Gallery Response

                      

  

   Antoinette Ellis-William stated that “black women celebrated their beauty with vibrant colors, elaborate hairstyles, and u i que cultural flair”. Now in this artwork, she really captures what black is. A first glance at this will have someone just see a plain black painting. No excitement whatsoever. But black is the mixture of all colors. All flavors into one color. If you were to see this work in different angles you can see the streak marks and different textures that is layered out all over the painting. Different shapes and images can be marked out and different shades of black. It is actually really interesting and there’s so much movement in this piece. The fact that it is surrounded by a sea of plain white really highlights what black is really about. A perfect start to the exhibition. It makes a bold statement that tells the viewers that “black” is the main importance right now. Black is not something unpure or beautiful. It is the entire opposite. Just like how black women have different shapes, shades, and unique cultural flairs. 

   This piece “Cloudy Night” I feel captures the perspective of a slave. A slave that has escaped from her keeper and ran off to the woods in hope for freedom. One can tell by the wilderness setting and the blurry washed way that everything is painted. It’s very ominent and dark, conveying the fear that these slaves went through. Ellis-William really did an amazing job capturing this perspective and kept with the theme “burn” by adding these burn marks around the painting. 

This piece of artwork reminds me of Kimberly Drew’s statement “Felt solidarity with the aritos need to highlight the shameful history of the word fair. And how more often than not, people of color are brought into arts basis to perform for white audiences.” Artist like Ellis-William took something from the past and performed it for an audience that didn’t have the capability to be aware on their own. We are visual people and sometimes words aren’t enough. Artist need to display these imageries in the audiences head to create awareness and make a statement that sometimes can’t carry on through voice. 

   For my selfie, I still wanted to keep that very dark, or just very black aesthetic in the picture. The importance was to emphasize black and show the uniqueness of it. Kind of like how Ellis-Williams first painting was, I wanted to have an image where a person would take a first look at it and not be affected by it at first glance. The person would just see a very dark image with nothing to really show. But what it really is, the image is asking you to come a little closer and just look. Look a little deeper and see the shapes, different forms of shades and little details that really say 100 times more than any big bold design. Very subtle and tasteful. Look to see if you can make out where I am at in this photo and see what’s around me. What are these designs and artwork on my arms? Differentiate the different shades of black to see shapes and see what is actually in the photo. In the article “Black Lives Matter Don’t Shoot”, the statement “A perfect example of the starkness of the message  supported and amplified by the starkness of the design” really hits the mark of the entire work of Ellis-William. So coming back to my selfie and William’s first artwork that I explained. The beauty and effectiveness of this work comes from just how purely simple it is. The whole topic that this artist is talking about is black. The people for his color and embracing the color of black. I tried capturing it by just simply layering under a layer of black but still being a part of it and still being unique in it. Able to portray a statement. Just as simple as the destiny of William’s painting is, the effect it aims to do is just as simple. Her whole work is talking about black people and their uniqueness. This painting and my selfie is basically just embracing the straight black color and basically telling the audience to come straight ahead. Come into the black and see the amazing things it has to offer. There's no beating around the bush. The artwork tells it straight forward and leaves no guesses. In this journey of art we are talking about black and you are coming for the ride.Hopefully my selfie was able to capture the amazing message that William implemented in her artwork and serve as a unique experience. 

JONES - Self Inspired

 

During my junior year of high school, I had moved and was immersed in a school full of students that didn't look like me. Although this wasn't my first time being in a predominately white school, I define it as my first "conscious" time being enrolled in a school like this. Conscious because I was aware of why I would get treated a bit differently, side eyed, and out of earshot from snide remarks. I was more aware of the fact that there were few who were/were going to be in my same position. I often found myself wanting to take any chance I could to show my peers and teachers that I was confident in myself and proud to be a young, black woman. This thought process came after feeling as if there wasn't much representation/recognition for not only the few black students in the school, but also a lack of teaching and informing students of the African American community in U.S. history. 

Background on Black Lives Matter - Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham

“In the history of African-Americans, the story of struggle has been a constant one...” 

It felt as if this history wasn't being taught, or in my opinion, taught well enough to inform these small town, young adults that those who don't look like them, are constantly being mistreated by our country. I wanted to showcase parts of my identity in creative ways in an attempt to inform whoever was open to paying attention. I found the perfect creative platform. In the images above you'll see two pieces of art I created. The one that is a collage is what I made for my APUSH class project. It was a collage that told the story of how the African American community has evolved in the U.S. I got a C on this assignment and it bummed me out for a few days. I was upset because I had made something that told MY history, it was my culture on display and I had put so much effort into that project. I didn't understand, however I cam to realize that the letter grade didn't define my work, and it didn't define my worth as an artist. 

