1. what is the subject of your image?
1. The subject of my image is a a tornado, and faces of 3 African Americans who were killed by police along with my face. 
2. what is the content of your image?
1. The content of my image is a to show you what is going on in the world today with African Americans. 
3. why did you make the choices that led to the composition?
1. I made these choices because i wanted to show the disadvantage black people have. 
4. • Explain the process and steps you went through and why you made those decisions.
1. The process I went through to make this portrait was fast and good. My first step was to paint a big black cloud and have a tornado forming in the cloud. Next I added the heads of the African American victims in the cloud along with my head.
5. • How you would categorize your work (ex. collage, graphic print, mixed media, etc)
1. I would categorize my work as graphic print.
6. What artists or works are appropriate to compare your work to
1. The artist I tried to compare my art too was Carrie mae weems.
7. what do you think this image conveys to the audience?
1. This image conveys to the audience that black lives matter.
8. What are the differences between the first self-portrait and your last self-portrait? 
1. The difference between my first self-portrait & my last portrait is my first portrait i used words describing my whole life & my last portrait i used my face along with other faces of african americans who lost their life to police.  
9. What influenced these changes?
1. I wanted to point out an issue thats going on in the real world and whats going to keep happening if we don't do anything about it. Which is going to lead to my pictures in the tornado if we don't.

Am I Next ?

  

I was assaulted a few weeks ago back in my hometown by an police officer. He's been doing it for a long time, he got reported and still has his job. Police gets away with alot in todays society and thats the problem. If this issue don't get solved we will see more pictures of innocents on the posters. BLACK LIVES MATTER 

Post 3: Out For The Camera

The museum I went to that includes self-portrait work is called the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. The museum consisted of two exhibits when I went. The first exhibition I explored contained mostly all self-portraits. The exhibit is called “Out For The Camera” by Leonard Fink. Leonard Fink (1930-1992) is a gay American photographer who made most of his work throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. It was interesting that Fink’s photos are so explicit because during his lifetime he was in the closet with family members. This was probably the main reason why Fink never showcased his photography in his own public gallery during his time. This fact adds a point to the exhibit that not only Fink, but many gay people need to have multiple identities that are so necessary to the oppressive regime of the closet.

Themes that are prevalent in this exhibit are identity, exposing yourself unapologetically, sex, exhibitionism, and gay culture. Many of Fink’s photos include himself and other subjects in explicit poses and engaging in what was then forbidden and scandalous sexual acts. In many of his photographs, he and/or his subjects are looking straight at the camera lens, which differs from most pornography, because the subjects usually look away as if the audience is unseen. I think society has tried to make those who aren’t heterosexual feel like they aren’t normal and like they are doing wrong by exposing themselves. Heterosexual people have been posing naked forever and it is deemed art. I think Fink is critiquing that societal idea and pushing limits. I believe he is also just exploring the identities of the people in his community.

Keller Bar, 1976

Fink portrays being unapologetically yourself in The Kiss (n.d.) and Self-Portrait with Tommy (n.d). By looking straight at the camera Fink is making the viewer know that he is unapologetic and not ashamed of showing off who he is. Fink was also very fascinated with the gay bar culture of the West Village and the annual Pride marches. As I read the description of the Keller Bar (1976) photograph, Fink decided to photograph men in light-filled bars where they talked and enjoyed themselves, unlike the “dark quasi-private spaces where men congregate in the night” that films tend to portray during that time. I was also interested in Fink’s annual Pride march photographs. One of the images is entitled Gay Pride March (Boy Scouts), 1973, which is of boy scouts at the Pride march. 

Leonard Fink, Self-Portrait in the Mirror with Camera to the Eye, 1979. 

The above photograph is entitled Self-Portrait in the Mirror with Camera to the Eye, which was taken in 1979. This photograph represents the freedom Fink found in the mirror. He also found freedom in his camera because it was like a mirror for him. He believed the mirror and camera made way for him to explore his own image and ones he could create. He could be any of the characters that he portrayed in other photographs, such as a scout leader, naked biker, and naked and vulnerable. I believe Fink may have found solace and the ability to be himself, regardless of what character it was, through his photos, because he was not allowed to around his family. 

