January 23, 2020
Walls that need to be knocked down
After spending an entire semester reading books about the human psyche and trying to define what we are through art I think I am ready to move into a new chapter. I was doing a lot with mirrors and the idea of looking back at ourselves and being able to decode our thoughts and actions. It was getting pretty deep and on my end, it was getting personal, whether I spoke about those personal experiences or not in seminar. I enjoy my topic of studying the face and what our face actually shows or represents to the outside world, but I almost want to take a step back from making faces or doing makeup with hidden meanings.
I ended last semester with some drawings I did that originated from a mask made out of broken mirrors. These drawings were inspired by a former student’s seminar work having to do with drawing things from her closet and John Colan telling me I need to doodle more. So taking the images I took of my mask and tracing the shapes I saw within the pieces of the mirror was an entirely new battleground. I liked the idea of repeating lines and shapes over each other in order to form something new, something I hadn’t seen before. These repetitive lines and shapes that I had traced now brought me from reality to the abstract.
I presented these new ideas and drawings to the class and one thing that was brought up was that my drawings looked like islands or archipelagos. So I thought to myself, wow islands would be cool to pursue especially in the wake of my research on the human psyche. Islands can represent our everchanging minds and thoughts that reveal themselves and then seem to disappear, much like islands in the ocean.
Though I have this great idea to pursue art related to islands I also feel like I am at a standstill or that there is a wall that needs to be knocked down in order to really take these ideas to the next level and I guess I just need to make some things in order to get myself moving into this final semester.
After spending an entire semester reading books about the human psyche and trying to define what we are through art I think I am ready to move into a new chapter. I was doing a lot with mirrors and the idea of looking back at ourselves and being able to decode our thoughts and actions. It was getting pretty deep and on my end, it was getting personal, whether I spoke about those personal experiences or not in seminar. I enjoy my topic of studying the face and what our face actually shows or represents to the outside world, but I almost want to take a step back from making faces or doing makeup with hidden meanings.
I ended last semester with some drawings I did that originated from a mask made out of broken mirrors. These drawings were inspired by a former student’s seminar work having to do with drawing things from her closet and John Colan telling me I need to doodle more. So taking the images I took of my mask and tracing the shapes I saw within the pieces of the mirror was an entirely new battleground. I liked the idea of repeating lines and shapes over each other in order to form something new, something I hadn’t seen before. These repetitive lines and shapes that I had traced now brought me from reality to the abstract.
I presented these new ideas and drawings to the class and one thing that was brought up was that my drawings looked like islands or archipelagos. So I thought to myself, wow islands would be cool to pursue especially in the wake of my research on the human psyche. Islands can represent our everchanging minds and thoughts that reveal themselves and then seem to disappear, much like islands in the ocean.
Though I have this great idea to pursue art related to islands I also feel like I am at a standstill or that there is a wall that needs to be knocked down in order to really take these ideas to the next level and I guess I just need to make some things in order to get myself moving into this final semester.
Make Up
16 October 2019
After some thought about what I was going to do for my senior capstone project the conclusion I have come to is that this project needs to be something I really take an interest in. I take an interest in makeup and the overall appearance of a person or myself. Everyone views people differently and usually it depends on the first interaction. I know that “judging a book by its cover” is an overused statement but most people judge on appearance before anything else.
Makeup will play an important part in this research and the project because I plan on studying and looking more in-depth into the psyche of the person. What makes you? Who are you really? What side do you want to show to others? Makeup is a tool not just a tube of lipstick. More importantly, what does the face represent and why do humans feel uncomfortable looking at someone who has been disfigured or someone who recently obtains a new face via face transplant. For some reason, the face is perceived as a window to the soul but really it is just a mask that hides our true selves. It’s the idea that if you look different from someone you know they suddenly don’t know you. You are a stranger because you have changed your appearance. How someone looks is going to predict the way someone else views them.
Ever since being asked to write this I’ve felt like I have been tied down to something, but I’m still not 100% sure I know what that something is. Going back to May and re-reading my original thesis, I felt like I had written something that wasn’t true. I didn’t feel sincere about the idea I first proposed because I wasn’t sure what I was actually interested in and I thought I needed to make my project about everyone else, in reality, this project is based around my own psychological progress I’ve made/gained in the past 4 years. Meaning that I’ve grown an interest in the psyche in general. I want to know how and why we do the things we do.
The mind is always changing and learning new things but what concerns me the most is the concept of the face. As a society and since the beginning of time the face has been presented as an open door to someones true self. however, the face is merely a physical aspect of one’s personality. Everyone has multiple sides of themselves and you only know the one that they choose to show you. Faces are not key to unlocking someone’s innermost thoughts. Faces aren’t important in regards to how you know someone because you will never know what someones true goals are. Faces can look trustful yet personality can derail that assumption once you have been lied to.
references
Jenny Edkins, Face Politics (2015)
Bill Plotkin, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche (2013)
Bill Plotkin, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche (2013)
May 2019
After some thought about what I was going to do for my senior capstone project the conclusion I have come to is that this project needs to be something I really take an interest in. I am a strongly opinionated person especially when it comes to basic human rights, narrowing this down to gender and gender equality; and I take an interest in makeup and the overall appearance of a person or myself. Everyone views people differently and usually it depends on the first interaction. I know that “judging a book by its cover” is an overused statement but most people judge on appearance before anything else.
Makeup will play an important part in this research and the project because I plan on merging with gender issues/rights. Bringing men and women into this project will help to enhance the message that makeup is a tool not just a tube of lipstick. How someone looks is going to predict the way someone else views them. Gender equality is something I feel strongly about and I plan on researching the topic and going further into the depths of the gender issues.
Having strong knowledge in the subject allows me to further this idea. This ideas has branches to explore that I probably am even unaware of. Coming to Montserrat as a sophomore was an interesting transition because I was again, in a new place. I believe that even in my short amount of time here, Montserrat has prepared me for this independent capstone because I have been challenged by professors and classes to push my work further and take the road less traveled on. This has given me the power to step outside of my comfort zone so often that there is not much of one left when it comes to design. I want this project to help me develop my future because eventually, I would seriously consider going to school to be a makeup artist. Makeup allows me to step outside of my comfort zone which is what Montserrat has taught me.
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