Alec Schramek

My most recently pursued interests include a series in ceramics and painting, both dealing with gender roles and masculinity involved with young men in American culture.

My paintings are the beginning of a series entitled, “In the Pursuit of Happiness.” They are selective instances from ordinary life situations. The scene in Spoon is an image of a
young couple, content as they lay in bed together. The man is positioned behind the woman, gently grasping her hip. This gesture elicits a sense of caring and comfort, but
also a sense of possession, and is intended to be the central focus of the painting.

The idea that our partners become possessions explains a false expectation of happiness. This expectation is caused by absorbing ideas about life from a lifestyle saturated with
Hollywood movies, television, and corporate advertising. It is related directly to the way our wants and needs are centrally concerned with material objects.

My latest series in ceramics is called “The Shower Room.” This series is comprised of public shower room and restroom facilities painted on Greek amphora vessels. The
figures in these spaces are either secluded or exposed to one another. In either case, they describe the presence of personal space in our society, and a difference between the
individual of our current culture and that of the ancient Greeks.

The problem with personal space is that is in part, manufactured as a byproduct of popular culture pushing sex as a product. Our need for privacy is our own fear of
inadequacy with society’s projection of idealized aesthetic appeal. The contrast of societies generates a reason to question the origins of individuality, and the importance of
our own self-perceptions.