EUSA
Featuring: Naomi Harris
Globalization has made the uniqueness of a particular country less significant thus creating an indistinguishable common world community. My project EUSA is a reaction to the homogenization of European and American cultures.
Being enthralled by another country’s way of life does not mean that it is always an accurate portrayal; it becomes a sentimental, idealized depiction, an homage to a heritage that isn’t one’s own.
In America these European venues resemble a land of make-believe; like something out of a fairy tale, they are magical, whimsical and quaint. In Europe the fascination lies in an America of the past, when the US was considered glorious and free.
These exaggerated reconstructions hold little authenticity and are a perception of fantasy, a sense of what the other wishes the reality to be. What was once distinctive has become caricature.
By photographing these various maudlin locations across two continents, my goal was to illustrate the enthusiasm we have for each other’s culture and demonstrate this universal phenomenon that is a reaction to the melding of our cultures.
Through this spirit of camaraderie, if only for a moment, the participants are granted membership to the other’s culture.
Make sure to also check out Inspired Live at Photoville LA.
ARTIST BIO
Visual artist Naomi Harris seeks out interesting cultural trends to document through her subjects. Personal projects include Haddon Hall in which she followed the last remaining elderly residents of a Miami Beach hotel; America Swings, which documented the phenomenon of the lifestyle and was published by TASCHEN; and EUSA, a reaction to the homogenization of European and American cultures through globalization, published by Kehrer Verlag.
Her recent forays into performance art include I, Franny Anne, a 70-day canoe trip dressed in 19th century period costume and Always a Bridesmaid, a look at marriage through the eyes of a happily single woman.