Artist Statement

As a feminist, I portray societal values as they were in the 50s to demonstrate in combination with the transformation, that has occurred in the last 75 years. My pieces convey the spectrum of oppression and women as sex symbols and made to keep house versus how women have liberated themselves through education and enhanced skill sets and work experience to create a different life. It is a reminder and a portrayal of the historical perspective of women’s rights and responsibilities versus how they have liberated and emancipated themselves individually and as a subgroup in society. Some pieces portray women doing things men valued many decades ago and the expectations that were put on them, along with fashion and values during that era as opposed to breaking free from those stigmas and expectations and the transformation into today’s societal norms. I want my viewers to appreciate the different perspectives as we all have different experiences throughout life in the diversity involved.

My name is Olivia Carolyn Kays and I am in the last year of my BFA program. I am a student at Purdue University, my major is Integrated Studio Arts, and I’m currently in the process of applying to MFA programs around the US. I’d love to be a Professional Artist attending shows and working off of commissions once I am done with school. I graduated high school in three years with Academic Honors and am graduating with my bachelor’s in three years too. My art is made experimentally with different mediums and techniques. I get inspiration from using raw materials, layering them, and learning by trial and error as to what works and what doesn’t. Throughout undergrad, I have been growing my knowledge and skill with mixed media. I have been diverse in my choices of mediums, learning what I like and don’t like, what works and doesn’t work, what I can play with, and manipulate into something that draws the eye while maintaining attention and focus as it moves around my pieces.