Del LaGrace Volcano, Self-Portrait Collaboration with Gerard Rancinan, Paris, 2004

This photograph is not by Leonard Fink but it is included in the "Out For The Camera" exhibition because it encapsulates the vision of Fink's self-portraiture. Del LaGrace Volcano is another photographer and was born in California, but is based in Sweden. Del LaGrace was born with male and female characteristics but was raised as a girl. He/she now lives as a man and woman. This plays a big part in his/her's photography. Del LaGrace explores the subjects of gender variance, sexual connectedness, and body mutations. In the photograph above, Del LaGrace explores what gender is and how it is displayed in society. He/she is dressed in a skirt with thigh high socks, platform boots, and makeup while also maintaining a masculine pose. He/she has a stern face and stance. Del LaGrace is pointing out that masculinity and feminity can be displayed at the same time and still be empowering and beautiful. Del LaGrace is defying the norm. Your image can be whatever you want it to be and you do not need to follow society's rules when taking a photograph of yourself. By making him/herself the subject Del LaGrace is able to take control of how the photo looks and the point of it. 

I believe the curator for the "Out For The Camera" exhibit was trying to tell the museum audience that gay artists are taking a hold of their own identity and sexuality. They are out for the camera and proud of it. There is nothing weird or odd about it. They are showing that gay artists utilize the self-portrait to get that point across because what better and more personal way is there to express yourself and your truth than through photos of yourself. 

Works Cited

“DEL LAGRACE VOLCANO.” DEL LAGRACE VOLCANO, www.dellagracevolcano.com/.

Hyperallergic. “Your Concise New York Art Guide for Spring 2018.” Hyperallergic, Hyperallergic, 13 Mar. 2018, hyperallergic.com/427450/concise-guide-new-york-art-spring-2018/.

“OUT FOR THE CAMERA: The Self-Portraits of Leonard Fink.” Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, 17 Feb. 2018, www.leslielohman.org/project/leonard-fink-out-for-the-camera/.

Blog Post 3 - John Chamberlain's Self Portraiture

Chamberlain photos displayed at MANA Contemporary, retrieved from aynfoundation.com

On Tuesday, April 24, I saw John Chamberlain's Photographs displayed in the second floor gallery of MANA contemporary. John Chamberlain spent most of his career as a sculptor and became well known along with abstract expressionists during the 1950s. His works were made of car parts and brightly colored with car paint, although the finished products had no resemblance to cars(The Art Story). He was said to have pioneered the use of automotive metal in sculpture (Kennedy). From 1989 to 2002, he experimented with photography and created the series of photos including those on display at MANA Contemporary. These works are all untitled and do not have any descriptions on display in the gallery, but this leaves them up to the interpretation of the viewer. Additionally, I think it creates a simplicity and straightforwardness that says these works are what they are and nothing more. I found these pieces to be at once abstract and deeply personal. Chamberlain's method and approach create a self portrait using his motions and the world around him.

Chamberlain portrays himself in his photos mainly through his movements and experiences, although in some of them he includes his own face. In some cases, his face is the main focus, such as in the photo above where he uses the motion of the camera to turn his head into a long squiggle. In others, such as the photo below, his face appears off to the side or in a corner and is not as much of a focal point.

In yet other photos, his face appears multiple times due to the photo being panoramic. This adds an element of surrealism to the pictures and is also a way of capturing his movement from one place to another within one still image. He also captures images of a wide array of experiences. For example, some pictures show restaurant interiors and foods, while others show streets, rooms, art galleries, monuments, and other locations, some too distorted to discern. Additionally, the majority of the photos were taken by a moving camera, usually moved by Chamberlain himself. The distortion of the photos shows how much he moved when he took them, and even indicate what directions he may have moved in.

