of sheets of paper with the figure exerting its presence. The "Circus Costumes” were commissioned for a dance performance at Santa Monica College in 1989. The cast paper sculptures were Velcroed to the leotards of the dancers and serve as extensions of their bodies into portions of their costumes. They become metaphors for the dichotomy between our jobs/functions and our inner lives. At the end of the performance, the dancers remove their costumes, exerting their independence from the demands on their lives.