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Sarah Paul - born May 3, 1971 Both an artist and scientist, Sarah Paul seeks to meld these two parts, forming a more complete expression of her visions through installations and performances utilizing music, animation, and video. With a BS in Mathematics from the University at Albany, and MFA in Visual Studies from the University at Buffalo, Paul is currently teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the T.I.M.E. Digital Arts Department. Prior to situating herself on Lake Erie, Paul was a professional CAD draftsperson at her family's custom cabinet making company, commuting from the bustling little art community in Troy, NY. Sarah Paul has been writing and performing theatrical, original music in both pop and experimental bands in New York's capital region since 1989.
Artist Statement I am an American who is categorized as a bisexual woman, an obese woman, a manic depressive woman, a medicated woman. Though most of these categories are quite common in contemporary American society, they are considered marginal and stigmatic, far from ideal. The pursuit of an elusive and ultimately constructed ideal plays a significant role in my work, as does the concept of gender fluidity. It is the rigid, normative gender binary that I am interested in challenging and subverting. To confront this status quo, I use my Amazonian female body and powerful voice in new media performances and installations that incorporate pop vocal melody, experimental electronic music, and constructed visual spectacle. These performances are designed to envelop the viewer, using sound, video projection, and live vocal and stage elements to both seduce and jar the audience. Admittedly dramatic, I aim for these live performances to elicit, within myself and my audience, the sensation of a point at which the real and the imagined come together. If I am able to communicate this surreal, uncanny state to the audience, I have succeeded. I intend for my audience to feel both discomfort and compassion as they observe my character's vulnerability and strength, allowing them to identify with a subversive persona. |
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