Tiffany Hughes
Mr. Gallagher
English 12 cp per. 6
10/29/09
College Essay
I’ve always wanted to help people, start charities, build schools in foreign countries like Haiti or Africa, make sure people had shelter and food on their tables and have every child taken care of. That has always been my dream
When I was younger I never really thought about going to college. I’ve always thought about graduating high school and getting a job like any other person, but the reason why my thinking was like that is because my parents did not go to college. They didn’t even graduate high school, so for me I thought that was the life I was going to live as well. Continuing to go to school and getting an education made me realize that there is more to do than just get a job, I can achieve and become something better, I can be successful.
Even though my parents didn’t go to college they’ve always encouraged me to continue my education and to go far in life. June 6, 2007 was the day my oldest brother graduated from high school; he earned himself a scholarship in football and in academics in was so proud of him he was the first to go to college, I was so inspired by him, he made me rethink my ideas about life after high school, and now I believe that anyone even from a poor broken home can graduate and go to college and successful.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Work Cited
Enright, R. [Interview] Resonant surgeries: the collaged world of Wangechi Mutu Border Crossings v. 27 no. 1 (February 2008) 28-46.
- This article is important because it shows that "Wangechi Mutu's has an uncanny sense of gesture and a unique ability to insinuate meanings that are political, aesthetic, and psychological without ever declaring the real meaning of her images."
Murray, D. C. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu at SFMOMA Art in America v. 94 no. 9 (October 2006) 205.
-In this article it tells you how diverse Mutu's art work is "Wangechi Mutu's exhibition represents a diverse collection of artistic and popular influences, from Romare Bearden and the Surrealists to fashion and porn magazines." Although she creates’s a lot of African inspired art work she is also diverse.
Kazanjian, Dodie fierce creatures; Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu has brought her fresh and vividly energetic vision to figurative art-spinning fantastical tales of folklore and modernity (3599 words) Magazine/Journal Vogue (June 2006): 214.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be. "The women in Wangechi Mutu's paintings are a strange and disturbing breed. Beautiful but grotesque, powerful yet maimed, they perch in trees or cavort in the tall grass, their hair erupting in wild shapes and arabesques, their limbs missing or metamorphosed into bird legs with talon feet." In this Article the author tells you what Wangechi Mutu's art work can be about.
Cox, L. M. Transformed Bodies, Colonial Wounds & Ethnographic Tropes: Wangechi Mutu N. Paradox v. 21 (2008) 67-75.
-The reason why this article is important because in the article the author says that "Mutu combines images clipped from magazines with pools of paint, shimmering glitter, and brown packing tape to create works that blend critical social engagement with an interventionist practice of collage and photomontage”. I believe this article would help me understand the many ways Wangechi Mutu create art.
Enright, R. [Interview] Resonant surgeries: the collaged world of Wangechi Mutu Border Crossings v. 27 no. 1 (February 2008) 28-46.
- This article is important because it shows that "Wangechi Mutu's has an uncanny sense of gesture and a unique ability to insinuate meanings that are political, aesthetic, and psychological without ever declaring the real meaning of her images."
Murray, D. C. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu at SFMOMA Art in America v. 94 no. 9 (October 2006) 205.
-In this article it tells you how diverse Mutu's art work is "Wangechi Mutu's exhibition represents a diverse collection of artistic and popular influences, from Romare Bearden and the Surrealists to fashion and porn magazines." Although she creates’s a lot of African inspired art work she is also diverse.
Kazanjian, Dodie fierce creatures; Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu has brought her fresh and vividly energetic vision to figurative art-spinning fantastical tales of folklore and modernity (3599 words) Magazine/Journal Vogue (June 2006): 214.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be. "The women in Wangechi Mutu's paintings are a strange and disturbing breed. Beautiful but grotesque, powerful yet maimed, they perch in trees or cavort in the tall grass, their hair erupting in wild shapes and arabesques, their limbs missing or metamorphosed into bird legs with talon feet." In this Article the author tells you what Wangechi Mutu's art work can be about.
Cox, L. M. Transformed Bodies, Colonial Wounds & Ethnographic Tropes: Wangechi Mutu N. Paradox v. 21 (2008) 67-75.
-The reason why this article is important because in the article the author says that "Mutu combines images clipped from magazines with pools of paint, shimmering glitter, and brown packing tape to create works that blend critical social engagement with an interventionist practice of collage and photomontage”. I believe this article would help me understand the many ways Wangechi Mutu create art.
Work Consulted
Ciuraru, C. Cutting Remarks ART news v. 103 no. 10 (November 2004) 116-17.
- This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be." Mutu's sources for images are extensive: She makes use of pictures from National Geographic, outdated ethnographic books, fashion and pornography magazines, cartoons, and Victorian botanical illustrations. Her art is both beautiful and harrowing and displays a kind of playful, self-conscious wit".
Brielmaier, I. Wangechi Mutu: Re-Imagining the World / Wangechi Mutu: Die Welt Neu Denken Parkett no. 74 (2005) 6-13.
- This article is important because it shows you how Familiar Wangechi Mutu is with the female body and how she uses that in her art work.” Among the artist's many aesthetic and conceptual concerns, she has focused on re-imagining the world, the transformative and transgresses power of the female body, and the fluidity and performance of this body, which re-inscribes and undermines authority."
