My theme came about when I became more involved in changing the name of my neighborhood, which honors a KKK member. When I would talk to neighbors about the name change, they would say things that upset and inspired me. I used these experiences to center my art around social justice and critique of the status quo. The idea that good intentions are alone enough links many of pieces. For example, my pieces “Recipe for Disaster”, “Hard to Swallow Pills”, and “Stop Virtue Signaling” critique well-meaning people who seldom contribute to positive change. I used photoshop and digital mediums for many of my projects. This allowed me to work with real images and maneuver text in a way that would resonate with viewers. In my piece “Stop Virtue Signaling” the photo was taken in my neighborhood which added meaning to the problems specific to where I live. Additionally, the repetition of satirically straightforward messaging in my pieces contributed to my theme of social justice and critique. My works all criticize the status quo and balance each other out in that the mediums are different but the messages have a common thread of social justice. The composition of my works represent my artistic style. I am, by nature, very goal focused and need to have steps laid out for me. This class was very different as its very nature is centered around creativity and flexibility. My exhibit’s composition is simple but neat and confined. It is small but direct and I felt it’s size set it apart from other exhibits and this contrast made the message direct. I decided to use shelves that compartmentalized my works but still connected them. I think this is fitting as we often try to compartmentalize issues rather than analyze the importance of intersectionality and the ways social change must be cohesive rather than divisive. My overall vision for my exhibit was a small yet direct representation of my work from the year. The shelves complemented this vision. They represent intersectionality and the importance of acknowledging the ways issues are interconnected. The composition of my works connects to my theme in this way as well. Additionally, my theme of social justice allowed me to understand these issues and the impact art can have on them.
Word count: 379
Word count: 379