The American dream of owning a home and having financial stability has been diminished due to the ever-constant recession, which has consumed the minds of many Americans over the last 10 years. Some of the effects of the recession such as anxiety, stress, anger and aggression due to bankruptcy, pay cuts, and layoffs have fallen upon many of the corporate businessmen and women in the American Society.

My body of work enables the corporate culture of America to be more accessible to the general population. I feel that the general public has this notion that people who wear suits are intimidating, superior, and unemotional because of what the business suit represents: power, authority and order. My goal is to break down the stereotypical notion of people in suits by using their body language as a vehicle for disorderly emotions. Even the most seemingly powerful, immaculate businessmen and women are struggling in this challenging economy.

Before starting this series my previous work had always been about the individual and how they played a role in my world. Through the development of this new body of work, I wanted to step out of my own personal relationships and into a world that is unfamiliar to me: The Corporate Culture. I keep the identity of the businessmen and women hidden because I want the viewer to focus more on the sub-culture for which the men and women represent rather than whom that person is as an individual. Keeping the men and women anonymous allows the viewer to redirect their attention on what is being communicated through the character’s body language.

Creating these drawings in a monochromatic charcoal-gray tone enhances the conformity of the corporate attire. The charcoal’s deep range in values against the pristine white backdrop reinforces the anxious emotions displayed by the featured businessman and woman. Taking away the subjects’ environment redirects the viewer’s focus to the gesture, which in turn helps to dramatize the emotions even further.