Mike Shaffer
Faces
Greenwich Bay, RI, 2019
Tommy, 2006
Sherry, 2004
Linda, 2001
Technology has enabled ever increasingly detailed images but my aim is to reverse this process by sidestepping ordinary quality photographic and replicating procedures to make commonplace images that are deconstructed so as to be less recognizable so that the degree to which images deviate from their original formats can address issues of identity and recognition. Works in this group are printed on archival paper then mounted on half-inch MDF. All are issued in editions of five or less. This series was started in the mid-2000s but new images are added periodically.
Sister Six, 2006
The-Man , 2006
Cutie, 2006
Green Irene, 2006
Adam, 2014
While being based on photographs, the works in this series, acquired from various sources and digitally altered,
in my view, are too different from their original forms to be called
photographs. Some are based on work with my own camera whereas
others are appropriated from the electronic and print media. In an effort to present them at close to the size of a normal face, all are 12 x 12 inches. There are currently 80 works in this series.
Oz, 2012
Ed Topless, 2006
Guess Who Two, 2010
Dr. John, 2005
Ray Man, 2004
Installation, Urbana Library, Urbana, MD, 2008
Two Jims, 2004
Installation, Private Residence,
Frederick, MD, 2019