The Fancy of Babes: Imaginary Portraits

2011-2012

Click each thumbnail to see close-up images of each painting.

This work explores trends in the adornment of, attitudes towards, and experiences of contemporary children through the lens of portraiture in Western art history. I am particularly interested in how subcultures influence children’s fashion and in how norms indicating age and gender have changed over time. The imagery for these paintings does not come from photographs of actual children. Instead, I created their faces with morphing software out of many photos found online. Their bodies, clothing, and accessories were similarly assembled by referencing found photographs.
– Katie Miller 2012