Six Pack
Generative art, 2006

From the gaze of the "ideal man" in glossy muscle magazines to strong man competitions on cable to daily reminders in email in-boxes, the message of just how inadequate the common man is compared to "the other guys" is a deeply rooted issue. Similar to objectification of women in the media, men also are presented with an archetype that is largely unattainable but more importantly unnecessary. Does the modern man need a rock hard stomach to be accepted in our society, to be desired or to gain success? Oddly enough this concept of power and might continues to be pushed onto males from age 6 and haunts the male psyche for a lifetime.

Six Pack is reminiscent of the building of muscle through the stringy drawing of statuesque male torsos in an arrangement reflective of the midsection itself. Although these images are being revealed over time as idyllic, they are sometimes exposed as less than perfect via the control of the generative program - in much the same way our consciousness is controlled by the unwritten standards of society - or the standards we think exist through the influence of the media-marketing machine.