Janet Schriver

JANET SCHRIVER

Janet Shriver mixes a multitude of references to the heart in her series, The Heart's Code. In her digital photographs she merges familiar icons with chest x-rays, symbols of the heart with its anatomical form. Janet Schriver's studies of the internal body suddenly become removed from the medical realm. She prompts our reflection on our inner physical selves; the X-rays reveal the area surrounding the heart as an empty cavity. The contrast between the contained energy of our internal emotions and a physical cavernous void produces an unsettling realization. Perhaps we refrain from looking internally for fear of encountering not a literal emptiness, but a spiritual one. Shriver's work prompts an acknowledgement of one’s inability to fully represent one’s inner self.

Heart Attack, 1999 , Light Jet Print, 32" X 22"

Heart Damage, 1999, Light Jet Print, 32" X 22"

from Heart Panes, 1999, Ink Jet Prints, Wood, Glass, 27 1/2" x 24 1/2"

Janet Schriver has exhibited her photographs at the Cortland Jessup Gallery, New York,and the Agora Gallery, New York; her photographs were included in the Texas Biennial Exhibition, Fair Park, Dallas. Schriver received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her article "Alvin Langdon Coburn: The Silent Bard" appeared in The History of Photography Journal.