Bio
Cristin Carnes work focuses on the ideas put forth in society of what it means to be a woman. She has shown her work at Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the University Gallery at Eastern Michigan University, and the Black Box Gallery in Portland, OR. Cristin has her Bachelor's in Theatre & Literature, her MA in Children's Literature, and her MFA in Photography/New Media.
Artist Statement:
My work looks at the intersection of how women are perceived and portrayed. I am interested in exploring how the media uses art, writing, ads, movies, and more to project to the world what they expect women to whether it be how they look and act, and then scrutinize that idea. I look to create photographs where I hope to uncover what force drives women to think they need to conform to these ideas.
I use the digital photography process and incorporate costumes, setting, and some digital manipulation of selected elements. I work with models who know the process I am working with as well as the concept. I am not working to manipulate truth, but rather explore, examine, and investigate the idea of womanhood.
My influence comes from a variety of sources such as portrait photographers including Richard Avedon, Platon, Annie Leibovitz and fine art photographers such as Joyce Tenneson, Brooke Shaden, and Dina Goldstein. I am inspired by history and popular media. I also look to old Hollywood photos and paintings from the Renaissance period through the 19th century.
Education:
Masters in Fine Art, Photography and New Media, Eastern Michigan University, 2021
Masters in Literature, Concentration in Children’s Literature-Teaching of Writing, EMU, 2010
Bachelors Theatre & Communication Arts-Language, Literature, & Writing, EMU, 1996
Exhibitions:
2022 Sirens, Hags, and Rebels, Detroit, MI
2021 Graduate Thesis Exhibition: A Seat at the Table, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
2020 Studio Concepts/Historical Perspectives, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
2019 Graduate Art Show, Eastern Michigan University Student Gallery, Ypsilanti, MI
2019 Portraiture: Through the Lens, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
2018 Graduate Art Show, Eastern Michigan University Student Gallery, Ypsilanti, MI
2018 She/They/Us, Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI
2017 Unusual, Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI
Gallery Experience:
2017-2018 Riverside Art Center - Exhibition Curator
Honors and Awards:
Dorothy Lamming Scholarship 2018, 2021
Member of the Following Organizations:
Masters of Art and Design Association 2017 - 2021
Scholarly Publications:
“Guerrilla Girls: Legend and Legacy”
“The Narrative of Craft in the Modern Art Museum”
“Indigenous Narratives in the Modern Art Museum”
“Photography and Storytelling: How still images fill our minds with stories”
“The Angel vs. The Monster: Image of Females from Folk Tales and How They are Manifested in the Modern Age”
“Disney’s Ideal ‘Happily Ever After’ and the Passive Woman, Not Just a Coincidence!”
“The Ideology of Manifest Destiny in the Conquering of the Wild West and its Impact on the Myth of the Vanishing Indians”
“Mary Wilkins Freeman’s “The Lost Ghost” A Tale of What it Means to be a Real Mother”
“Shattering the Mirror: Teens, Pop Culture, and the ‘Anti-image’ of Perfection Present in Adolescent Literature of the New Millennium”
“Taming of the Savage: William Apess and the Debunking of the Myth of the Noble Savage in American Romantic Literature”
“To Marry or not to Marry: Shakespeare’s use of Othello to support his Queen’s Decision Never to Marry-A New Historicist Look”
“Where has my Childhood gone? How Picture Books are an Important Part of Childhood AND Adulthood”
“Why Snape Hates Harry or What Adults Become When They are Bullied as Children”