This moment of putting a message within my art, encouraged me to take a step into being an activist

Understanding Patriarchy bell hooks

“... patriarchal gender roles are assigned to us as children and we are given continual guidance about the ways we can best fulfill these roles.”

“As their daughter I was taught that it was my role to serve, to be weak, to be free from the burden of thinking…”

From how my dad tells it, my family has never been one for "activism". My father was born during the Civil Rights Movement, and he and my uncles/aunts all can recall that we were one of those families who kept their head down and waited for the storm to pass. When my sister and I started getting more involved in speaking out about police brutality against our community, my father wasn't too open minded about it. We were reminded that we were young women,, who's focus should be on school and/or working. However, he didn't stop us from trying to organize a protest within our community, or from joining in when one was actually formed by activists who were doing protests in the neighboring towns. What did being a young woman have to do with speaking my mind?

This is a thought that kept me confused for a few days. I couldn't determine if it was normal parental concern, or a statement from stereotypical views on how a young lady should act. 

Either way it would not stop me from taking action on issues I feel strongly about. I will not shy away from speaking my mind or informing those who need it.

The image of me and the canvas is from summer of 2021 when I decided to do a personal project before going back to school in September. My mother was an integral part of me discovering the beauty in my natural hair. When I was younger, my mom would frequently perm me and my sister's hair. We would rarely get our hair done in protective styles, so at the time a perm was the most sot and time effective option. Sometimes I even think it also helped make us seem more 'refined'. It's also important to note that my mom always had a shaved head, and I attributed this to also not wanting to deal with the maintenance. After a few years, it was easy to notice the damage done to my hair, so I had to cut it off and start again. I devoted much time and care into giving my hair some much needed TLC. 

I never did get the chance to ask my mom why we practiced the hair routines and why she didn't let her hair grow out. So I set out to paint what she'd look like if she did let her hair grow out. The work took me less than a month to complete, but two months to plan out. I didn't recognize the symmetry with my high school project, until the end. 

I chose this selfie because i's me. I am the artist that has moved her emotions and inspirations into incredible works of art. I am also the daughter of a black woman and a black man, who is adamant on showing up for her fellow black people in spaces that they are few in numbers.

ART MODIFIED ASSIGNMENT BY Jose Bejerano

 

The Black Lives Matter protests really changed the way we viewed the police as a whole. This is not to say that all police are bad, but it did show how much police brutality as a whole is a big issue especially to people of color. In the span of 2 months we saw many cases of police brutality being brought up such as Breanna Taylor, George Floyd and James Blake. It showed us what was really going on that the media did not report. Street Art like this really shows us that people are tired of this mistreatment, and want it to stop. That it is being displayed for the world to see. Sadly this will never end, there will always be a bad apple laying around but we as people must use our voice to speak our narratives. We can not be silenced! I remember waking up the morning after the George Floyd situation and I watched the full five minute video and just watched the cop knee George Floyd’s neck. This truly gave me chills, for some apparent reason I knew this was gonna be much bigger than what it was. But I never expected it to be the biggest Civil Rights Movement ever. I am glad it was. In a time where social media is only growing, we have the power to spread awareness with a click of a button. We must use it and it could be our voice and our way to contribute to society and truly leave our mark on the world. This piece was created by Chris Tuite. There is no question that this is activist. I feel as if this is very straightforward and gets to the point effectively. George Floyd had this picture of him shown in the media as an average black man. But that was simply not the case. He was an Army Reserve for 8 years, but still that was the picture shown. What a true shame. He served for the United States of America, and was not able to be shown that way. It goes to show that the media plays a part in all of this. We must bring this to light and keep everyone involved accountable for these actions. We have a job as a society to shed light on things no one is talking about. The cop who kneeled on Floyd is serving life in prison and will have to pay for what he did. But the saddest part about it is that his daughter will now have to grow up without a father. His daughter has been shot since in an attack on their family, she survived but it doesn’t make any of this ok. All we can do is pray it gets better.

