Nina Haitz

BFA Drawing

ARTIST STATEMENT: My work consists of 5 paintings that depict everyday scenes in our modern society. Scenes that on the surface, are simply relatable and harmless. However, I have embedded each scene with visual symbols that highlight issues in American culture. My work is inspired by the study of Aesthetics, specifically examining how the outside world plays such a big role in what we are attracted to.  

In recent years, I have begun to observe the mindsets generated by the culture of consumption, and how detrimental it has been to our evolution. I believe modern capitalism has done a great job of keeping us complacent in society by offering us mass produced items, tabloids, and other empty truths. These empty truths keep us distracted from truly finding compassion and insight in our lives, leaving us lonely and ready to consume more.  

Charles Darwin believed that one’s standards of beauty are conditioned by one’s surroundings. However, people from cultures all over the world gravitate toward diverse natural landscapes. I have embedded a savannah landscape in each scene to help reverse our conditioned standards of beauty, and promote a more primitive outlook on life. I chose to illustrate Consumer Culture in a 60s advertisement style to highlight the attractive qualities that draw consumers in, as well as highlighting how long the culture of consumption has played a role in our lives. These scenes are meant to demonstrate how deeply embedded these problems are in our society. While also shedding a glimpse of hope within each work.