Finished!!

The first part of the Boston Codex is now officially finished with the completion of these two portraits! Wahoo!!

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One & a half

Almost finished with these three. The one on the right is finished the one on the left needs one more date.

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Nerve

I finally got up the nerve to finish this portrait... I've been procrastinating too long with these three. One down, two to go.

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2011 Artist statement

“In the midst of desolation and ruin we looked back at the past…”

-John L. Stephens

There is nothing more hauntingly beautiful than the eyes of an artist observing the object from which they pull their inspiration. This I know, because I have seen pictures of myself gazing in rapt wonder at the forgotten ruins of the ancient culture known as the Maya. Well, they are not so much forgotten as vaguely neglected by the general population. Except by people like me; slightly obsessed.

In the fall of 2009, I took a course on ancient Maya art and archeology and have been hooked ever since. By the spring of 2011, I have developed ten independent pieces inspired by my exploration and adaptation of Maya history and iconography. From my first fledgling attempt at creating a Maya composition with ancient Mayan hieroglyphics in Self-Portrait #1 to my Maya Woodcuts Series I have focused on accepting Maya imagery and symbolism as my own tool for expression.

It was with the birth of The Boston Codex that I found the means of culminating the elements of Maya imagery, my character and style, and personal theme into a visual project massive in scale. A compendium of the personalities of the people in my life, The Boston Codex is an outlet for expressing relationships that answers and asks questions in an almost verbal dialogue between the pages and the viewer.

In the spring of 2011 my dreams came true when I took a travel course through my college to Guatemala. Being able to stand on top of the temples and meet the descendants of the ancient Maya solidified my passion for the culture. The trip was only 12 days, but they have changed my life. I will be returning to Guatemala for a semester abroad and I know that I have found my artistic and scholarly calling.

Taking what I have learned from The Boston Codex and my experience traveling to Guatemala my work has expanded to incorporate new mediums, new feelings, and new image mutations. Ever growing and shifting forward in time, my work is also ever looking backward through history at a culture that captivates my thoughts at all hours of every day.

-SK Hampton, 2011