The most prominent repeated themes I noticed in this series were movement, distortion, and day to day life. Almost every photograph captured movement. Chamberlain often took photos by holding the camera close to his body and moving around as he took them (Wiley). In doing so, he captured his own movement through the way the surroundings are affected by the camera’s movement. This is visible in the distortion of the photos’ subjects. Although a few photos do not, most show extremely distorted, often blurred objects and places. This is why they appear so abstract even though they are also easily understandable as self portraits. Since he does not show his face in every picture, he uses many of them to portray himself through his experiences. Even though he chooses to show relatively simple and everyday subjects, such as room interiors, outdoor scenery, and meals, he does so in a way that makes them interesting to look at and unique to his own style. In the cases where he portrays travel and landmarks, they are not usually the focus of the picture, making them seem like mundane everyday scenery as well.

Chamberlain addresses himself and his experiences playfully and experimentally in his photos. This in itself is a characteristic of his identity as an artist. He was known to experiment with many other media besides sculpture, as well as with different materials within sculpture(Kennedy).

If he is critiquing the concepts of self-identity, Chamberlain seems to be countering how seriously many people take themselves by creating more playful images. He is also countering how contrived and overly constructed one’s self image may be by creating these images without much premeditation. He lets his movements direct what the picture will look like, making his self portrayal genuine on a very basic level. His technique has been compared to automatic drawing (The Art Story), which works well as a method of expression without too much thought. Chamberlain’s work evokes a sense of constructed self, however, in the sense that people construct themselves through their experiences. I also think it exemplifies the male gaze, but in a different way than portraits of women by men tend to. In this case he is literally portraying what he sees. He is also an active participant in his work, emphasizing John Berger’s point that “men act and women appear”(47) as a way to simplify the concepts of the male gaze. This, however is the only similarity because there is not any objectification of women to be found in Chamberlain’s work. Of course, it is hard for any art works not to be considered self portraits because “[s]pectatorship cultivated through cinema, art, theatre, and fashion has conventionalized a visual representation of identity (Finkelstein 129).


I think that the purpose of this series was to experiment with self portrayal and photography when Chamberlain did not primarily work in this way. It was another step in the experimentation he naturally did throughout his career. He may be telling the audience to experiment with expression and self-portrayal as he did, or simply showing the picture of himself created by these works.



Sources

“John Chamberlain Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.m.theartstory.org/artist-chamberlain-john.htm.

Kennedy, Randy. “John Chamberlain, Artist of Auto Metal, Dies at 84.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2011, mobile.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/arts/design/john-chamberlain-artist-of-auto-metal-dies-at-84.html.

“Ayn Foundation Projects at MANA Contemporary.” Aynfoundation.com, Ayn Foundation, www.aynfoundation.com/mana.php.

Wiley, Tad. “‘MORE ME’: John Chamberlain's Panoramic Self Portraits.” Aynfoundation.com, Ayn Foundation, Aug. 2016, www.aynfoundation.com/photos/mana/chamberlain/more-me.pdf.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Art & Language, 1978.

Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I.B. Tauris, 2007.

Final Project: 'Fight Like A Girl'

My final project is inspired by an image of Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Basquiat is someone who I consider to be a big influence on my life (I have a tattoo of his crown). In my project, I am the subject, and I am portrayed as a boxer. I knew that I wanted to do something revolving around empowerment, and I choose to do mine on women empowerment. Since I am familiar with Photoshop, I chose to do a gif. I would categories my work to be mixed media, as I created the background and take a photograph of myself. I believe that my project is very modern, considering it was done using technology, and I believe it is something that women today could relate to. It could also convey that I, as the subject, am encouraging women's empowerment. I think I was a bit inspired by my first self-portrait for my last self-portrait. Also, I rushed to put something together for my first self-portrait and I really did try to come up with a meaningful idea and execute it well. 

