Paintings for the Future/Spirituality and Identity

Ayah Elgendy
Paintings for the Future/Spirituality and Identity
Imagery, Identity and Culture
April 28, 2019

The Hilma Af Klint exhibition was beautiful. Also, it was my first time visiting the Guggenheim Museum and the architecture was amazing and it complemented her pieces very well. The amount of artwork that Hilma Af Klint made was extremely overwhelming; her designs were vibrating throughout the museum. The colors were so vibrant and everything felt incredibly kinetic and emotional. What was so amazing was how her works varied and how they can go from something traditional like her work from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts to something so abstract like "+x, Chapter 34". As well as work that varied from such large scales to things as tiny as her notes. The fact that she was doing all of this in the early 1900s is insane to me. She was so ahead of her time and you can definitely see how new theories, science, spiritualism and philosophies excited and inspired her. There were pieces that had to do with relationships, growth, time, evolution, and just key concepts that relate to identity and universal understanding. This is something I can definitely relate to. I personally love learning more about religion and trying to understand how and why I am alive and how the universe works. The topic is so important to me and it's definitely not something I'm going to stop learning about. I try to let Spiritualism play a key role in my life, prayer, my hijab, the people that I've connected and interacted with have changed my way of how I approach many things in my life. I still struggle trying to implement everything, but I'm trying and striving to build up my spirituality. I think people's belief systems really affect the way they are or even how societies and cultures work, some in a good and some in a bad way, obviously it's subjective to every individual. But I find it very interesting learning about how many different people try to explain one concept. It  was also mentioned that she would participate in seances, which shows the level of devotion to including that spiritualism to her work. I've only involved spiritualism in two of my projects, one of them being the Self Portrait for Imagery, Identity, and Culture. I definitely want to include it more in future works and projects, but I want to be more knowledgeable about it first. I want to make sure I can clearly articulate beliefs before I represent them in more projects. Because it's something that is important to me and it's something that I think is very delicate, I never want to relay a message that misrepresents it's meanings. Something that I loved about Hilma Af Klint was that she showed her process of thinking and how her thoughts evolved. I was like we were taking a trip through her brain. I loved the variety of concepts and her different was of interpreting things. They're all visualizations of questions that evolve in her mind and answers she tries to find. You know, her and I might or might not have the same beliefs, but I respect her diligence to making a massive abundance of art and not shying away from exploring ways to understand our place on Earth. No one can disregard how visually and conceptually intense everything was and the fact that she was thinking about this during a time where you would be considered completely insane for created the works that she did. I loved visiting this exhibit and it was a beautiful experience.

       

Myths, Home and Self-Portraiture

Ayah Elgendy
Myths, Home and Self Portraiture
Imagery, Identity and Culture
April 28, 2019

Wendy Red Star and Kambui Olujimi addressed themes of Identity through the different concepts we have been discussing in class that circle back to internal and external influences. Wend Red Star did her exhibit based on the Crow Tribe's culture. She was able to articulate a message of culture, history, feminism, and identity through a combination of portraiture, textiles, photography, and timeline. Something I personally gravitated to was how she broke down each person through her own eyes in the black and white portraits with the red script. She showed how they were in society or in their families. Her little notes that were written around the portraits were witty, informative, and really helped expose more about Wendy's personality. I also loved how she really allowed the audience to experience the environments of the reservation. Like the images of the homes, tipis, and cars. Personally where I grew up and the actual setting of my childhood is something that I hold very dear. My family was always constantly switching cars and trucks and those transitions really informed a lot about the state of our lives at the time. I actually never really reflected on that until I saw her pictures. It was definitely very inviting to be able to see that side of her cultural journey. The stuffed animals is something that I feel holds a part of the myth and tradition. It's more of a youthful, naive, or pure form of stories being told and how children expand on how they see traditions and narratives. Wendy Red Star's overall concept behind her exhibit is very rich and rooted. She was able to show how not only Colonials have determined the Crow's place, but how the Crow within their tradition itself, have created boundaries. You can see that through the portraitures as well, with how specific people are looked at in society. You can also see that through the different clothing and outfits design for different people. Seeing the timeline was really interesting because the audience was able to see how traditions have changed overtime and how it started off and where they are now. Something else that grabbed my attention was the map with all the locations and how they all connect. That was basically data visualization and it was really cool seeing geographically the connection between everything. Kambui Olujimi's work most definitely felt mythical. He was referencing stars and constellations and how that connects with identity. In the beginning of the video that he directed, the character ate something that brought him to completely different worlds. It kept jumping from different stories, naratives, and experiences. I wasn't able to get much of it, but I was able to capture certain moments like the protest, the wedding dress, the funeral,  etc. I'm not sure but it felt like he discussing major moments in life, or experiences that can really define or influence society or someone's identity. But I think he wanted the audience to feel a little confused, because the beginning where the character ate something that took him on a trip, was very clear and so it seems that if he wanted to make everything else clear, he could have but intentionally chose not to. I definitely did feel a sense of a allegorical dimensions and just mythical take on life experiences. Overall both artists showed a sense of layers and just an exciting amount of conceptual material, which something I always appreciate and take notice of.

