Photomontage: Image Hijack Part 2 "Fame Kills"

This isn’t a highly political issue. For so long Hollywood has been this shining star where dreams come true, but there are so many horrors in Los Angeles, in the acting circles. It seems that, more often than not, people who go out to the west coast lose something of themselves whether they become famous or not. Many who do become famous end up losing their lives by accidental overdoses or planned suicides. It appears to me that death seems to be a common theme for those searching for fame, and even those who achieve it. Working in Hollywood, especially in front of the camera, does not heal the wounds and the never-ending pressure to be perfect, to work so much, to pull out so much emotion and eventually all of this gets the best of these people, resulting in some very bad things.

I decided to take the iconic Hollywood sign and have it looming over headstones (the photo is actually from one of the Los Angeles cemeteries – I don’t know which one because I couldn’t open the article). People see Hollywood/Los Angeles as a place of beauty and magic but, for me, it represents loss in many different ways. Instead of seeing this sign and feeling the wonder and magic, I want to impress upon the viewer that there is also a lot of danger there too.

As I said before, I don’t feel that this is a highly political issue at the moment, although it does go through phases when new things are brought to light, but these are quickly squashed by the next “big thing.” Since I feel this way, I have a hard time justifying that it should be publicly displayed. Maybe in an art show but not in any place where you would typically find highly publicized political issues. 

I couldn’t get any of my sketches from last week to work. I tried to work on another three ideas this week, but none of them felt right. After what felt like forever, I was finally able to imagine and create “Fame Kills.”