Statement and Bio
Born and raised in South Florida, educated in private schools where I was the victim of social privilege, I was always aware that, for some reason, I had a different kind of social consciousness from my peers. Unlike a social conscience, which relates to economic and political awareness, social consciousness relates to the manner in which people relate to themselves and each other. As a high school student, I didn’t frame that thought consciously; I merely knew that I was “way” different from the people around me. Once I escaped from the privileged environment of the private school milieu, and landed in a liberal college campus, I realized that I perceived social relationships from a completely different perspective: the outsider looking in. I am something of a comedian, with a droll, dry sense of humor that is often expressed through personal rebellion, which often creates a wonderful cognitive dissonance when the audience contrasts my youthful, ugh, innocent appearance with some of the blatant themes with which I work. We compile sets of rivaling lyrics to metaphorically and humorously compare our personal lives with the lives of the people around us, comparing the internal “I” with the outside “they”. My underlying focus drives itself from human interaction and the humor cantors itself from my satirical intentions. My intentions are not to be rile but the most humorous scenes excrete themselves from inferior interrogation. The awkward, unspoken moments between people trying to communicate has become a large inspiration. I begin with the facial expression ,or narrative and branch the physical relationship downward, reacting with the psychological interaction with the environmental setting. Since childhood I have been an observer of human formalities. Whether it be facial or physical, the inner state of emotional thought often becomes transparent to me. The work I make is constantly fed from my perceptions. My work gravitates towards social abnormalities. I prefer to focus on characters that are oblivious to their surroundings, not paying attention to the opinion of another, completely immersed in their own world. My passion is to conjure characters not outwardly realizing their friend or foe observation. These characters become a family of unknowns. The characters I create are totally submersed in their own world, something I truly desire to achieve. Each character and narrative are an anomaly of what I desire to become in some state. Every flaw I cautiously suppress finds itself veining through my characters. Melissa Markowitz holds a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art from Appalachian State University