   

My Self Portrait

Self-Portrait Artist Statement

Empowering the Black Woman

            For my self-portrait I created a video aimed at empowering black women. Earlier in the semester we discussed intersectionality. Intersectionality is the theme that describes the multiple oppressions that each group has to face based off of gender, race, religion, and sexual preference. Black women are one of the few groups who are greatly affected by intersectionality. Black women face double discrimination through sexism and racism. Even within our own community, black women often experience the effects of colorism. The “darksin vs. lightskin” debate has also created division and controversy within the black community. My goal for creating this video was to inspire all black women and empower them no matter their skin color or the double discrimination and oppressions that are designed to work against them. This topic is most important to me not only because I am a black woman, but also because I am raising a young beautiful black girl. I want my daughter to know that she is beautiful no matter what society says. I want her to have pride in her blackness, and not allow the negative effects of intersectionality to discourage her from being the best she can be. 

            Being that I am a singer, I wanted to incorporate my talent in the self-portrait. In the beginning of my video I covered the song “Masterpiece” by Jazmine Sullivan. This song is relevant to the topic because the song was written to inspire women to love themselves and find their beauty. “Every part of me is beautiful, and I finally see I’m a work of art. I’m a masterpiece.” After the cover, the video included a clip of Malcolm X speaking on the black woman. “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected woman in America is the black woman.” 

            The next portion of my video included the work of various artists who are black women. The work I highlighted in the video coincided with the concept of intersectionality. The artists I included were Dominique Duroseau, Renee Cox, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, and Shashana Weinberger. The art work of these women are aimed at addressing the racial issues that black women face, breaking the stereotypes of black women, and using those same stereotypes to empower black women. I also included Sarah Baartman in the video. Sarah Baartman was a South African woman who was exhibited all over 19^thcentury Europe. She was objectified and showcased because of her large buttocks. I addressed how at one point in history, black women were seen only as sexual objects and freaks of nature. Shashana Weinberger especially channels this theme in her artwork.

            In the last portion of my video I included my daughter, Jordyn. Jordyn expressed how important it is for her to be a black girl. “I feel like it’s special to me that I am a black girl,” she said. “I’m smart, I’m independent, and I’m confident. And I’m strong too.” Personally, this was my favorite part of the video. My daughter is my creation and it prides me to know that my daughter is confident and proud of who she is. I also included photos of myself and my friends because they are all confident and strong black women. I used the song “Almeda” by Solange to play throughout the video. This song goes with the concept of my video. It embodies and empowers blackness. That was my goal for creating my self-portrait. 