Aldarondo, Cecilia [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: Memphis Art Papers v. 31 no. 2 (March/April 2007) 62.
-In this article the author tells you that Wangechi Mutu is not just the artist she's also the actress or character in her art work. "Like Mutu's endless scrubbing, her meticulous stitches remind viewers of the ongoing denigration of women's labor."
Auricchio, L. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Art Papers v. 30 no. 5 (September/October 2006) 60.
-The article is important because the author tells you how Mutu can be with her art work.” These shows emphasized Mutu's omnivorous approach to materials and the surprising thematic unity of her work."
Keith, N. J. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: "Problematica": Susanne Vielmetter Nka no. 21 (Fall 2007) 132-3.
- In this article the author tells you what is Wangechi Mutu's art depends on "Mutu's work depends heavily upon the audience's unconscious to rationalize the dismembered combinations and unrecognizable backdrops. She brings a unique perspective to the contemporary African art project."
Lo, Melissa [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Flash Art (International Edition) v. 38 (May/June 2005) 146.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be.” From this work,
It is clear that the artist's drawings are quests for understanding; they present the viewer with examples of fragile beauty marked by pigeonholed perception and history, highlighting an awareness of the representation--or, more aptly, misrepresentation--of African women."
Politi, Gea Flash Art (International Edition) (0394-1493) March/April 2008. Vol.41 136.
- In this article Politi describes Mutu's art work, the article shows you how Mutu's art work brings you in and make you engaged "A field of pointy-breast mountains made of packing tape filled the middle of the gallery and diverted viewers toward the small collaged paintings at the gallery's perimeter".
Ciuraru, C. Cutting Remarks ART news v. 103 no. 10 (November 2004) 116-17.
- This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be." Mutu's sources for images are extensive: She makes use of pictures from National Geographic, outdated ethnographic books, fashion and pornography magazines, cartoons, and Victorian botanical illustrations. Her art is both beautiful and harrowing and displays a kind of playful, self-conscious wit".
Brielmaier, I. Wangechi Mutu: Re-Imagining the World / Wangechi Mutu: Die Welt Neu Denken Parkett no. 74 (2005) 6-13.
- This article is important because it shows you how Familiar Wangechi Mutu is with the female body and how she uses that in her art work.” Among the artist's many aesthetic and conceptual concerns, she has focused on re-imagining the world, the transformative and transgresses power of the female body, and the fluidity and performance of this body, which re-inscribes and undermines authority."
Aldarondo, Cecilia [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: Memphis Art Papers v. 31 no. 2 (March/April 2007) 62.
-In this article the author tells you that Wangechi Mutu is not just the artist she's also the actress or character in her art work. "Like Mutu's endless scrubbing, her meticulous stitches remind viewers of the ongoing denigration of women's labor."
Auricchio, L. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Art Papers v. 30 no. 5 (September/October 2006) 60.
-The article is important because the author tells you how Mutu can be with her art work.” These shows emphasized Mutu's omnivorous approach to materials and the surprising thematic unity of her work."
Keith, N. J. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: "Problematica": Susanne Vielmetter Nka no. 21 (Fall 2007) 132-3.
- In this article the author tells you what is Wangechi Mutu's art depends on "Mutu's work depends heavily upon the audience's unconscious to rationalize the dismembered combinations and unrecognizable backdrops. She brings a unique perspective to the contemporary African art project."
Lo, Melissa [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Flash Art (International Edition) v. 38 (May/June 2005) 146.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be.” From this work,
It is clear that the artist's drawings are quests for understanding; they present the viewer with examples of fragile beauty marked by pigeonholed perception and history, highlighting an awareness of the representation--or, more aptly, misrepresentation--of African women."
Politi, Gea Flash Art (International Edition) (0394-1493) March/April 2008. Vol.41 136.
- In this article Politi describes Mutu's art work, the article shows you how Mutu's art work brings you in and make you engaged "A field of pointy-breast mountains made of packing tape filled the middle of the gallery and diverted viewers toward the small collaged paintings at the gallery's perimeter".