This painting right here holds a very special place in my heart for many reasons. This piece was done by Jacqueline Hammond.  I think this painting is activist in its own way. It shows and represents what Cuba is really about, which is originality. This is what a taxi in Cuba looks like right now. You see it is very old fashioned. Just like myself I like to describe myself as an old soul and old fashioned. I enjoy retro music like disco and old hardcore rap. That is not even the beginning of my relationship with the piece. Aside it shows who I am as a person, my identity and my culture. The taxi brand is named COCO. That is my childhood nickname from my parents. It was very amusing and directly linked me to the piece. I am not even sure how my parents came up with it but it is truly awesome to see it here. You might think the guy in the taxi is the driver but actually he is not. In Cuba, they have these guys in EVERY SINGLE PARKING LOT. They serve as car protectors kind of. It is courtesy to tip them every time you park your car and they open the door for you when you step out of your car when you are already parked. You can recognize these guys by the Havana Club shirt and hat they would be wearing. This piece really connected me to my culture and that is why I loved it.

This is a picture of me that my mom took, on my first day at NJCU. This is a very Cuban thing to do, in every school year we take a beginning of the year picture so in the future we can compare.I was very excited to get into this new chapter in my life. My first semester was Fall 2019 and it went amazing, I met a lot of new friends which I still am close with. In my spring semester school shut down and we went remote. I have been remote ever since because of how far school is from me. I have missed a good chunk of my college experience but it has not stopped me from achieving my goal. I am in my junior year now, two semesters away from graduating and I am excited to see where it takes me.

Burn: Origins and Resistance Exhibition

                      

                                        Burn: Origins and Resistance exhibition 

Im so glad I choose to attend the Burn art gallery held by Dr. Antoinette Ellis-Williams. this project was mainly to depict how most women of color experience the word "burn" also known as unemployment, isolation, abuse, exploitation, or being used. When I did enter the art gallery every art that I went to I couldn't look away from it. I stayed at each station for good 5 minutes trying to understand the concept and the message behind it. Each art was unique and different in its own way. to choose only two art piece out all these pieces was definitely a hard decision to make. 

 Out of all her pieces, one of her arts that stood out to me the most was Antoinette Ellis Williams 2nd degree burn.

2nd degree Burn

2nd degree burn was so intriguing that it immediately caught my eyes. First to talk about the colors from light red to dark almost as black red. Their also a mix of brown and green.Then this abstract had a 3d effect to it with the dark red rocks.To me this really did look like a second degree burn on the body. This piece ties to the message Dr Antoinette Elis Williams was trying to convey to Us with her Project burn. his piece  shows experiences many women go through in society. I can see a lot of emotions and pain in this art. If we compare how if any of us get a burn caused by fire that's exactly how this image shows the pain of women of color who go through. Through out the history the struggle for African American has not stopped. Even though we can't see the Burn it is still there in them. Just how any normal Burn takes time to heal so does for any other reasons. A lot of this can be because of their race they don't get enough attention and are mostly dismissed. Women of color are more vulnerable to problems and not be taken serious. this piece can defiantly be defined as an activist art for women of color. in Kimberly drew Book, Everything I know about art, she states "It was a struggle to maintain my dignity when I trudged uphill for the quad towards the financial service office every morning to plead my case for additional funding" Kimberly struggle asa black women can be shown through this art. How she felt ashamed to be begging for financial service but had no option defiantly depicts burn and 2nd degree Burn.

Another of Dr Antoinette Elis Williams art piece that stood out to me the most was "Red sister reflecting". 

Red Sister Reflecting

Firstly to talk about what I see in this art is a red women and then her black shadow behind her. through the women and the shadow we see woods all in black besides a yellow portion. Everything about the art is mysterious and an open book at the same time. Going back to the theme of "Burn", This art is so different from the rest. to me this is healing and reflecting and learning from your experience. To express yourself as who you are. Your darkest and brightest it is all you. One should be proud of who they are and what their roots are. For women of color Red sister reflecting is their healing process and to move on and as strong women with a past and who still looks forward. With out a doubt I believe this is an activist art. 

My Selfie

I was inspired by Dr. Antoinette Ellis-Williams art piece "Red Sister Reflecting." To me personally that piece stood out to me because it had a deeper meaning to it. To show who you really are and you should be proud of those roots. In my selfie I tried give a little sense of my own culture and how proud I am of it.

