When I went to visit the exhibition BURN: Origins & Resistance by Dr. Ellis-Williams, I saw two pieces of artwork that had me in awe. Two of these were My American Stitches Flag and Burnt Sacrifice Series. The first one seems to be made with stitching and pins. The artwork really stood out to me because the cowrie shells centered in the middle. The different types of fabric patterns all around and the pins the way it was only pinned in certain areas. It’s something I’ve never seen before. I did a bit of research on what cowrie shells symbolize and it stated that in ancient Africa when these shells were found they represented wealth, fertility. The pins could represent holding all the patches together, meaning that something holds her altogether to be. I found this to be extremely interesting how certain things mean something way more than what people usually look at things at. I feel like everyone has their own personal flag whether they choose to show it or not. It shows what the person chooses to represent themselves as. That materials aren’t just materials but in some way they symbolize something. Overall, I think the artwork shows how all of those may represent them. The other art piece that I found extraordinary is Burnt Sacrifice Series. I have never seen a piece of art actually want their audience to interact with their artwork. The act of actually being part of the artwork itself and writing down words that are meaningful to people just shows they actually care what others have to say. It’s having the option to write whatever you want and put it in a bucket without anyone judging you. There were two small brown baskets on a small table. There was a white candle in the middle of the brown baskets. The brown baskets were represented to be “firesticks.” In the corner of the room was a huge wood board that was like hay and on it were the firesticks. At the bottom there was a bucket where people could place the firesticks. The way I took these artwork is that people, no matter what you enjoy doing, that we all are the same and we need to be there for one another. It reminds me how individuals are constantly worried about being different but in the way we are somewhat the same, whether we like the same things or not. We all get “fuel” from some things or not, for example the firesticks to keep the fire to keep going you have to keep adding more fire sticks or the fire will ruin out. These artworks are a form of activism. I feel as it addresses how everyone has their own self identity and things that represent them. How people are alike no matter the different things we like doing. People should be able to express themselves how they want. When creating my own personal selfie based off these images, I wanted to incorporate things that represent and identify me. I feel as having self identity is such an enormous part of life. Many people struggle without it in society because they aren’t sure about themselves or they feel like they will be judged harshly. But I feel like society has evolved drastically over the past years because now people are more comfortable in expressing themselves. Individuals nowadays aren’t as afraid to be themselves like back then. Each person has things that represent them or have materials that symbolize something to them, whether it be culturally or they just relate to it.
In my selfie I have a picture of myself in the center. I identify as a female. I have a butterfly, heart rose quartz crystals, and sea shells. These all in some way present me the butterfly symbolizes healing, change. The rose quartz symbolises self-love. The seashells symbolize sensitivity and imagination. All of these things represent my personality. In the reading “Understanding Patriarchy” a quote that I had chosen before was “because patriarchal gender roles are assigned to us as children and we are given continual guid about the ways we can best fulfill these roles.” I feel this reading relates to this project because it shows how back then you were supposed to be a certain way or it was unusual that you weren’t. The second you are born and grown up you aren’t allowed to choose what you identify as. Which just shows how everyone back then was put into this bubble where you weren’t allowed to express yourself or have your own identity. It was either a male or female. In the Kimberly drew book she stated, "I knew the power of representation and tried to leverage the image in a way that felt authentic." This quote I found helpful because it shows representation is important. People’s identity is important and seeing others be proud of who they are. It naturally encourages others to follow along in their own path.
No comments:
Post a Comment