Final Project

Artist Statement

         I wanted to copy the various styles of beauty YouTube videos that I have watched over the years. The video is a satirical culmination of the beauty industry on YouTube whilst criticizing the industry from our perspectives. I have used makeup since middle school, and I started watching these types of videos in high school in order to learn more. However, the industry can sometimes be a bit monotonous and/or toxic. There are many trends and once something begins to trend then everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

         These makeup videos have become almost formulaic among all channels. Each video begins with a welcoming introductory speech about the video topic. Then, the heavily edited video. Lastly, it ends with the shameless plugging of their other social media handles. I have watched enough videos that I can recite specific opening songs and phrases (Jackie Aina’s “Jackie, Jackie, Jackie” song and Jeffree Stars’ “Welcome BACK to my channel!”). There are specific mannerisms that have become a joke among those that watch the videos like swatching products, promoting discount codes, and showing a product in a specific way. We mimic these in the video.

         The videos have become miniature productions. The behind the scenes footage shows what these gurus do in order to get the highest quality videos. For example, they have expensive setups complete with cameras, lighting, and monitors. They pay people to edit their videos to “ensure they make the best content possible” (James Charles). As a result, the videos have become less personal and more like they are shoving products in viewers faces in order to make a sale. Despite the criticism, I still watch these videos because I respect their opinions and skills when it comes to makeup. Whether or not I use these skills and opinions is up to me. Some of these channels do criticize the industry when things happen like Jackie Aina, Nyma Tang, and Jeffree Star. However, most tend to ignore the turmoil within the community because they are “not that kind of person,” (Tati Westbrook, Katy DeGroot, and Desi Perkins).

I asked my friend to join me for this video because I wanted to have someone else that has the same interests and watches these videos as well. We are always talking about new products and how we feel about the current scandals going on. I wanted to originally do just a podcast, but I thought that making a video of us applying makeup as we talked would be more purposeful. We talked about topics within the beauty community as we explained the differences in our makeup routines. Our video is a laidback version- just two girls getting ready and chatting. We are emulating the “old-school” videos that first became popular on YouTube.

The elements of imagery, identity, and culture all coincide with cosmetics. Makeup changes depending on the culture- what is popular here might not be popular in another country. Also, makeup trends usually come from specific cultures. Unfortunately, a lot of brands cater towards white consumers at expense of people of color. However, that is slowly changing as more brands are making it a priority to be more inclusive. Identity was the biggest factor of this project, whether it was about conformity or non-conformity. The artistry of makeup is important to some in the sense of identity. People use makeup to make themselves feel better or to just express their art. There is no right way to apply makeup even though it may seem like that based off the majority of videos on YouTube. I have struggled with insecurities based on my outward appearance and makeup has helped me. I used to not feel comfortable in my own skin, so I would use makeup to hide behind.

Here is some data to put into perspective how influential beauty YouTubers are and how the beauty industry is growing:

According to Reuters, the global cosmetics market was valued at $532.43 billion in 2017, and is expected to reach a market value of $805.61 billion by 2023.

According to Forbes, Huda Kattan, of Huda Beauty, is worth $550 million; Jeffree Star, of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, is worth $50 million; Michelle Phan, of Em Cosmetics, is worth $50 million; James Charles is worth $4 million dollars; and the list goes on.

This is the link to my video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnV-TNgJ7Rc

