Morgan Ford Willingham

Morgan Ford Willingham is a photographic artist and educator. She received an MFA in photography with a minor intermedia from Texas Woman’s University. Morgan has pursued passions in academia and art making in the Midwest for almost 15 years. Her work explores pop culture, advertising, and societal norms to better understand the influence on women’s identity and self-image, using various mediums, including photography, mixed-media, book arts, and installation. Her work has been widely exhibited, including Humble Arts Gallery in NYC, Filter Photo in Chicago, and Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. She is currently Assistant Professor of Photography at Baylor University in Texas. 

MFA, Texas Woman's University
BFA, University of South Carolina

ARTIST STATEMENT

Growing up in the South shaped my perceptions of personal identity and was a catalyst for rejection at a young age of implied standards of womanhood. It was commonplace to hear statements like, “I need to put my face on,” before contemplating leaving the house and to see most girls wearing makeup by middle school. My art practice examines cultural requisites of conformity, preconceived notions of beauty ideals, and how these external pressures influence female identity.

Obsession with appearance manifests throughout my work, specifically the impact of advertising on the commodification of beauty. In this, I reference the intrusive impact marketing has on how women perceive themselves and what they buy. The self-portrait is used to investigate the universal experience of the powerful hold advertising language has over an individual’s psyche. Reflecting on the personal dichotomy of feeling both divergent and the need to assimilate, my work considers how external social and cultural pressures are used to influence female identity and beauty standards.  Contemporary and historical representations of women in art and in pop culture inform and inspire the conceptual direction of my artmaking practice.

Similarly, my investigation of motherhood considers how influential nature versus nurture is and the roles of mother and daughter. The images individually and collectively allude to intimate daily circumstances, the historical and cultural influences that shape the identities of each, and the art historical context of motherhood, femininity, and women’s identity. Due to the deeply personal depictions, this work presents visual narratives that attest to selfhood, uncertainty, and parallels that are threaded between mother and daughter. This innate bond and the distinct identities are ever evolving, and the depictions alternate between the observer and the observed, as the child matures into a fully realized sense of self.

The use of self-portraiture provides an outlet for empowerment, vulnerability, control of the gaze, and self-discovery. The use of non-traditional materials in my artistic process grounds these works in the history of women’s craft and of the photographic medium. Photography serves as the foundation from which layers of meaning are imbued through the incorporation of symbolic materials and processes. The physical interaction in the creation of each piece provides a ritual outlet and space to meditate on the connection between the artist and the artwork and how each piece embodies a facet of my identity.

Professional Work