1. PERCEPTUAL BEAUTY
Perceptual Beauty series (2011 - ongoing)
Inspired by Op Art painting and Third-Wave Feminism, Murphy’s photographic and video works are made with slick macro close-ups of the body and beauty "tools". Through this scientific lens with artificial lighting, Murphy playfully uses these products as art materials rather than the intended purpose of the material (to conceal or accentuate parts of the body). The studio environment underscores the sexy and cold aesthetic of advertising photography.
Beauty in its contemporary context is Murphy's discourse. She works within the intention of producing visually satisfying art objects, while imaging over-the-counter beauty maintenance products. Murphy repeats forms and magnifies the subject to promote a way for the viewer to observe, meditate, or scrutinize. The resulting images blend perceptual space and our cultural space...showing beauty as both a real and abstract consumable obsession.
Inspired by Op Art painting and Third-Wave Feminism, Murphy’s photographic and video works are made with slick macro close-ups of the body and beauty "tools". Through this scientific lens with artificial lighting, Murphy playfully uses these products as art materials rather than the intended purpose of the material (to conceal or accentuate parts of the body). The studio environment underscores the sexy and cold aesthetic of advertising photography.
Beauty in its contemporary context is Murphy's discourse. She works within the intention of producing visually satisfying art objects, while imaging over-the-counter beauty maintenance products. Murphy repeats forms and magnifies the subject to promote a way for the viewer to observe, meditate, or scrutinize. The resulting images blend perceptual space and our cultural space...showing beauty as both a real and abstract consumable obsession.
