projects

The Breast Portrait Project and the Beard Portrait Project are ongoing, collaborative feminist portrait projects that began in 1998. Both projects began with a self-portrait and expanded to include portraits of other women.

The portraits were done in my studio and in a booth at women’s festivals and retreats. In the latter case, portraits were done outdoors, and passersby were able to witness the process and often became involved in a lively dialogue. I documented the process by taking a photograph of each subject with her portrait and asking her to contribute her thoughts in writing to a growing collection. The Breast Portrait Book and The Beard Portrait Book, a series of handwritten books-in-progress containing entries by almost 400 women, are the rich by-products of these projects. When portraits from these projects are exhibited, the books are always on view to provide a context.

the breast portrait project

Historically, the painted portrait signifies privilege, beauty, and social power. I choose to portray real women’s bodies, which are often invisible in this culture. The time and attention to detail inherent in the portrait process make the intrinsic statement that this body is beautiful and worthy.

The face is our commonly recognized self – our “mask” of identity. Focusing exclusively on the torso shines a light on a personal and private part of the individual that is usually hidden. I find beauty in the body as it is – with its wrinkles, moles, fat, scars. I most often use pastel, a traditionally popular medium for portraits, because of its immediacy and responsiveness to the softness and tones of flesh.

the beard portrait project

The Beard Portrait Project explores the fluidity of gender identity. By portraying the female face with facial hair – real or imagined – I invite the viewer to question ideas of masculinity and femininity, and to imagine what it would mean to inhabit another body or social identity.