Emory & Henry student uses art to explore advertising, image

Brands and logos flood superstores, the Internet and even sports events with an onslaught of advertising that promotes attractiveness.

An Emory & Henry College senior art student is addressing the issues of advertising and its projection of attractiveness through her works.

"I have been trying to understand how contemporary consumer culture affects and defines relationships in our society, and about how it affects me," said art major Elyse Haile, an Athens, Tenn., native. "My work is largely inspired by various forms of media, from Web sites to magazines."

Her show is called "Consumed," and the conceptual art that composes her senior exhibition is, like its title suggests, commenting on American’s consumption of advertising and products.

Two installations make up the show – the first, Accessorize Your Girlfriend/Boyfriend, which features 3-D paper replicas of consumer products, like iPods, cell phones, and designer shoes.

With Accessorize, Haile said she is commenting on how corporations and slick marketing campaigns have the ability to dictate what is attractive.

"People feel more attractive when they’re listening to an iPod," said Haile about her show’s thesis. "As much as I would like to deny it, I’ll notice someone more if they’re wearing a certain kind of clothing. And that worries me and makes me want to think about it more, and get others to think about it, too."

The second installation is a book series that Haile made by hand. The books contain personal profiles from Web sites like hotornot.com, a site that lets viewers rate people’s attractiveness.

All of the profiles have a keyword in common, like McDonalds or Wal-Mart, which the person posting their bio used to describe themselves.

"I felt this spoke to a partially subconscious tendency to see others and ourselves in terms of products," Haile said.

"Elyse is a very passionate and detail-oriented artist. She’s very thorough," said her art instructor Lee Coburn, adjunct professor at E&H, as well as owner of Coburn Creative in Glade Spring.

It was in Coburn’s classes where Haile learned many of the techniques she used to create her show, like digital media and graphic design.

He doesn’t take credit for helping Haile with her ideas.

"I challenged her with questions and brainstormed with her, wanting her to think about the iconography she is using," Coburn said. "But ultimately, it was her baby."

On March 31, Haile’s show opened to a huge crowd of friends, family, and people interested in her art. About 75 to 100 people crammed into E&H’s George Chavatel Gallery for the opening.

Haile introduced her pieces, explaining her process of creating the work, which is a requirement for the college’s senior art majors.

Recently, Haile was accepted to the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the top-ranked graduate art programs in the country.

It was a dream come true, she said, and a way to evolve many of her ideas.

"I want to keep pursuing these same ideas – the ways consumption affects everything around us. I’m really interested in Internet communication, online communities, and dating sites, also," she said. "In the future, I might pursue regional environmental issues, as well.

Haile seemed very excited about moving from rural Southwest Virginia to Chicago.

"I can explore new mediums. And I’m excited to talk to people just as interested as I am about art, and who know more than I do," she said.

With new ideas already brewing and the instruction from Coburn under her belt, Haile seems more than ready to pursue a career as an artist.

"What I’m really excited about in graduate school is learning how to show and work in a studio environment with other people," she said. "Essentially, learning to be an artist."