Kali Smith

“Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don’t start measuring her limbs.” – Picasso

In my work I make commentary on social and psychological aspects of the ways in which we perceive both ourselves and the world around us. Mixed media and collage allow me to combine imagery somewhat subconsciously. By combining imagery from popular sources with my created images, I find a way to connect commentary from many social realms.

Systems of measurement and canons of beauty have been repeated throughout my images, many of which were created by using very systematic grids mimicking ones used in ancient cultures. Other imagery incorporates ideas of self-measurement. By using discarded frames, measurement devices, and mirrors, I am able to connect the figure to social concepts of body form,vanity, and self-confidence.

I am considered less than ideal by my cultures social standards. My own internal obsession over exterior perfection allows me to understand the need to find beauty within oneself as well as within the society that makes people question that beauty.

– Kali Smith