Paperweight [Final] [Jan Castaneda]

The subject of my image is a depiction of my views on my religion, unlike my family who seem to have more faith in religion, I constantly question it. I created a makeshift head with a noose anchored to a bible, the content represents how I view religion as a paperweight and that it seems to hold people back. I decided to create this project because in my family, my mother or grandmother would attempt to guilt trip me to go to church, saying that it was a necessity but I, unfortunately for them, do not agree. I also have seen or heard of instances where religion was used to excuse people's actions such as preventing abortions due to religious beliefs or where people could not marry because of religious differences. I would categorize my work as a mixed media since it incorporates sculptural qualities and photographic elements. The difference between my first and last self-portrait is that the first was a drawing and my last one is a more three dimensional piece.

final post

Girl Looking Crooked, 2018

The subject of my image, Girl Looking Crooked, is to show the viewers how crooked my back is. The content of my image is me, my scoliosis, and a few things that represent me. I made the choices that led to my composition because I wanted to use an image where I could show my back. Since the woman in the image Grande Odalisque is fully naked, I saw the opportunity to represent myself in that image. So, I chose all the images I wanted to represent in my artwork and I photoshopped it onto Grande Odalisque's image. My work is a collage and I can compare it to Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's piece. This image will probably confuse the audience at first because it is a cluster of different things, but once I explain what it means, people will understand. My first self-portrait was a painting of the two places I am from, and that represented me and how I travel to Spain every year to see my entire family. My second self-portrait is more of a physical image of myself. This self-portrait portrays the things I experience throughout life. The influence in these changes is to show my audience that I am not as perfect as I seem. Everyone has something wrong with them whether its mentally or physically.

The picture matching the flowers was unintentional, but it worked. I wanted to use my spine, but it didn't look as well as my friends. I relate to my friend because we both suffer through back pains and our clothing not fitting properly. The snakes represent what my friends call me and the flowers represent me being happy about my body.

Final Project - Me, Myself, I, etc.

For most of my life, I have been fascinated by costume and altering my appearance. That is why in this project, I used different costumes to express different aspects of my personality, as well as different ways I present myself. I separated these aspects into eight different "selves", each with costumes, props, and settings that represent them. I exaggerated each aspect as well to make them easier to photograph. Some are selves that I create, and some are inherent traits.

My first self is the "cool and mysterious". I expressed quintessential "coolness" with black clothing, sunglasses, and a leather jacket. This is the self that people see when I dress well but don't talk much and carry myself with confidence, the self that people are intimidated by and wish they could be friends with.

My second self is the feminine. Although I do not identify as a woman, I am in touch with my femininity and sometimes decide to present in a more feminine way with makeup or dresses. This character represents my femininity and how I might present myself more often if I identified as a woman.

My third self is the lazy. This is the self that most of my close friends and family see, and is characterized by stress, depression, tiredness, and sloppiness. This is the self that wants to stay in bed all day, only eats junk food, never dresses well, never cleans up after themselves, has panic attacks, is tired all the time, and wastes their life away. I represented this by photographing myself in bed with dirty hair and clothes and a bag of chips.

My fourth self is the happy, spiritual, and kind. This self loves flowers and nature and is a bit of a hippie. They thrive in spring and summer, always recycle, consider others' feelings and believe in karma, and rarely worry as they know things will work out in the end.

My fifth self is the heroic. They represent the hero complex I've always had. I always want to play the role of the knight in shining armor in a story. I portrayed myself in this photo as a cowboy, the knight of the wild west. This character is a born leader who is law abiding, polite, brave, and always helps others.

My sixth self is the academic and professional. This is the least personal and furthest in expression from my true self, yet represents what I feel is a very important aspect of myself: hard work and book smarts. I always put forth great effort in both classes and jobs, and this self represents that. This is the self that is loved by teachers and bosses, gets perfect grades, and has a wealth of knowledge to share but rarely shares personal information.

My seventh self is the healthy and athletic. This represents my health consciousness. I do not always act in health conscious ways (see Lazy Self), but I do think about my health almost constantly and strive to become the healthiest person I can be. This self is that person. They work out regularly, stay active, eat clean and are very strong.

