Work samples

  • Maryland; Free State; Old Line State.
    Maryland; Free State; Old Line State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2020. 17.5” x 19.5”

  • CONTROL
    CONTROL

    Yarn, Perler Beads, Metal Jump Rings. 2024. 29” x 25”.

  • How Does Your State Define Sexual Consent? — Understanding Sexual Consent Laws in the U.S.

    10/23/2023

    Caitie Curtis

    Featured in Womanly Magazine Issue no. 7 s-e-x

    CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ABUSE

  • Concatenation, 16mm, 2018

    Divided into three acts, this work constructs and then deconstructs the impacts of male privilege and assault on the female body. “Act One” discusses how something as violating as touching a woman’s body without her permission is seen to be normal and accepting as touching an inanimate object. “Act Two” explores the physiological impact and emotional weight of the silence that survivors of sexual abuse carry. In “Act Three” there is emancipation in the space where the veil of secrecy is lifted and survivors can speak freely and safely.

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About Caitie

2024 OTW Artist   Baltimore City  

Caitie Curtis is a multi-disciplinary fiber, photo, video, and performance artist in Baltimore, Maryland. She is also an educator, sexual violence advocate, writer, and Studio Art Administrator at the Center for Visual Arts at Johns Hopkins University. Curtis holds an MFA in Photography and Electronic Media from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She grew up in Southern Maryland and attended Towson University for a BFA in Photography and her BS in Art Education.

Curtis began… more

View Caitie's Resume
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USOR

USOR "United States of Rape" is a series of hand-embroidered flags representing each state and its laws on Rape and Sexual Assault. The laws are taken out of context, mixed up, and sewn on top of the pixelated version of the state flag. Currently, every state in the United States has varying laws for rape, sexual assault, and sexual violence. Some laws are comprehensive, while others are just three sentences. Some states define rape as only possible between a man and a woman, while others break down their laws into multiple degrees and even define sexual consent. As a survivor of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, I found it shocking that laws on sexual assault and rape can be vastly different depending on the state. If a victim of sexual violence wanted to seek justice through the legal system, they might not even know how their state defines the criminal act. This project is ongoing, and I plan to work on it until I have completed all 50 states and the multiple territories over which the United States has jurisdiction. This series has been not just a healing process for me but also a form of advocacy for victims of sexual violence like myself.

 

  • Florida; The Sunshine State; The Alligator State; The Peninsula State.
    Florida; The Sunshine State; The Alligator State; The Peninsula State.

     Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2024. 15.5” x 23”.

  • Connecticut; The Constitution State; The Nutmeg State; The Provisions State; The Land of Steady Habits.
    Connecticut; The Constitution State; The Nutmeg State; The Provisions State; The Land of Steady Habits.

     Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2024. 15.5” x 22”.

  • Alabama; The Cotton State; The Yellowhammer State; The Heart of Dixie.
    Alabama; The Cotton State; The Yellowhammer State; The Heart of Dixie.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2020. 15'“ x  21.5”

  • Alaska; The Last Frontier.
    Alaska; The Last Frontier.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2020. 23” x  32”

  • Arkansas; The Land of Opportunity; The Natural State.
    Arkansas; The Land of Opportunity; The Natural State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2021. 15” x  23.5”.

  • Arizona; The Grand Canyon State; The Copper State.
    Arizona; The Grand Canyon State; The Copper State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2022. 20.5” X  30.5”.

  • California; The Golden State.
    California; The Golden State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2023

  • Colorado; The Centennial State.
    Colorado; The Centennial State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2023. 20.75” x 14.5”.

  • Delaware; The Blue Hen State, The Diamond State, The First State, The Small Wonder State.
    Delaware; The Blue Hen State, The Diamond State, The First State, The Small Wonder State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2023. 17.5” x 12”.

  • Maryland; Free State; Old Line State.
    Maryland; Free State; Old Line State.

    Hand embroidery, felt, poetry. 2020. 17.5” x 19.5”

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    • Quilts

    In progress series: I have started a new series of quilts that speak on the dynamics of interpersonal relationships in contrast to our relationships with institutions in our society like the government. 

    • CONTROL.
      CONTROL.

      Yarn, Perler Beads, Metal Jump Rings. 2024. 29” x 25”.

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    My Female Identity

    During my time as a student, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student, I dedicated myself to producing video and performance art that delves into the complexities of my identity as a woman. My work aims to shed light on the pervasive issues of sexism, stereotypes, biases, patriarchy, and violence against women. Through these artistic creations, I strive to encapsulate my journey and contemplations on the experiences of being a woman and navigating the world as a female.

    • Concatenation, 16mm, 2018

      Divided into three acts, this work constructs and then deconstructs the impacts of male privilege and assault on the female body. “Act One” discusses how something as violating as touching a woman’s body without her permission is seen to be normal and accepting as touching an inanimate object. “Act two” explores the physiological impact and emotional weight of the silence that is carried by survivors of sexual abuse. And in “Act Three” there is emancipation in the space where the veil of secrecy is lifted and survivors can speak freely and safely.