Self Portrait

Ronald Solano
Imagery Identity and Culture
Self Portrait
April 26, 2019

I am Ronald Yeovane Solano Zamora and I am a Latino gay man. Some points of my identity are I’m a Leo, an artist, designer, gay, and Latino. For my self-portrait I have done a painting of myself and my experience. This painting represents the struggle to find security in my identity. I spent a lot of my life pretending to be somebody else so everyone around me could be comfortable, I made the painting feel very rudimentary to reflect the childlike ignorance and denial I was facing for years.
The portrait of me is cut in half to represent a split in my identity to showcase the struggle of trying to live two lives. The figure on the bottom right of the painting is a picture of me that I took at around 2 AM when I was in the bathroom. I used to feel this need to contort my body in different manners at one point in my life, I didn’t think I did this because I just needed to stretch but I felt that I needed to do this because I wanted to extend myself. I wanted to go past my level of being comfortable, I felt like there was a part of me that was hidden. A part of me that wasn’t able to express itself and so those feelings translated itself to stretching and looking at myself in the mirror while doing so.
The bottom left corner represents an abstracted turtle shell to represent the nickname I was given in fourth grade. I originally got this nickname for being shy and hiding in my shirt, I thought that nickname would dissolve once I began being more social but I was wrong. That name represented a majority of my life so far, except in this case it was a closet I was stuck in. The pink background represents the color of the sky on the day I came out. The day I came out I saw a double rainbow and the sky was pink and purple and you could smell the scent of the wet ground.
I’m someone who loves nature and seeing this sight at the time when I felt so lost was inspiring, it was so beautiful that It inspired me to come out. The four boxes on the top right of the screen represent the stages of life I’ve been through, I believe I’m in the fourth stage of my life right now. The first square represents my childlike ignorance to the world, the second represents disappointment, the third represents an adjustment period and the fourth represents the balance I feel within myself now. I have one eye opening in my portrait because it represents how I’m slowly being able to see the world as my real self now, I don’t have both eyes open because I’m not there yet but I’m still getting there. I’ve been influenced by the “The Gay History of America’s Classic Children’s Books” article, after reading it I started looking through my childhood and my thoughts as a child.
That's why I painted the portrait in bright colors and made the painting look somewhat unfinished, that’s why a lot of the forms are abstracted and quick. I was also inspired by the “RuPaul: ‘Drag is a big f-you to male-dominated culture”, it influenced me more in the aspect of showing me contort my body in the painting. When I contort my body and look at myself in the mirror it reminds me of a performance just like what they do in Drag Race. I haven’t really been influenced by artists in general besides maybe going with portraiture and painting the nose red

in human portraits, that’s influenced by my favorite artist Davide Cambria. I paint the noses red like in my self-portrait to represent the human feelings and the things that you can’t control from your body that just reveal themselves no longer how hard you try to stop it. It’s like my struggle with sexuality and how I wanted to prevent any aspect of it show in my character.

Who I consider myself as

Hello, my name is Frederick Lee, but hopefully, you knew that already. My pronouns are He Him His and I am an aspiring video production student who dreams to make it far in life. Pretty generic am I right? This is who I am... I am not about to throw it out the window to try and become someone else because that's not who I want to be in the future. How I identify myself as is your casual skater boy who has a deep interest in riding skateboards. The adrenaline of making short corners weaving through cars it just feels exhilarating. I get that it is dangerous and maybe one day I might end up in the hospital... But it is a chance I have to take for my definition of fun. It was a lonely road for me at a point where I had no friends who shared the same interest as me until one day I roomed with one of my suitemates. So I just wanted to share my experience of skateboarding through a video and hope that everyone will appreciate the lifestyle of a skater. The idea of the video came in mind when I watched a movie called "Rock Dogs" which is basically an aspiring musician who wanted to make it big and show everyone around the world his talent. The music, "Glorious" by Adam Friedman flowed so well that I had to create a similar theme to this movie. I just combined my post-production abilities with my skating abilities and boy did I have fun. This class had many readings and one of the main themes of this course is self-identity. One of the readings gave me the courage to express how I am as an individual and which is why creating this project is something just more than creating a video. It's creating who I am. So I thank the professors on giving me such an opportunity, I am very grateful.

The process: There were so many conflicts on creating this film... Let me tell you... Firstly, grabbing everyone for the film and trying to work around with their schedules. This was the most frustrating problem I went through since everyone was busy with their finals and sometimes even the weather just destroyed one of my filming days. So in the end, I ended up with just my main character and one other side character. It was supposed to be a group of skaters who banded together and rode out to the music. I have the shots in my head but some of them were not what I anticipated and nothing is more frustrating than that. But other than that, editing in post-production was not a problem, just the actual filming was a bit of a drag. It was not all that bad. there were shots that I was not even thinking but it just looked nice and it fits well with the music that it just ended up being in the video. Honestly, if the pros and cons balance each other out when it comes to creating a film.


Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/yfCo4EQ_pDI  It has been a blast participating in this class. Hope to see everyone again one day.