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
HAMLET 1000In the book "Hamlet" act 1, scene 2, Hamlet is so PISSED about his mother Gertrude is marrying Hamlet's uncle king Claudius, king Claudius is the new found king Claudius.After two months of his fathers passing his mother Gertrude and his uncle King Claudius became the new married couple. For one thing he's of course furious at the fact that his mother Gertrude and his uncle King Claudius became the new married couple but he is also furious that his mother Gertrude got married to his uncle king Claudius in such WICKED SPEED(in Hamlets words)and that even at the funeral Hamlets mother Gertrude didn't seem to have any type of emotion towards her husband what so ever, Hamlet even said that a beasts would've gave more emotions than her at the funeral "O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason,Would have mourn’d longer,—married with mine uncle,My father’s brother; but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: within a month; Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married:— O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets"! He wished that his body would just melt, turn to water and become like the dew. Or that the Almighty hadn't made a law forbidding suicide. How weary, stale, flat and useless everything about life seemed! He moaned. It was terrible. The whole world was like an unweeded garden that had gone to seed - only ugly disgusting things thrived. He couldn't believe what had happened. Only two months dead; no, not even two. Such an excellent king he had been, compared with this one. It was like Hyperion, the sun god, compared to a lecherous satyr. He'd been so loving to his mother that he wouldn't even allow the gentle breeze of heaven to blow too roughly on her face. He lifted his hands and blocked his ears as though to shut his father's memory out. She had loved him so much, adored him, as though the more she had of him the more she wanted him. And yet, within a month! He couldn't bear to think about it. Women were so inconsistent! Only a month, even before the shoes with which she had followed his father's body were old, all flowing with tears, she, even she... Oh God! Even an animal that doesn't have reason, would have mourned longer - ..she married his uncle! His father's brother, but no more like his father than he was like Hercules. Even before the salt of those hypocritical tears had left her swollen eyes, she married. Oh, most wicked speed, to hurry so enthusiastically to incestuous sheets! It couldn't end happily. But he would just have to break his heart, because he had to hold his tongue.Perhaps everyone else is dressed as for a wedding, because the first thing that the new King does is justify his marriage to Gertrude, his brother's widow and Hamlet's mother. The marriage needs some justification because it has taken place less the two months after the death of old Hamlet, and also because it might be incestuous. The King tells the court he is sad, and everyone should be sad, at his brother's death, but it's best to think of the dead king with "wisest sorrow." That is, life goes on, and doesn't stop for a single person's death. Therefore, the King has married Gertrude. This is one of the many paradoxes in this paradoxical play, but the King doesn't mean it as a paradox. He wants everybody to be happy and calm. They have all, he reminds them, In other words, no one has offered any objections to the marriage, and now is not the time to rock the boat. The definition of madness is ‘to be with disordered mind, insane; frenzied; wildly foolish.’ Throughout the play, Shakespeare invites the audience to make sense of Hamlet’s state of mind – is his mind without order or is his madness part of an overall strategy? Hamlet’s first soliloquy takes place in Act 1 Scene 2, after Hamlet’s meeting with his mother, the Queen, and Claudius. In this soliloquy, the audience sees his depression and grief over the death of his father coupled with his incredulity at the ‘most wicked speed’ with which his mother has remarried. Here, Shakespeare is already showing the audience what is going on in Hamlet’s mind. He is already preoccupied with grief and suicide.The actor in the movie Hamlet(Kenneth Brenagh) has very good acting skills he made me believe that he is Hamlet because I really got into it. The way he said those words about his mother Gerturde and about his uncle King Claudius had so much emotion in it, he made you believe that that situation really happen to him.The tone of his voice had so much pain and anger and disapointment and shame towards the two of them his mother and his uncle king Claudias. In the film the lights where dim and the room was very spacious, I believe that for the room being dark symbolizes the way he is feeling. He probaly feels that his life is getting darker. And for the spacious room he's probaly is feeling empty inside about his mother Gertrude and his uncle King Claudius becoming husband and wife .And in the video Hamlet also wears black to his mother's and his uncle king Claudius wedding the definition of black is: gloomy; pessimistic; dismal,deliberately; harmful; inexcusable, boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening, without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked, indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment, marked by disaster or misfortune, wearing black or dark clothing or armor, based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life, done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous, etc.
46-47“He pushed up my skirt to the side and slides his left hand down between my legs, up against my cotton panties. He began to rock me then, between his stomach and his wrist, his fingers fumbling at his britches. It made me afraid, his big hands between my legs and his eyes glittering in the dim light. He started talking again telling me ‘mama was going to be alright’, that he loved me that we were going to be so happy. His hand was hard, the ridge of his wrist bone pushing in and hurting me”.
-In this quote Bone explains what happens to her as she is being molested by her stepfather. I thought this was a really good quote because in the beginning Bone is this happy, active child ---In this quote Bone explains what happens to her as she was being molested by her stepfather. I thought this was a really good quote because in the beginning Bone is this happy, active child, but once daddy Glen took her innocents away she becomes this quiet, sheltered girl that couldn’t stand up for herself and tell anyone that she was being molested.
-In this quote Bone explains what happens to her as she is being molested by her stepfather. I thought this was a really good quote because in the beginning Bone is this happy, active child ---In this quote Bone explains what happens to her as she was being molested by her stepfather. I thought this was a really good quote because in the beginning Bone is this happy, active child, but once daddy Glen took her innocents away she becomes this quiet, sheltered girl that couldn’t stand up for herself and tell anyone that she was being molested.
