Your face in lights:
​The Hollywood Portrait, revisited

focus areas // digital photography, portraiture

This series was one of my favorite projects from my college coursework. It not only challenged me as a photographer, but it also allowed me to get to know some of my own friends in a deeper way and hear their aspirations. Beyond agreeing to sit for a photoshoot, my subjects wrote their own statements about why they chose their celebrity portrait and how they related to it. Below, you'll find my artist statement, the portraits presented with their chosen photographs*, and an excerpt from each person's writing.

Original artist statement, Spring 2012

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” - Andy Warhol

Fame. Fashion. Wealth. Talent. Poise. Sophistication. To be known for something. Anything. We see celebrities everywhere in our visual culture—in the film, TV, music, and literature industries—to the point where we forget theyʼre humans, just like we are. To be a celebrity for a day would be unthinkable. Do they even eat the same food as we do? Drink the same water? If theyʼre on a whole other level, how far must we go to catch up? In this project, subjects were able to bring these elevated figures down while bringing themselves up; the star and the “average” person could finally share middle ground.

​When the stumbling block of status is stripped away, I challenged the subjects to relate to a celebrity without the restraints of physical appearance, wardrobe, gender, race, etc. They, in turn, found a portrait of this person that they felt best represented these qualities. Using this portrait as a guide, I photographed each of them in place of the celebrity. In this substitution, your every-day college student evolved into someone he or she both identified with and admired.

​Feeling like a star is not as far out of reach as one would think. As both a photographer and a friend to the subjects, I learned a lot about their self-images as well as the traits they find important within themselves. It is my hope that, whether unconsciously or consciously, they realize the star-like qualities they possess.

We often use Hollywood for our standards of fame, success, wealth, and beauty. But what we forget is that we possess the qualities of the stars we admire within ourselves just by virtue of being human. People may be more or less beautiful than us, more or less intelligent, more or less successful. However, this does not make us, in any way, average. As we start to bring these worlds together, we realize: our fifteen minutes start now.

“She’s showing that the artist and the inner kid are the same person, both inside and outside, and adults shouldn’t be afraid to get colorful and messy, too.” (B.D. as Robyn)

“While I admire his thoughtfulness and wit, I don’t think that I necessarily have these characteristics now; but I’d love to become that sort of person.” (I.B. as Bill Murray)

“Amongst government conspiracies, zombie apocalypses, and homicidal Neighborhood Watches, Pegg manages to draw our attention to the force of friendship. Life is hard, and it’s only the people we love that make it worth doing.” (R.H. as Simon Pegg)

“He’s not satisfied with sitting inside, lounging in a cushy, technologically enhanced world. He likes to get dirty, take risks, and live dangerously. I love adventure and surprises, and I’d like to think that if the world were a more perilous place, I could survive like he can.” (M.T. as Bear Grylls)

“Mixing brains with beauty, poise with spunk, I love how dynamic her body position is in each of these four shots—she looks like she’s dancing. And while she appears zesty and full-of-life, she remains elegant and self-assured.” (C.D. as Emma Watson)

“Our protagonist walks through a meadow, and the next thing you know: he’s being confronted by monsters, fairies and gods. I’m always wishing myself away to some ancient time, some forgotten land where everything has a deeper meaning.” (A.L. as Neil Gaiman)

“Tennant  was able to become a character in his own right with a complex blend of pathos and quirkiness. The line between eccentric and obsessive is a fine one, and Tennant balances his way along it with a subtle sort of self-awareness that I admire.” (T. L. as David Tennant)

“I both admire and can identify with her ability to balance her ambition and laid-back personality. I feel as if this photograph is evident of Anne Hathaway’s quiet confidence, and you can still get a sense of the timidity and insecurity that every individual experiences at times.” (R.L. as Anne Hathaway)

*The original celebrity photographs were used for reference only. I do not claim to own them in any way :)

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