My eighth and final self is the dramatic and creative. This is the self that writes dark poems and sad songs, creates dramatic monologues and dances when they are alone, and isolates themselves to create art. They are inspired by the starving artist and tragic prodigy, but are not as prolific as they wish to be. This is a self that I don't present in my own appearance, but rather in some of my art. I have not made such dramatic art in a long time, and I think that it was partly a phase of being a teenager that motivated me to do so in the first place, but it is nonetheless still a part of me that influences my creative decisions.

This project is different from my midterm in that it utilizes photographs of myself rather than a painting. There are also many different symbols in each of the photos instead of just one throughout the project. Instead of just one image of myself, or rather a focus on one aspect of myself, there are many. I want this project to convey the complexity of the self as well as the ability to express yourself in many different ways simply through appearance. The artist that inspired me most this semester was Cindy Sherman, so it made the most sense to let her influence this final project. The way she creates different identities through costume, setting, and photography resonates with and appeals to me, and it was a natural direction for me to take for the project.

To create the project, I took photos of myself (or had friends take them for me) in each costume after coming up with the different selves I wanted to portray. Then I assembled printouts in a cardboard accordion book. The accordion book is a way to show that the self is many sided but still a single entity.

Final project

My final project is about my life in Colombia with my mom and sister and my life here in the U.S which is what makes my identity today. My project was inspired by Sophie Calle’s exposition “The Birthday Celebration” in which she collected the presents that people gave to her in her birthday parties. In this case, I decided to collect not the presents but the words that I think make my identity. I put the words and sentences in and out of a box that represents the “bubble” in which I have lived.
Outside the box: It represents what I consider the “bad” part of my life
Top: I wrote the words that describe me as a person, but that I don’t actually like and that I would like to change.

Bottom: I wrote the sentences that I often utilize to describe me and that I use every time I do something. 

Front: I wrote words that I found people use a lot in the Latin community in this country and that I consider that are not appropriate and that I actually hate. 

Back: In this side, I wrote words that describe what I found when I left my country and that I noticed that are so prevalent in society. 

Inside of the box:  The inside of the box represents my mom and my sister. 

Inside the box, I have three pictures, one with my mom, one with my dogs, and one with my sister. Also, I have the words that they tell me all the time and that keeps me motivated when I want to give up. 

Also, on one side, I decided to write things that my mom always tell me when I go out and that is used normally in society. I think this is important because it represents the machista society in which women are educated to not “provoke” and to not let men do things to us, instead of teaching men to respect women. 

This project is different from my first self-portrait because the first one represented how the ideas of this country are trying to consume me, while this project represents who I am actually am and the things that make my identity. 

My first idea about this project was to represent women that are involved in really bad relationships, but it did not represent me per se, so I changed to my “bubble.” 

Final Project

• What is the subject of your image?

The subject of my final project has to do with the female role, specifically in Latin women. A look into the stereotypes of Latina women.

• What is the content of your image?

The content of my image consists of pictures taken from my phone of myself and some friends of mine. All the women in this photo are of Latina decent.

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

My grandmother told me recently on a visit to her house, "we need to find you a man Cristina. You're 21 and you are not even dating someone. You're going to become undesirable soon to men". After she told me this I began to realize she saw my role in life and society as a reproductive machine that was made to care for the house while the man goes out to work. I haven't dated since I broke up with my ex-fiancee in my senior year of high school, so that has been a problem to her. But, I have also noticed that it has become a problem to Latinas, that we aren't look at as the powerful women in our culture, even after all this time.

• What do you think this image conveys to the viewers?

I'm hoping this image conveys to the viewers the different stereotypes of Latin women, but to also show the strength and possibility of defying those stereotypes given. 

• What artists have influenced your self portrait?

Adrian Piper influenced this piece afterI went to the MoMA to see her Self-Portrait Exaggerating My Negroid Features exhibition and how she had a black man defying the stereotypes of his race. 

• What techniques have you used to create your self portrait?

I used a form of a collage and black and white imaging to give the photos a more drastic feel to go along with the message behind the entire piece. 

• What are the differences between the first self-portrait and your last self-portrait?

