The world is a vivid, bizarre, terrifying, beautifully dynamic place.
The role of the artist is thus not to strive for originality amidst an environment already rich with the unique, but to expose existing connections between individual entities and translate these into a visual representation. I am drawn to the inhabitants, perpetually arrested by our fascinating impulses and behaviors. My art is the most powerful way I can record and make sense of my observations, and further develop this translational ability.
As artists we are often encouraged to refine our work into one voice or style to make us stand out from the masses, but the masses are exactly what I draw my inspiration from. I both intentionally and unconsciously borrow, sample, and appropriate from the constantly shifting, very human world around us, letting the images and experiences of others add to my own understanding. I have always had a profound interest in sociology and psychology; the nature of the human condition being of particular intrigue. My experience with art is that it is a powerful medium in expressing my thoughts on these matters in a way to be seen in the public sphere. As a result, much of my work deals with the spectrum of human impulses, inherent emotional reactions, and ultimately identity and representation.
Art should never be static, it should evolve as we do.
Elizabeth Cunningham is an artist currently based in San Francisco, but generally committed to a nomadic lifestyle, having also spent significant time in Cleveland, Seattle, Philadelphia, and New York City. She is pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts with a concentration in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, CA, after receiving her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Simultaneously fascinated and intimidated by the social world around her, Elizabeth seeks to use her art as a method of communication when her own abilities at verbally self-promoting the bizarre world in her head fall short.