Newport has taken commercially available trading cards and festooned them with colorful beads, drawing out a decorative excess and elegant obsession. My recent work explores different facets of masculine identity and activity. Many images are chosen for the activity they depict or the function they serve as either residue of an event or a collectable object. The images of strippers and pin-ups are chosen because they embody a voyeuristic function. The activity of making the work becomes a way for me to transform what I have learned and present one of the many ways of understanding masculinity.
Strength is one of the primary characteristics of masculinity.
In reality, a blanket or quilt protects us when we are vulnerable by keeping us warm. My bedcovers are made of stiff paper and would provide little comfort or protection to the user. The images of comic book superheroes depicted on them suggest strength, but many are covered with embroidery that provides a softness contradictory to their image. Gifts are exchanged between people to reaffirm emotional connections and maintain those ties when individuals are separated. The quilt becomes a commemoration of that transition and a way to connect the man to his family when he is away from them.