The difference from my first self-portrait dealt more with my own personal struggles and demons, ut how my faith in Jesus is helping to heal it and cope with a lot of my mental struggles. This self-portrait deals more with the stereotypes and traditions of my culture. Each photo represents a big F-U to the stereotypes and that I am going to follow my heart and gut. 

• Why and how does this project represent you?

This project represents me because I am a 21 year old, single, Latina who is looking to further her education. My family always talks about when I meet a man and have children with him, how wonderful of a mother I'm going to be because of how well I love and care for my niece and nephew, but they never say how great it will be when I graduate with my PhD like I plan to do, or how wonderful it will be when I lead in worship at a big conference for our church, or even how wonderful it will be when I begin my own practice. I wanted this photo series to express how empowered women can be with the right kind of motivation and how we can raise up women, like myself, to go against the traditional values of being the "perfect stay at home mother" but to show her much passion she has inside of her. 

• What influenced these changes?

When my grandmother still looked at me as a reproductive machine, I saw that there was a problem for me, and other girls who are like me, that is bigger than overcoming obstacles of personal struggles, but overcoming the obstacle of societies placed roles on Hispanic women like me. 

Final project

This is the outcome of my final project. As I expected, the process did not go as planned and the original idea I had for the outcome is a little different than what I initially envisioned. I wanted this project to be much different than a typical image of myself. For this reason, I decided to get personal and let everyone in on something that I suffer from, which is a counting compulsion, a form of OCD. This painting represents so many parts of what goes on inside of my head although no one will recognize this fact until I explain it. I like the fact that it does not outwardly express my OCD because that can also represent how OCD is a mental thing, it does not always show itself physically. To create this portrait, with the help of my girlfriend, I created lines horizontally and vertically to create boxes that were 8x8 (even number). It was also important for me to not have an odd number of boxes going across or down the canvas, so there are six at the top, and four going down the canvas. I then, imperfectly, traced these lines with black paint to represent how I am imperfect, there is no such thing as perfection. I painted in the boxes with primary colors, these are also in a pattern (red, blue, then yellow). Three boxes are different, for this I used my original technique of using a frosting spatula to paint abstract images, this represents what is important to me while challenging my idea of evenness since I only did it for three boxes. The "3D" boxes that I drew inside of the boxes were done with a metallic, gold, paint pen; These boxes are important to me because I have been drawing them on everything for as long as I can remember. When I was very young, my mother taught me how to draw these boxes and I never stopped. My final project differs from my midterm because my midterm was something I take seriously and I am passionate about, which is feminism and equality whereas my final project has more to do with me personally. 

Art Post III: Trickster

The exhibition that I chose to write about and am looking forward to seeing is Kahinde Wiley's "Trickster." The portraits are online but the showcasing will be May 5th. All of these works are portraits of contemporaries of Wiley set in their work or as archetypical neoclassical figures. This is different from Wiley’s usual anonymous sitters; this group includes the likes of Derrick Adams, Sanford Biggers, Nick Cave, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Yinka Shonibare, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