To be or not to be is probably one of the best well-known lines in American English literature coming from famous writer William Shakespere. What does hamlet mean when he speak those lines? Even today, after so many years since it was written, most people still don't understand the familiar lines from shakespere even though they know the play. I wonder what gives these 34 famous lines such appeal and recognition around the world. The movie portrays Hamlet as a very confused man. He is very unsure of himself and often wavers between two extremes. In the movie, he contemplates death over whether he should commit suicide or seek revenge for his father's death. The movie also shows how Hamlet think things over too much. From the analysis over life and death he comes to the thought that he would rather live and seek revenge for father's death than die. So he follows out his plans and kills Claudius. Evidence of his unsureness, and thinking too much is shown in his speech throughout that whole scene.In the movie, Hamlet thinks of commiting suicide. His character is clearly shown in this speech. The speech itself shows that he thinks too much. He is thinking between the two extremes: life and death. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (3, 1, 56-60). He wonders whether he should live and suffer or die and end the suffering. He believes that life comes with a great deal of suffering and pain. The "whips and scorn of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes" (3, 1, 70-74) are all the suffering he sees in life. He's thinking about whether or not he should live through these pains of life. "To die, to sleep -no more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks...To sleep, perchance to dream" (3, 1, 60-65). If he chooses death all his pains and heartaches would end. He would not have to worry about Claudius, Gertrude or any other aspect of his life that bothers or causes him stress. The only thing keeping him from death is the mystery behind daeth, what you go through after you die, what lies behind death. The "dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will" (3, 1, 78-80). In his speech, "To Be or Not To Be," Hamlet shows his character to be confused, fickle, and an over thinker. He shows this by his attitude towards life and death. How he compares the two and analyzes them both shows that he over analyzes everything that he does. He thinking about death shows his confusion.He learns from the contemplation over life and death that he would rather live and avenge his father's death than die. Partly because the unknown after death scares him and the other part is because he wants revenge.The first re-enactment is the one that I chosed that I thought was the better version. In the movie the actor Kevin Branagh protrays Hamlet as this confused character, confused about life and death. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (3, 1, 56-60). When Branagh read those famous lines in the movie it was so intense to me, i felt his intensity through his acting, the way he read thoses lines made me believe his acting. In the movie Branagh made his acting seem so personal the reason being is because when he read his line "to be or not to be" Hamlet is staring at himself through a mirror, reading those lines to himself it just seem so personal he's looking at hisself talking about life and death, while the other two didn't seem that personal in the movie. And also the way he was dressed in the color black maybe depicts the darkness that surounds him, meaning of the hatred that he has for his mother and uncle and the death of his father by his uncle claudius. the definition of black is: gloomy; pessimistic; dismal, deliberately; harmful; inexcusable, boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening, based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life, done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous. I believe those black clothing on Hamlets back indicates everything that he is feeling inside. The tone of Hamlet was very calm at first and than his voice was starting to get intense when he pulls the knife out and puts the knife to his faceIn the second re-enactment Alexander Fodor is playing Hamlet. In the scene Hamlet seems to be confused or kind of in a dream. When the movie started you see Hamlet giving this dead looking man a kiss that i believe is Hamlet's father and other people are kissing the dead man also. The reason why I don't like that version is because Hamlet is tailking to this voice recorderabout whether he should live or die for me I thoughtit was pretty weird. You also see hamlet contemplating if he should commit suicide or not and relieve all of his pain and he's also thinking about killing his uncle for his father's death in front of a group of people in this white room. Hamlets tone seem calm, confused, and in a dream like state of mind. When I seen the video it really didn't connect with me, I didn't feel that that version was the right one.In the third re-enactment Laurence Oliver stars as Hamlet. The movie was okay it was better than the second version but it wasn't the best overall, the reason being is because I didn't like the scenary/ black and white, him being on top of a cliff. Hamlet is sitting on a cliff watching the waves go back and fourth and contemplating whether he should commit suicide or live and avenge his father for his death by killing his uncle king Claudius. To me it seems like Hamlet is adressing nature about the way he feels/ his emotions about life and death instead of adressing himself. The tone of the scene seem gloomy and dark, the tone of Hamlet was the same in the second version, they were both calm The reason why I didn't choose one of the other versions of the movie is because I didn't really feel connected to them, the one with Fodor just seem like a regular guy reciting shakespere's lines to a voice recorder. The Laurence Oliver version was good but it didn't seem as convincing as the as the Kenneth Branagh version because he didn't have a lot of emotion in his acting.It seem like they were just acting but the Branagh version seem so real, it seem like he really was Hamlet in my own eyes. Everytime when I look at that version on the movie i believe thats the real version because the way Branagh speak his lines, how he looks at himself through the mirror makes me believe. The way he spoke his lines was so convincing,the Kenneth Branagh version is the reason why I chosed that one.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tiffany Hughes
Mr. Gallagher
English CP period 6
3 March 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Aldarondo, Cecilia [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: Memphis Art Papers v. 31 no. 2 (March/April 2007) 62.
-In this article the author tells you that Wangechi Mutu is not just the artist she's also the actress or character in her art work. "Like Mutu's endless scrubbing, her meticulous stitches remind viewers of the ongoing denigration of women's labor."
Auricchio, L. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Art Papers v. 30 no. 5 (September/October 2006) 60.
-The article is important because the author tells you how Mutu can be with her art work.” These shows emphasized Mutu's omnivorous approach to materials and the surprising thematic unity of her work."
Brielmaier, I. Wangechi Mutu: Re-Imagining the World / Wangechi Mutu: Die Welt Neu Denken Parkett no. 74 (2005) 6-13.
- This article is important because it shows you how Familiar Wangechi Mutu is with the female body and how she uses that in her art work.” Among the artist's many aesthetic and conceptual concerns, she has focused on re-imagining the world, the transformative and transgresses power of the female body, and the fluidity and performance of this body, which re-inscribes and undermines authority."
Ciuraru, C. Cutting Remarks ART news v. 103 no. 10 (November 2004) 116-17.
