/*Internet Series*/ namespace UserIdentity = Avatar
20″ X 24″
Oil on Wood Panel
My latest painting, has a full title written in computer code to tie in with my series exploring how the Internet programs us as much as we program it, sometimes revealing key pieces of ancient human nature in new ways. ” */Internet Series/* namespace UserIdentity=Avatar” explores how we present ourselves online. Many of us have a variety of avatars these days. Perhaps you spend some of your time running through a video game forest as an elf. Maybe you have second account on social media that features an alias or a pseudonym with a fake photo. The computer has demonstrated clearly that human nature is to craft a personal narrative that we can present to the world, and has also empowered us to create personas that are more fanciful than ever before. This even includes the way we filter ourselves on social media. I certainly don’t share everything that’s going on. I like to stay positive, and people never see the dark circles under my eyes after a poor night of sleep, because when I log on, I have a profile photo displaying a good hair day when I was well rested, and that’s nothing unique. Computers allow us to curate and modify who we appear to be in both realistic and imaginative ways, whether it is sharing only our happy photos and memories, using Photoshop to retouch photos, or utilizing a fantasy character for our avatar, we have a much more powerful ability to control and alter how we look online. With technology, we can meet the gaze of society with the perfect avatar for every situation.