© S.Tang. 2013
© S.Tang. 2013

The range of these art pieces is to show the depths of my persona…and my bedroom.

- Marina Santana


Marina Santana is an artist from Southern California. She completed her BA in Art Education and Sculpture magna cum laude at California State University, San Bernardino. Santana's own artwork delves into themes relating to both the internal and external aspects of the human body. Her artwork typically takes the form of ceramics, plaster, metal, and multimedia pieces. However, she has developed an interest in exploring the female body, how women are depicted in the media, and incorporating personal experiences that others can resonate with. Marina has previously worked collaboratively in the community, which includes senior citizens and probation students. Each experience has had a huge input into her development as an artist.

 

She has been particularly influenced by Craig Owens postmodern theory of the deconstruction of an idea, or thought of society, to better critically analyze modern assumptions. From there, Santana creates work that is a visual interpretation of this critical deconstruction and begins rebuilding, to create something that is not in stasis but rather changing, evolving, and progressing for better or worse. With Owens’ theories of allegory and postmodernism in combination with a personal narrative, she attempts to visualize contemporary society as a whole and its effects on the individual. She would like to see how the individual in turn affects the structure of the whole and how personal narratives add up to change and shape the overall structure. This also provides an opportunity for individual connection or interpretation of the piece.