- This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be." Mutu's sources for images are extensive: She makes use of pictures from National Geographic, outdated ethnographic books, fashion and pornography magazines, cartoons, and Victorian botanical illustrations. Her art is both beautiful and harrowing and displays a kind of playful, self-conscious wit".
Cox, L. M. Transformed Bodies, Colonial Wounds & Ethnographic Tropes: Wangechi Mutu N. Paradox v. 21 (2008) 67-75.
-The reason why this article is important because in the article the author says that "Mutu combines images clipped from magazines with pools of paint, shimmering glitter, and brown packing tape to create works that blend critical social engagement with an interventionist practice of collage and photomontage”. I believe this article would help me understand the many ways Wangechi Mutu create art.
Enright, R. [Interview] Resonant surgeries: the collaged world of Wangechi Mutu Border Crossings v. 27 no. 1 (February 2008) 28-46.
- This article is important because it shows that "Wangechi Mutu's has an uncanny sense of gesture and a unique ability to insinuate meanings that are political, aesthetic, and psychological without ever declaring the real meaning of her images."
Kazanjian, Dodie fierce creatures; Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu has brought her fresh and vividly energetic vision to figurative art-spinning fantastical tales of folklore and modernity (3599 words) Magazine/Journal Vogue (June 2006): 214.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be. "The women in Wangechi Mutu's paintings are a strange and disturbing breed. Beautiful but grotesque, powerful yet maimed, they perch in trees or cavort in the tall grass, their hair erupting in wild shapes and arabesques, their limbs missing or metamorphosed into bird legs with talon feet." In this Article the author tells you what Wangechi Mutu's art work can be about.
Keith, N. J. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: "Problematica": Susanne Vielmetter Nka no. 21 (Fall 2007) 132-3.
- In this article the author tells you what is Wangechi Mutu's art depends on "Mutu's work depends heavily upon the audience's unconscious to rationalize the dismembered combinations and unrecognizable backdrops. She brings a unique perspective to the contemporary African art project."
Lo, Melissa [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Flash Art (International Edition) v. 38 (May/June 2005) 146.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be.” From this work,
It is clear that the artist's drawings are quests for understanding; they present the viewer with examples of fragile beauty marked by pigeonholed perception and history, highlighting an awareness of the representation--or, more aptly, misrepresentation--of African women."
Murray, D. C. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu at SFMOMA Art in America v. 94 no. 9 (October 2006) 205.
-In this article it tells you how diverse Mutu's art work is "Wangechi Mutu's exhibition represents a diverse collection of artistic and popular influences, from Romare Bearden and the Surrealists to fashion and porn magazines." Although she creates’s a lot of African inspired art work she is also diverse.
Politi, Gea Flash Art (International Edition) (0394-1493) March/April 2008. Vol.41 136.
- In this article Politi describes Mutu's art work, the article shows you how Mutu's art work brings you in and make you engaged "A field of pointy-breast mountains made of packing tape filled the middle of the gallery and diverted viewers toward the small collaged paintings at the gallery's perimeter".
Mr. Gallagher
English CP period 6
3 March 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Aldarondo, Cecilia [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: Memphis Art Papers v. 31 no. 2 (March/April 2007) 62.
-In this article the author tells you that Wangechi Mutu is not just the artist she's also the actress or character in her art work. "Like Mutu's endless scrubbing, her meticulous stitches remind viewers of the ongoing denigration of women's labor."
Auricchio, L. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Art Papers v. 30 no. 5 (September/October 2006) 60.
-The article is important because the author tells you how Mutu can be with her art work.” These shows emphasized Mutu's omnivorous approach to materials and the surprising thematic unity of her work."
Brielmaier, I. Wangechi Mutu: Re-Imagining the World / Wangechi Mutu: Die Welt Neu Denken Parkett no. 74 (2005) 6-13.
- This article is important because it shows you how Familiar Wangechi Mutu is with the female body and how she uses that in her art work.” Among the artist's many aesthetic and conceptual concerns, she has focused on re-imagining the world, the transformative and transgresses power of the female body, and the fluidity and performance of this body, which re-inscribes and undermines authority."
Ciuraru, C. Cutting Remarks ART news v. 103 no. 10 (November 2004) 116-17.
- This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be." Mutu's sources for images are extensive: She makes use of pictures from National Geographic, outdated ethnographic books, fashion and pornography magazines, cartoons, and Victorian botanical illustrations. Her art is both beautiful and harrowing and displays a kind of playful, self-conscious wit".
Cox, L. M. Transformed Bodies, Colonial Wounds & Ethnographic Tropes: Wangechi Mutu N. Paradox v. 21 (2008) 67-75.
-The reason why this article is important because in the article the author says that "Mutu combines images clipped from magazines with pools of paint, shimmering glitter, and brown packing tape to create works that blend critical social engagement with an interventionist practice of collage and photomontage”. I believe this article would help me understand the many ways Wangechi Mutu create art.
Enright, R. [Interview] Resonant surgeries: the collaged world of Wangechi Mutu Border Crossings v. 27 no. 1 (February 2008) 28-46.
- This article is important because it shows that "Wangechi Mutu's has an uncanny sense of gesture and a unique ability to insinuate meanings that are political, aesthetic, and psychological without ever declaring the real meaning of her images."
