Descrizione Opera / Biografia
The Beauty Mask / Artist Statement
This on-going series explores how natural beauty is masked by cosmetics that women use every day, and how the language of advertising is absorbed into the subconscious, where it constantly influences what women buy and how they perceive themselves. The text in this work is often appropriated from advertising slogans found in popular women’s magazines, and is often difficult to read, signifying how the linguistics of advertising subconsciously attempts to persuade women to buy cosmetic products that alter their physical appearance.
In the newest phase of this series, the work references the symbolism of the female, Renaissance portrait. The portraits, often commissioned by a father or spouse, represented, not the physical beauty of its sitter but the wealth and stature of the commissioner. The self-portrait is used to investigate the various experiences of using cosmetics to commodify beauty, like the connection between the alteration of physical appearance to achieve societal acceptance.
Biography / Morgan Ford Willingham
Morgan Ford Willingham is a photographic artist and educator. After receiving a MFA in photography from Texas Woman’s University, she moved to the Midwest to pursue a career in academia and art making. Morgan examines how identity is shaped by advertising and societal pressures through the use of various mediums, including photography, book arts, and installation. Her work has been widely exhibited, including Humble Arts Gallery in NYC, Filter Photo in Chicago, and the Hite Institute of Art in Louisville, KY. She is currently Assistant Professor of Photography at Emporia State University in Kansas.
