Anne-Marie Kottenstette: capstone

Abstract

The artist's statement: To me, it feels as if our society is living a predetermined life. We go to school, graduate college, get married, start a career, have children and then continue working the same job day in and day out until one day we retire and can finally begin to enjoy our lives. We are imprisoned by what our society defines life should be and shackled by our relinquished ambition. Instead of determining whom we are as individuals we fall victim to what our culture tells us we should be. As we grow up we surrender our youthful aspirations in exchange for mature compromises only so that we are suitable for a realistic world. The body of work, The Guise That Enslaved Me, tells the story of a woman as she struggles to find her own personal identity within the constraints of our society. In the great words of Ralph Ellison, "When I discover who I am, I will be free."