Kazanjian, Dodie fierce creatures; Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu has brought her fresh and vividly energetic vision to figurative art-spinning fantastical tales of folklore and modernity (3599 words) Magazine/Journal Vogue (June 2006): 214.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be. "The women in Wangechi Mutu's paintings are a strange and disturbing breed. Beautiful but grotesque, powerful yet maimed, they perch in trees or cavort in the tall grass, their hair erupting in wild shapes and arabesques, their limbs missing or metamorphosed into bird legs with talon feet." In this Article the author tells you what Wangechi Mutu's art work can be about.
Keith, N. J. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu: "Problematica": Susanne Vielmetter Nka no. 21 (Fall 2007) 132-3.
- In this article the author tells you what is Wangechi Mutu's art depends on "Mutu's work depends heavily upon the audience's unconscious to rationalize the dismembered combinations and unrecognizable backdrops. She brings a unique perspective to the contemporary African art project."
Lo, Melissa [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu Flash Art (International Edition) v. 38 (May/June 2005) 146.
-This article is important because is tells you how creative she can be.” From this work,
It is clear that the artist's drawings are quests for understanding; they present the viewer with examples of fragile beauty marked by pigeonholed perception and history, highlighting an awareness of the representation--or, more aptly, misrepresentation--of African women."
Murray, D. C. [Exhibit] Wangechi Mutu at SFMOMA Art in America v. 94 no. 9 (October 2006) 205.
-In this article it tells you how diverse Mutu's art work is "Wangechi Mutu's exhibition represents a diverse collection of artistic and popular influences, from Romare Bearden and the Surrealists to fashion and porn magazines." Although she creates’s a lot of African inspired art work she is also diverse.
Politi, Gea Flash Art (International Edition) (0394-1493) March/April 2008. Vol.41 136.
- In this article Politi describes Mutu's art work, the article shows you how Mutu's art work brings you in and make you engaged "A field of pointy-breast mountains made of packing tape filled the middle of the gallery and diverted viewers toward the small collaged paintings at the gallery's perimeter".
Tiffany HughesMr. GallagherMalden High SchoolRoom C333Malden, Ma. 02148Due: 2/5/09
4 February 2009
Dear Mr. Gallagher,
For my research paper Wangechi Mutu is the artist that I have chosen. By viewing over her paintings you can notice that she is a very creative, interesting artist. The way that she combines diseased feminine body parts with crazy facial expressions together are very fascinating for example: "Tumors of the Uterus", and "Indurate Ulcers of the Cervix". In her series Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumor, Wangechi Mutu uses 19th century medical diagrams as a basis for invented portraiture. The original illustrations, symbolic of colonial power, suggest a wide range of cultural pre-conceptions: from the ‘superiority’ of European ‘knowledge’ to the classification of nature (and consequently race) into genealogical hierarchies.
For my thesis I would give you a brief history of Wangechi Mutu and state why I chose her to be the artist to do my research.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/wangechi_mutu.htm
http://www.momentaart.org/pas_pro/mutu.html
http://www.artnet.com/awc/wangechi-mutu.html
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2008/04/wangechi_mutu.php
http://www.askart.com/AskART/M/wangechi_mutu/wangechi_mutu.aspx
http://the-artists.org/artist/Wangechi_Mutu.html
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/216
http://www.vielmetter.com/index.php?site=artists&a_id=63&artistname=WANGECHI_MUTU&detail=selectedworks&fromlink=
http://chelseaartgalleries.com/artists/M/Wangechi+Mutu.html
http://africanartists.blogspot.com/2008/06/wangechi-mutu-kenya-usa.html
Sincerely,
Tiffany Hughes
4 February 2009
Dear Mr. Gallagher,
For my research paper Wangechi Mutu is the artist that I have chosen. By viewing over her paintings you can notice that she is a very creative, interesting artist. The way that she combines diseased feminine body parts with crazy facial expressions together are very fascinating for example: "Tumors of the Uterus", and "Indurate Ulcers of the Cervix". In her series Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumor, Wangechi Mutu uses 19th century medical diagrams as a basis for invented portraiture. The original illustrations, symbolic of colonial power, suggest a wide range of cultural pre-conceptions: from the ‘superiority’ of European ‘knowledge’ to the classification of nature (and consequently race) into genealogical hierarchies.