The theme of this exhibition is the eponymous trickster. The one who challenges the status quo and makes a fool out of those in power. This is existent in almost every cultural folklore; the Greeks have Pan, the Norse have Loki, the Chinese have the Monkey King. Kahinde Wiley has the modern black artist who, through his work, challenges what is the state of being as a black person in America. How one engages with the world defines how the world engages with one. Wiley achieves this through his use of Eurocentric art to create pieces akin to those of the Old Masters except putting into frame how blackness challenges this trope; that blacks and black artists can achieve this same level of work. For example, his Portrait of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jacob Morland of CapplethwaiteHere we see a black female artist take the mantle of hunter. The hunter has, throughout European history, been a traditionally male, upper-class, white man who is shown bring down beasts of the forest and showing off his great hunting ability. This painting has a woman, and more audaciously, black, in the role of hunter showing to the view her skills and her power. If gun signify power then her musket is a tribute to her power as a woman and as an African-American. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is the trickster, she is traversing the border of what is acceptable by challenging the domination of the upper-class white man as a hunter and a power figure; if she holds the gun then she too must be a mistress of the world. Moving on, we see another portrait in the same type of aristocratic pose. His Portrait of Nick Cave, Nadezhda Polovtseva absolutely captures the style of the European monarch in the 18th and 19th century. Placed in what can only be described as a palace, Wiley presents the average man in the aura of the great European monarchs of old. He replaces the antiquated furs, silks, and regalia of the kings with the flannel, rubbers, and denim of the layman. But Nick Cave still gives of the presence of a great European king, with the dignified pose and the regal lighting presented around him. His umbrella abreast like a saber, placed in full view of the audience to signify martial prowess. And a hand outstretched giving the kings mercy to those who deserve it. Nick Cave does not look at the viewer but rather beyond them in the way that someone of higher status would not directly look at one of lower status. This absolutely plays on the historical dynamic of whiteness and blackness and their historical positions in reference to one another.            Wiley does a very good job when he brings these ideas into force and they allow reflection on the meanings behind paintings. They challenge the preset images in our mind when we think of “king” or “hunter.” And presents them in a juxtaposition that reverts power to the powerless. Assumptions are based on views and beliefs so to challenge beliefs will challenge assumptions and this is precisely what Wiley is trying to get at when he created this images. Wiley is drawing a line in the sand with this art and crossing it—he is redefining the canonical limits of Eurocentric art by making them an object of inclusion instead of exclusion. He draws his inspiration from Goya’s very famous Black Paintings, the portraits that haunt the audience with their menacing and enveloping color scheme. The presentation is one of not only regality, which is mentioned prior, but also of solemnity and respect as a way of empowerment. The Gallery this is presented in, The Sean Kelly Gallery, says that these portraits are drawn so that the audience can make up their own mind of what the colors mean, are they embracing or engulfing the subject.https://www.artsy.net/show/sean-kelly-gallery-kehinde-wiley-tricksterhttps://ocula.com/art-galleries/sean-kelly/artworks/kehinde-wiley/portrait-of-lynette-yiadom-boakye-jacob-morla/xx

Sophie Calle 4/25

For the Sophie Calle selfies, I decided to recreate her collection, "The Sleepers". I chose to do this because I thought it was interesting how she reached out to people and offered them to sleep in her bed. This was an intimate project because people are vulnerable when they sleep, and she entered into their space as they entered into hers.

Final Project

 The subject of my image was basically the different forms of myself that I tend to hide inside myself. I wanted to reveal different sides of me in a series that allowed me to express who I am without trying to be someone else. In short, I wanted to reveal my true identity that is usually masked away. I used cotton, lights, flowers and pictures that I had taken from a photo shoot for the project. I came out with this idea after thinking about Instagram and having a moment of self-reflection and thinking of how I was going to display my identity. The different outfits represent the different sides of myself. I used cotton to symbolize clouds and comfort. I was "living in the clouds" during the dark times of my life where I felt I was going through things alone and just created my own imaginary world that made me happy and make my situation comfortable enough to bear with. It also symbolizes the pure energy that I like to surround myself with. The flowers symbolize my emotions. Flowers are very delicate and my emotions are as well. When I love someone or care for someone, it is really from my heart and it has landed me in situations where people have taken advantage of it and hurt me. I am the kind of person that can easily get hurt emotionally. The lights symbolize the blessings and bright future that I have ahead of me. It also symbolizes the light of God that has surrounded me since I arrived in this country.  The pictures that in which I'm wearing a grey top and jeans is to signify the side of myself that likes to carry myself in a professional way when required. It also reveals that I am the kind of person that smiles way too much and like being surrounded by positive energy.. The parts where I am wearing the black top and blue skirt represents innocence, humility and the childish side of myself. The innocence comes from the part of me that fears God hence me looking down as a symbol of reverence and humility.The African outfit basically shows that I value my culture a lot and it is an important part of my identity. I am from two tribes in my country and these tribes have certain characteristics that make them stand out. Some parts of my personality or character evolve from my culture and eve the food that I love.The rest of the pictures where I have my flag and and showing more skin basically shows how much I value my country and how comfortable I am in my skin and body regardless of the many flaws it has.  I would categorize my work as a collage because it is a collection of the various parts of my identity. I was inspired by Cindy Sherman's work where she had taken a serious of pictures, where each picture changed every moment with her changing her makeup, hair and outfit.  This image conveys to the audience different phases of a young female facing and embracing situations on her own and displaying self-confidence. The difference between the first self portrait and my last portrait is the visual representation. The growth and emotions are displayed in my last. The first one had symbols and objects but last one has me as the subject displaying what I couldn't display on my first self portrait. The experience that I have with social media and pieces of photography by some of the artists I learned in class influenced the changes I made. Just like Carrie Mae Weems I wanted to be the subject of my project.

