Photographic Edition of 100 Buttons

An art edition seems to me the antithesis of fine art. A work of art is supposed to be original, unique, rare, thus giving it value. When an edition is created, you mass produce the same image over and over. It is no longer a one-of-a-kind, its mystery gone. No longer unique, the artwork’s value is reduced.

“Utterly Unique, Consumed” critiques these ideas about the edition of art. Beginning with a photograph of something very personal and unique to me, I reproduced the image of my nipple 100 times. A psychological shift happens when you see something repeated over and over. The image becomes common, its meaning or impact diminished. As I stood in the darkroom developing this photograph, of such a personal part of my body, I became detached and objective about viewing it. It was no longer my nipple, just a nipple.

I chose to create a button (wearable art) with my image for a reason. Like bumper stickers, buttons are common, cheap, mass-produced and seemingly insignificant. But upon closer inspection, both bumper stickers and buttons generally say something very personal about the owner. Whether addressing politics, religion, was, life philosophies, or sexuality, these items convey serious issues. In this same way, the “Utterly Unique” buttons of my nipple share a very personal message with the world.