For my thesis I would give you a brief history of Wangechi Mutu and state why I chose her to be the artist to do my research.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/wangechi_mutu.htm
http://www.momentaart.org/pas_pro/mutu.html
http://www.artnet.com/awc/wangechi-mutu.html
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2008/04/wangechi_mutu.php
http://www.askart.com/AskART/M/wangechi_mutu/wangechi_mutu.aspx
http://the-artists.org/artist/Wangechi_Mutu.html
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/216
http://www.vielmetter.com/index.php?site=artists&a_id=63&artistname=WANGECHI_MUTU&detail=selectedworks&fromlink=
http://chelseaartgalleries.com/artists/M/Wangechi+Mutu.html
http://africanartists.blogspot.com/2008/06/wangechi-mutu-kenya-usa.html
Sincerely,
Tiffany Hughes
Tiffany Hughes
Mr. Ryan Gallagher
English 12 CP Period 6
23 March 2009
Wangechi Mutu: Research Project
African artist Wangechi Mutu has created very interesting and beautiful art work in galleries in America with her crazy and disturbing collages from pictures out of fashion magazines and also in porn magazines. Mutu's art work are creative because she sometimes begins with a picture of a woman cut out from a magazine or maybe a coffee table book and begins making art. But she also mix up the image by cutting it into pieces, rearranging it, and adding other materials until the woman that was cut out of the magazine looked freakish or crazy. The people Mutu creates in her pictures seemed to tell a lot stories within them. Most of the stories in the pictures are about traditional African womanhood mixed with by the influences of American ideals of beauty and some of them seem to also show a sad story about women's pain and anger, her art work can be so emotional. Wangechi Mutu was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1972. Her upbringing was modern and urban, and she was puzzled by the Western tendency to think of Africa in terms of its rural, traditional cultures. She currently lives and works in New York. She moved to New York in the 1990s to study anthropology and fine art at Cooper Union in1996, and Yale University in 2000. She creates painted and collaged images of female figures, first painting outline images on Mylar, then adding detail with photographic fragments of idealized women collected from print magazines. Mutu has trained as both a sculptor and anthropologist (Murray 205).
Wangechi Mutu has created a multitude of interesting, crazy, gruesome, and also very beautiful art work all in one sometimes. One thing that Mutu always seem to do in her pictures is that she includes her African heritage with most of her art. She commonly create a picture that involves the African American's struggle's, pain, sadness, hard ache and insecurities but she also includes happiness and love, sometimes she combines the two and make beautiful art for example: In "Untitled", Mutu uses strange textures to draw a wide range of character's, from glamour models, to dyed fabrics, diseased skin, and science fiction special effects. Her goddess-like figure becomes an embodiment of the art work of modern Africa, caught in the flux of Western preconception, internal turmoil, ancient tradition, and blossoming future (Kazanjian 214).
In the picture ovarian cysts, the picture shows you a multitude of images. The main image that stands out is the image of this black skull figure that looks pretty scary and weird. The next images are pictures of legs that are bent and wearing heels (stripper heels), and the color of the legs are brown which let you know that they are African American woman that might be either strippers or porn stars or most likely both. Also, in the brain area of the skull theirs a man there that seems to be a doctor holding two skulls in his hands, he seems to be observing them and also there's a bunch of skull head's surrounding him and the two skull head's in his two hands. And finally in the background there a picture of old 1930 medical diagram of an ovarian cyst. the definition of the ovarian cyst is: any collection of fluid, surrounded by a very thin wall, within an ovary. Any ovarian follicle that is larger than about two centimeters is termed an ovarian cyst. An ovarian cyst can be as small as a pea, or larger than a cantaloupe. Most ovarian cysts are functional in nature, and harmless or benign. Ovarian cysts are found in nearly all premenopausal women, and in up to 14.8% of postmenopausal women. Ovarian cysts affect women of all ages. They occur most often, however, during a woman's childbearing years. Some ovarian cysts cause problems, such as bleeding and pain. Surgery may be required to remove cysts larger than 5 centimeters in diameter."Wangechi Mutu uses collage as a metaphor for the shifting concepts of global identity. In Ovarian Cysts Mutu unites a medical diagram, an archaeological photograph, and kitsch advertisement within a glittery death-head; each element conveying disjointed and dislocated associations of Africa. Drawing from colonialism, ancient history, contemporary politics, and lifestyle ideals, Mutu creates an emblem of tribute, encompassing both a tormented past and powerful future".
In the picture cancer of the uterus, the picture shows you so many images in the picture. The main image that pops- out is this black glittery image and on the side you see like a fluffy white hair like thing on the side of this characters face. Then you see this big shiny red top lip and on the bottom you see this burgundy colored lip and you also see these two Caucasian blue eyes that seem to be sad. And finally you see this old diagram of a cancerous uterus. I believe this picture is about self image just like the image in "Adult Female Sexual Organs." That picture in my own words is about a woman suffering with her insecurities of being an African woman and wanting to have western qualities about herself for example I thought the woman wanted to be white because she had white cotton balls on her face and a white fashion model in her brain area that I believe is symbolizing her wanting to be white. In the pictures "Cancer of the Uterus" and "Adult Female Sexual Organs" shares some similarities because they seem to share body image insecurities with wanting to be a different race. The picture cancer of the uterus in my own words is about this character that wants to be black but is not sure because that character likes being white that’s what the white glittery spots represents on that characters face. And also while this character is having these body image issues and insecurities it's also giving this character a cancer that is growing inside their uterus because of this character's situation."Wangechi Mutu’s collages seem both ancient and futuristic; her figures aspire as a super-race, by-products of a troubled and imposed evolution. In Cancer of the Uterus, her figure is an ominous goddess; pasted over a pathology diagram, her portrait is diseased at the core. Mutu uses materials which make reference to African identity and political strife: her dazzling black glitter is an abyss of western desire, which allude to the illegal diamond trade and its consequences of oppression and war. From corruption and violence, Mutu creates a glamorous beauty; her figures empowered by their survivalist adjustment to atrocity, made immune and ‘improved’ by horror and being victims".