The State of Capitalism or: The Politics of Guy Looking

The State of Capitalism or: The Politics of Guy Looking
Marcos Castillo

I am not an artist. But I felt I could give any image artistic value. I went to New York City to visit a museum in the hopes of finding inspiration for my work. I did not think it worked out for me until I went to Times Square and I looked around me and saw the perfect picture building. Every single advertisement I saw was that of a company that belonged to one of the 10 great conglomerates in the world. Coca-Cola, Disney, Time Warner, Comcast, GE, Unilever, Kellogg, and News-Corp; these are the corporations that control and own just about everything that one watches and consumes. I find this as a great failing of the free capitalist system as there is no real freedom of choice and only the illusion of competition so I based my art around that. 

I edited this photograph and replaced any image or advertisement that was branded toward one of the big conglomerates; there are 5-7, depending on who were one looks. What I saw was that I had ended up covering every single image on Time Square with my previous work "Guy Looking." I chose "Guy Looking" because he very well captured the essence of what I wanted to portray: A miasmic and trite saturation which is the state of capitalism today. There is an impossibly high barrier of entry for any corporation that wants to take a shot of the big name and profitable goods. And the political influence held by just a few means that effective monopolies are not only maintained, but expanded. This has lead to some humorously warning of the future corporatocracy lead by the mega-corp "Disney-Exxon-BP-Mobile"
I would call this "Protest Pop Art" or at least a commentary on gross consumerism and its effects on people and government. I would say that this work has been, at least foundationally, influenced by the work of people like Banksy or Chittaprosad Bhattacharya. I am a centrist so I don't espouse any leftist ideology but I would consider that the state of our capitalist system deserves more notice and something done to bring about positive change on the topic.

Final Project

Rosie the Riveter "We Can Do It!" by J. Howard Miller

• What is the subject of your image?

The subject of the image/structure is myself.

• What is the content of your image?

The content of my art piece is a resolution for my mid-term project about social anxiety.

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

I’ve had it in my mind to make a follow up piece for my mid-term and that’s what led to this final project. My idea at first was to build some structural object, which is done somewhat, but I wanted a more personal feel to it instead of “just an object”

.

• Explain the process and steps you went through and why you made those decisions.

The decision to have a hand rising from the bottom made from the beginning as it was made. The structures around it were thought of as the project came along. The materials used were from around my house and I wanted an idea of “building up” and also the weaker materials such as wood were on the bottom while the stronger materials such as metals were close to the top. The chain around the hand was an idea I came up with as a supporting piece which will be explained in presentation.

• How you would categorize your work (ex. collage, graphic print, mixed media, etc).

I would categorize my work as abstract structural art, if that’s a thing. The reason for abstract was because it represents more of an idea than can be physically built.

• What artists or works are appropriate to compare your work to?

Rosie the Riveter We Can Do It by J. Howard Miller poster gave me the idea of strength for my project. Although it doesn’t exactly compare to my project, the idea of having the strength to do something is very similar.

• What do you think this image conveys to the audience?

This image can convey hope, strength, perseverance, or even support.

• What are the differences between the first self-portrait and your last self-portrait?

This final project is a physical art piece as opposed to something 2-D on a poster which was my midterm. It is also a resolution to my midterm and how I got on with my life.

• What influenced these changes?

As mentioned, I had this idea on my mind for a while and wanted to make something more 3-D as opposed to the midterm.