My Art my thoughtsThe only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
Robert M. Pirsig |
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Nothing frustrates me more than gender roles. Since the beginning of time we attribute specific roles to males and females. Those roles state that men should be strong, never cry, be the bread winner, etc. Whereas, women should be demure, pretty, homemakers. Girls should have long hair and should be obsessed with their appearance. If they don't look like a model on the cover of a magazine then there is something wrong with them. This isolates women and makes them feel like they are broken or that something is wrong with them. It teaches them that they are second class citizens in a world where they are capable of being equals.
In my image above I did not use my own face. I felt that I should use the face of a beautiful girl that feels broken. The crack that is under he eye symbolizes her imperfection in the eyes of others. I used images that are stereotypical for girls. Pink flowers, ballet shoes. Ever little girl has been called a princess at some point in her life. If the girl doesn't fit that princess stereotype she feels broken and isolated. I represented that with the silhouetted figure on the right of my painting. The last image that I used was the flames. The flames represent my anger at stereotypes. Why do girls have to be princess when most of them could be scientists, engineers, or astronauts. I am not against women feeling beautiful or looking beautiful. I think that all women are in their own way. What angers me is the stereotypes that make women feel that they are not good enough or control their lives by making them feel like they should be a homemaker, or a baby factory. I want women to reach their full potential without any stereotype getting in the way. I feel like male stereotypes are a problem too, but not being male I feel like I can't speak for them. The images below are edited version of my final project. I edited the photos in Lunapic, a web based photo editing app. I like how easy it is to take one image and make it look so different with just a few easy clicks. The first image is an animated GIF that animates my original picture transitioning in to a DaVinci version of my image. I like this because stereotypes have existed for ever and this animation represent the lifelong journey of women and stereotypes. The second picture is an M.C Escher interpretation of my original image. I like the illustrated look that it gives my image, but I think that it is be more difficult to understand what is going on because of the abstraction. The third image is a lomography filter. I like the way it changes the color scheme to be viewed on a computer, but it would be too dark to print. The last filter is a surreal depiction of my artwork. As a stand alone piece it is interesting, but it would not be a good choice to illustrate my social issue the filter used is called sad.
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AuthorLesley Etherson teaches Media Arts at North Myrtle Beach High School. She loves all media, her family and sushi. ArchivesCategories |