 

During my time at the BURN: Origins & Resistance exhibition curated by Dr. Ellis-Williams, I found that each piece in the exhibit held its own meaning and value. Through these works and different mediums, textures, and colors being used, Dr. Williams conveys the rich history and stories of what it is to be a black woman in society as well as what it is to be a woman. Through the vibrant colors and material being used like the clothes pins symbolizing fire sticks and the “Burn". Viewers experience the culture and beauty of black women as well as the oppression they faced. As I walked around the exhibition, I found that I was drawn to most, if not all of the works as they all told the story of beauty, struggle, family, strength,culture, heritage and even unity. Each work strongly represented the heritage and cultural views in different ways, some through its simplicity like the Weathering Abstract I “Mother,” 2020 and others through interacting with the audience, like the empowering and beautiful Burn Alter. However, all in all the two pieces that I gravitated to the most would have to be the Burn Alter and Black Goddess with Golden Lips.

  

 From my interpretation, I believe, Black goddess emphasizes the beauty and structure of black women through the beauty of their glowing complexion and beautiful dark and rich skin. In contrast, the work also shows how throughout the years society has tried to damage, bruise and break them down. In a live stream Dr. Ellis-Williams, goes on to say “In the beginning, black women were perfect”. The piece is a digital collage on canvas. This work stuck out to me with its clothed background, textured creases, and iron burns. Symbolizing the culture and heritage of colored women through the making of clothes I.e the clothed background. The center point of the piece displays the face of an African American young woman. The woman’s face seems to be distorted with empty spaces on most of the right side of her face. leaving only the view of one eye and a small portion of her face to be seen. From my interpretation, the empty spaces symbolize the exploitation, oppression, and objectification black women endure from society. On the left corner of the piece there is an iron burn that formulates a bright gold tone. The iron burn also formulates an illusion of teeth marks going along the empty spaces. The golden tone and “teeth mark” represents the education, rich knowledge, wisdom and voices of colored women and how even through dark times like the patriarchal views of women and systematic oppression these women still hold on to their faith and voices. I found this quote By Bell Hooks to be quite true, as well as relatable to this piece “Growing up is a system of patriarchy”. Even in today’s society there is still lots of old fashion beliefs about what it is to be a woman and the expectations that come with it. These expectations begin to create a narrative, to try an conform us to societies “ideal” woman, slowly trying to break us down  to believe we are damaged or do not fit societies standards and expectation.

          Another piece I found to be empowering would have to be the Burn Alter. This is an interactive piece that asks participants to do something personal. As you grab a clothes pin i.e., fire stick viewers are asked to think about a thing, place or person that helped them get where they are today, then write the name of the person, place or thing on the fire stick. After it is written participators are then told to lay it on the alter. In a way, the fire

sticks represents giving homage to the people i.e.  Ancestor or people before who over went these obstacles to give the next generation better opportunities and generational wealth. For me the work represent unity and collectivism. Kimberly Drew states in her book This is What I know About Art  " Simply, I want to share my stories with the hope that you may find your own journey and make the change that you want to see in the world", as women we can offer knowledge, wisdom, and better advice through our experience to the next generation of  young women and by doing this it helps the next  generation of women find their barring in a patriarchal society with patriarchal views.

          The message that these pieces convey are not only of beauty, race and gender but they also represent the pain, inequality and obstacles that black women have faced in the past as well as present. These personal narratives not only relate to black women but all women as we still face discrimination in the workplace, at home and in every phase of our lives. As a Latina woman these pieces are especially relatable. When thinking of the burn sticks and a name of someone who made a difference in my life, I would definitely name my Great Grandmother Miriam Roman, who told me stories of the struggles she went through in life. She was born in 1930 and explained how wages for men were always higher even in jobs where she did the same work. She is definitely a strong woman who impacted my life and the decisions I make; I am proud to have come from her. These pieces are definitely activist pieces because they were made to make you aware of and represent the issues that we still face today. These art pieces raise questions like: Are these still issues black women and women still face today? How bad are these issues of injustice and inequality? What can we do to change this narrative? These art pieces represent women of the past, women of the present and fight for change for women of the future. They are there to tell a story and raise awareness of the pain and struggle that women are faced with in life.  

My Selfie

 I drew my selfie in relation to the exhibit, in many ways as a Latina woman i was able to relate to the exhibition. Sometimes it can feel like my voice or opinion  is not being heard because of my gender, age, and race. Other times as females we are looked at as delicate like a "flower". I incorporated the flower  as a symbol of how society categorizes women based off of gender and not by there experiences or what they can contribute to society.