    • Job and His Daughters, 16mm, 2018

      Job’s Daughters is an organization that recruits young girls to participate in religious rituals and community service. The International Order of the Freemasons is a parent organization of Job’s Daughters. When I was around 14 years old I was inducted into this secret society under the conditions that I was somehow related to a Freemason and that under no condition would I share the rituals we would perform. We were required to wear white robes to display our purity and also to wrap our bodies with a rope that outlined our breasts and reproductive organs. Years later, looking back at the time I spent in this environment and seeing the practice of performing rituals every week, the book we followed, and the history of the Freemasons, I wanted to display how strange and haunting this cult was for me and is still today.

    • Forced to Watch, 2017

      This video is a compilation of original and found footage demonstrating how the original films that have influenced our perceptions of women remain relevant today. In 1973, Laura Mulvey published the essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," discussing the concept of the male gaze in films, such as those created by Hitchcock, where the spectator is placed in a masculine subject position, with the woman on screen as the object of desire. This video visually connects these older films with the ongoing spectacle of the objectification of women's bodies in today's society.

    • So Splash On In, Digital Video, 2017

      ****TRIGGER WARNING**** This video may trigger memories of assault or abuse. 

      So Splash On In is my response to a law in North Carolina that states that “no” does not always mean “no” when it comes to sexual consent. As a victim/survivor of sexual abuse and assault with North Carolina as a second home, this law struck me as horrific and appalling. In this video, I visually express my feelings about how I see the stories of assault victims getting washed away, both literally by the judicial system and metaphorically on the beaches of North Carolina. The audio is unsettling because this law is unsettling, and I wanted to create an example that audibly expresses an event that happens every 98 seconds in America, according to RAINN. The final clip of the video is a jarring transition to an ironic ad to visit North Carolina.

    • I am a Woman, Digital Video, 2016

      In this video, I offer a response to how society imposes stereotypes on femmes of all ages using language. By portraying a negative viewpoint, I aim to emphasize the harmful effects of these preconceived notions on the perception of femme individuals.

    • Gender Specifics, Digital Video, 2016

      With this piece, I challenge the societal norms that impose gender stereotypes on children by associating specific roles with toys and objects. In this performance video, I use destruction, violence, and anger, I express my opposition to these stereotypes. Using color, I aim to demonstrate how these toys and objects were designed thoughtfully to be assigned to one specific gender.

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    • How Does Your State Define Sexual Consent? — Understanding Sexual Consent Laws in the U.S.

    Published on October 23rd, 2023 in Womanly Magazine issue no. 7: s-e-x, Curtis' "How Does Your State Define Sexual Consent? — Understanding Sexual Consent Laws in the U.S." explores how states define sexual assault and sexual consent. The article also delves into the rights that victims have in defining their assault and seeking justice.

    • How Does Your State Define Sexual Consent? — Understanding Sexual Consent Laws in the U.S.

    • Refracted Gaze

    Selected photographs from the series of photographs titled "Refracted Gaze"

    • Refracted Gaze 1
      Refracted Gaze 1

      Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Refracted Gaze 4
      Refracted Gaze 4

      Digital Film Still Photograph, 2017

    • Refracted Gaze 5
      Refracted Gaze 5

      Digital Film Still Photograph, 2017

    • Refracted Gaze 3
      Refracted Gaze 3

      Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Refracted Gaze 2
      Refracted Gaze 2

      Digital Photograph, 2016

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    • Objects

    "Objects" is a series of photographs created to represent the ways American culture talks about vaginas and how they are portrayed in society. These photographs are an investigation of language and its impact, especially when it comes to our bodies. Language can be used to dehumanize individuals with female sexual organs by giving body parts names that detach them from the person. However, using anatomical terms has been shown to protect individuals from sexual abuse, promote healthy body image, boost self-confidence, and encourage openness on these topics. These photographs depict the alternative names that American culture has promoted and used instead of the anatomical term "vagina” while taking the upper half of the individual away to reiterate the idea of the body as an object.

    • Objects Wallpaper
      Objects Wallpaper

      Objects Wallpaper, Digital Collage, 2016, Installation

    • Beaver
      Beaver

      Beaver, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Cake
      Cake

      Cake, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Catcher's Mitt
      Catcher's Mitt

      Catcher’s Mitt, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Cherry Pie
      Cherry Pie

      Pie, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Taco
      Taco

      Taco, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Cookie
      Cookie

      Cookie, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Orchid
      Orchid

      Orchid, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Pussy Cat
      Pussy Cat

      Pussy Cat, Digital Photograph, 2016

    • Roast Beef
      Roast Beef

      Roast Beef, Digital Photograph, 2016 

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