Self Portrait

For the Self Portrait project, I have created a series of five mixed media collages, that reflect  different scenes and spaces in my life that helped create my identity. In my work I like to make the connections between the emotional, mental and physical world and manifest them in a abstracted and fantastical way, all while presenting my identity as both graphic designer and fine artist. Bridging together the external, internal, reality and fantasy. My goal is to examine the theme of space and constructing identity and how I move in them certain spaces as well discovering additional parts of my identity. 

The series can be read as somewhat of a narrative or retrospective. It is not only from my life but also my family because they helped shape my identity directly and indirectly. Each collage was crafted on BFK paper, Chine Colle paper with gouache paint and ink, and then digitized in photoshop. Color and detail is an extremely important factor in my art I see them both as a medium all their own. For this series I used a color palette of red, blue, white, yellow, orange, black, silver and gold. The use of lines are like connectors and communicators to me. Similar to nerves and veins, they have feeling, the connect, transport information. In a map, they guide you provide direction and help crave or plan out paths.

Collage 1 is an interpretation of an abstracted church. I spent large portion of my life in church and religious and spiritual environments. It is very important to my family. My time and space in church helped to develop many different parts of who I am today. I learned much about the world, positive and negative through church. The colors hot and cold colors represent the duality in what I learned in my space in the church. The mixed messages, different types of personalities of people and how to navigate around or deal with them and the double consciousness of Black Christianity in America. Collage 2 is a narrative of courage, from my childhood that I still mention even in recent years. it was a test of choice and courage. When I was about eight or nine years old, I volunteered to read scripture during an after service event at church. I had practiced diligently the night before, however my tooth was loose. As I read scripture that Sunday my tooth fell out right on the Bible. Instead of freezing up as I had done many times before, I stood tall and continued to read. this was a small but important moment in my life that I still proud of. Collage 3 is the examination of my relationship to Newark, NJ. Collages 4 and 5 are maps that I created a geographical and biological examination of my family, my grandparents specifically, origins in the south, Alabama and North Carolina, and later to migrate to New Jersey in the 1940's and to occupy the space as a northerner in a family of southerners. I used a series of area and zip codes along with the counties Marion and Greensboro where my grandparents are from in Alabama. I did the same for my New Jersey map. This is a part of my identity that I am still learning about. I don't know my family in the South but I hear stories about how something I did, said or had an interest in reminded someone of a relative I've never met. It makes me wonder "Was this inherited?", or "Does my family have a natural inclination towards these things?". These maps illustrate a longing to uncover this side of myself, this other part of my identity and finding another sense of home.

In Judith Howard’s, Social Psychology of Identities , she mentions, “Space, both geographic and virtual, is another recent basis of identities, a direction that attests to the interdisciplinary character of recent research on identities.” Some studies focus on literal space; consider “place identities,” that is, identities based on a sense of being at home. Key questions consider “place identities,” that is, identities based on a sense of being at home. Key questions concern the effects of mobility on place affiliation and intersections between place identities and transitions in the life course.” This quote supports what my series is about.

I was heavily influenced both formally and conceptually by a variety of artists and designers. Dennis Oppenheim’s Earthworks and Carrie Mae Weems’ work. Both of these prolific artists examine space and identity in the geographical and societal sense. In my work I sought to examine my place in these spaces. As a former architecture major I still implement what I learned, in my design and artwork today. The late Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry are my favorite architects. They both have a legacy for daring designs, and unconventional design processes. I admire the aesthetics of their creations and who they are as visionaries, trailblazers and innovators in society. Shoshanna Weinberger and Wangechi Mutu are two Black women artists that create grotesque artwork of women’s bodies specifically Black women. Their work is an examination and critique of societal views on women’s bodies, race, regional connections and their place in society. Although I didn’t use figures in my collages, the idea of repetition, fragmentation and abstracted forms are what I implemented. Surrealist collage has influenced how I see composition and fanatical realizations. I used many of these elements in my designs. The dream-like and abstract qualities is what I was trying to convey.