Exhibited: Be Square 2024. Maryland Federation of Art, Martino Gallery, Maryland Hall (Annapolis, MD)

This digital collage incorporates a manipulated digital photograph of 3 teens dancing without inhibition to the music of a street guitarist at Susan Campbell Park at the Annapolis city dock one summer evening. Using an iPad Pro, and after some color enhancement, this image was combined with a digital photo of a purple coneflower and 133 handwritten translations of the word “beautiful” to create a joyous artwork that challenges us to consider the radical action of daring to believe we are beautiful just as we are. This artwork celebrates those who take this dare and begs the question: What would if feel like to truly believe we are beautiful in a culture that makes this ideal generally unattainable?