Aaron T. Stephan MFA 2002
This body of work reflects a curiosity about the way we relate to the world through visual representations. The images themselves are constructed from anatomy books. The anatomy text book interests me in its attempt to portray an infinitely complex subject -- the human body -- in simple and absolute terms. Here, the body is washed of history, identity and interests. What is left is a sterile and over-simplified version of ourselves.

I use anatomy books to represent the site of personal experience. By contrasting the body with representations of iconic philosophers and the world globe, I move these images away from myself and toward the complex web of thinkers that have informed my work and a collective notion of the self.

It is my intention that these alterations will point to the fragility of our own perception, leaving a gap between individual understanding and the world. Within this gap one can explore our complex relationship to culture. With these works I question how we see, what we see and how we understand.