Feast and Famine
The Exhibit Feast and Famine was a very exciting collection of art that used food as a way to symbolize politics, economics, body images and the most obvious is food justice. Every art piece brought a different angle to different issues but there were two that really stood out to me. The first one is " what were you wearing piece" and the collage of the shirt as one and the second art piece is " Pollen"
Even though they were different pieces they spoke to the same theme and message to me.
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| Piece 1 : " What were you wearing" is what sexual violence victims were wearing the day they were violated |
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| Piece 2: This is the same idea of what were you wearing but the victims wrote their truth |
When I saw these pieces in the exhibit, I looked at them very briefly but immediately I was appealed and absolutely disgusted. However, the more I stared at them every time I saw them, the more I really felt these emotions that are unexplainable. It is simple to hear of rape and sexual violence and think " oh man poor you " and feel bad for the person but the average thought never goes past that. Seeing this piece brought streams of tears and pain to me and I loved it. I appreciate art that is able to communicate an emotion. I always have a hard time hearing all of the stories that the victims are brave enough to share because it breaks my heart and this brought a whole new perspective of it to me. Take a look at the last picture in piece 1, that tiny, adorable dress. A beautiful innocent human being was wearing that dress and she got assaulted. Seeing their clothes laid out next to each other is eye-opening and revealing to the issues. There was a little baby in there, scared and confused and in pain while an animal takes advantage of her. The average person wouldn't think of that 1-year-old or that girl next to her in just PJs living her life. The artist took an issue that is often shameful to talk about and forced people to look at it. Forced people to feel it and that is so beautiful Asking a person " what were you wearing" when hearing they got assaulted is insulting and absolute garbage. There is no excuse or reason for assaulting someone. There is no excuse or reason for assaulting a baby and I wish people stop trying to fish for one.
This related to my project because I want to empower these females. I want my students leaving my class knowing how to destroy a man if he even tried to touch them and get out of any situation with as little harm as possible. But that is only a small portion of what I want them to get out of it. Learning self-defense will make you more in control of your body and in return more in control of yourself. I hope they gain self-confidence in themselves overall and to eventually grow so comfortably in herself to never allow a man to use them in any shape or form. The bell hooks reading states," Expose the notion that men are all powerful and women powerless" There is definitely patriarchy that is still so stuck onto our society that men are automatically more powerful than a woman..why. This oppression has been set as the norm since the stone ages but why? The only thing that makes men different than women are a few inches in between their thighs. No big deal. So why did we give men all of this power and control to think using and abusing women is okay. I genuinely hope my classes spark a chain reaction where women are taking care of their body and feeling confident and powerful in themselves. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally. The more confidence in ourselves we have, the less nonsense we will take from others because we know our value and I hope every woman knows her value.
The second piece that I believe is suited for my project is "Pollen" By Christopher Russell.
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| Piece 3: Pollen by Christopher Russel - Showcasing the beauty of bees. |
This piece highlights the importance of bees for OUR survival. In the article, Why bees matter so much to humans it states, "two percent of bee species contributes 80 percent of the crop pollination visits observed globally( Downing 1)" This is clearly saying bees are the foundation of life. They are the majority of plant pollination which is our main food source. Our food web relays on bees to pollinate or everything will fall apart and nothing will grow to feed us ( animals, plants etc). The same foundation the bees are setting influences the foundation I am aiming to set with my project. As explained above, my aim is to empower women and have them feel in control of their bodies and their lives. The hope is to empower women so intensely that they do not need it anymore. My project was only a few classes but maybe one woman in one class will leave with a spark in her and spread it to the next woman until its contagious. If women as a unit can establish the equality and respect that we are deprived of, then they will be setting the foundation for the next generation of women to continue in the same path. Just like bees set the foundation of life, all of the movements to empower women should be thriving to inspire and eventually set a foundation of strength and confidence so strong that women should feel no need to be inferior to men in any way.
The artist created a piece that required attention. From afar looks interesting so you move closer to understand what it is and you see the beautiful bees with subtle details. If this was just a large bee on the wall on a honeycomb, it would give the same message but it would not have the same effect. I am not sure if there was a description of the piece but I do know that bees are in danger of going extinct and this piece is highlighting the importance of them and bringing awareness that if these precious bees die, we lost all of our food sources. In the Interventionists it states,"Rakowitz tapped into the existing heating system of the building with a network of ducts and fans" This is describing the project Michael Rakowtiz did in order to bring awareness to the lack of heating systems available in low-income areas. It was obvious and clear what his project was about as he literally put heating ducts in. That is what Christopher did with this piece, he wanted to make a statement about bees so he created bees. The two projects are similar in how strongly they related their piece to their cause.
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| Piece 4: Collage of supportive message to victims of sexual assault |
I decided to keep this 3rd piece last because to me, it is so powerful. Victims of sexual assault often feel alienated and that people would not understand them or how they feel. That is true. One can not truly feel something unless they have experienced it. One thing for sure is we can't change the past but that collage helps the victims know they are not alone and there really are people who are there for them. Occasionally, people in pain just need to know someone is there for them. I truly admire this art piece. I get very happy to see supportive messages like this and it inspired me to involve message techniques similar to this in my own project.
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