In the painting "Mask" the woman that seems to be a model kind of has a mask on her face everything is covered except her eyes which seems to look a little devious (devious- not straight forward; shifty, departing from the correct or accepted way; erring, deviating from the straight or direct course; round about, away from a main road of course; distant or removed) her eyes are almost saying: "I have a hidden little secret and nobody knows but me. There's also a rock mask figure on her body the mask is unattractive which represents an ugly body in the inside which also makes her outside ugly with the horn like hair in the picture, I think it symbolizes that her inside is hard as a rock, ugly, and cold because most rocks are cold (rock- a mineral matter of variable composition, consolidated or unconsolidated, assembled in masses or considerable quantities in nature, as by the action of heat or water, a firm foundation or support.)So meaning her personality, her soul is ugly. And the model also has her arm covering her body because she's insecure so that gives her a cold personality. And there is also a picture behind the model maybe it's something in her past, something hard and dark which makes the person she is today.
For my description on "Adult Female Sexual Organs", there's a picture of an African American woman's skin tone is very very black! Almost as if the picture was taken in black and white. The woman’s lips are huge! With red lipstick, I believe the red lipstick on her huge lips dignifies her strive to becoming a beautiful women in he mind, and also the color red symbolizes anger to see red is to become very angry; become enraged; so when I view this red color of lipstick on her lips the woman probably has anger maybe about her looks she maybe is angered about her insecurities on her skin color, lips, and maybe race. The picture also shows that the woman has brown wrapping tape on her face, covering everything except her eyes, nose, lips, and her thoughts about a white model. I believe the white fashion model represents the person that she wants to be in life. My thoughts are that she wants to be the white fashion model because she looks happy, beautiful, fashionable and white! The definition of white is auspicious or fortunate, morally pure; innocent, without malice; harmless; decent, honorable, or dependable. Ex: “that’s very white of you". A color without hue at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to black. A white surface reflects light of all hues completely and diffusely: most so-called whites are very light grays: fresh snow, for example reflects about 80 percent of the incident light. It is the ultimate limit of a series of shades of any color. The definition of white has a lot of good meaning to it, knowing that, i believe the woman in the painting wanted to be white and have those good meanings about her. The definition of black is: soiled or stained with dirt, gloomy; pessimistic; dismal, deliberately harmful; inexcusable, boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening; without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked; indicating censure, disgrace; or liability to punishment, marked loyaisaster or misfortune: based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life, done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous. The meaning of black has a lot of dark, sinister meaning to it. After knowing the definition of black it doesn’t think anyone would want to call themselves black, the woman in the picture is so black! She doesn't see anything good about herself so she wants to be something pure, clean, and expectable, maybe she tried to become a fashion model also but she couldn't because her look was unacceptable, she was to black, maybe if she was really trying to be a fashion model race probably played a big part with her not making her dream come true, people probably thought of her as dirty and unreliable. So maybe that’s the reason why she has a picture of a white fashion model in her mind. In the picture the women also has light brown wrapping duct tape on most of her face. The duct tape is way lighter than her actual skin color that she would hopefully like to have as an African American but she can't so she put the duct tape there to represent the skin color that she wants to have. Being light brown like the wrapping duct tape would be the next best thing to a white skin color. And also the picture has a white patch of cotton on her face. Cotton means: a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mollow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc. to become fond of; begin to like, to approve of; agree with it come to a full understanding of; grasp. Maybe the cotton represents the women being soft and peacefully and also white or maybe it's something she wants to be in life soft and white. In the back of the head there is a part of the brain that is showing which the cerebellum is. The cerebellum is the trilobed structure of the brain, lying posterior to the Pons and medulla oblongata and inferior to the occipital lobes of the cerebral hemispheres, that is responsible for the regulation and coordination of complex voluntary muscular movement as well as the maintenance of posture and balance. So I believe the artist concluded the cerebellum to show that even though this character might be feeling ugly or insecure she still keeps her head up, she still has her pride in being a dark African American woman.
"Adult Female Sexual Organs" is a picture made by Mutu that plenty of people could understand mainly women. When people first see the picture they can quickly understand what the picture was about. In my own words I believe the picture is about an African woman that has a multitude of insecurities, in this picture I think Mutu is trying to show in this picture that some dark African women would love to be white and have lighter skin, because maybe it’s more excepting in society. Mutu cuts out and paste this picture of a white women that seems to look happy, you can see that she puts this picture in her brain because it depicts what she wants to be in life, a white woman, model, or both but she can’t because of her facial features and her dark skin. The head is a caricatured mask – made of packing tape, its material makes reference to bandages, migration, and cheap ‘quick-fix’ solutions. Mutu portrays the inner and outer ideals of self with physical attributes clipped from lifestyle magazines: the woman’s face being a racial distortion, her mind occupied by a prototypical white model. "Wangechi Mutu observes: "Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body." Piecing together magazine imagery with painted surfaces and found materials, Mutu’s collages explore the split nature of cultural identity, referencing colonial history, fashion and contemporary African politics (Cox l). In another picture Mutu created is the picture "Mask". Mutu creates this woman that seems to be a model and she also seems to have insecurities about her own body image because in the picture the model covers herself with her arm and she also has this stone type mask that covers half of her face. The whole story on the picture "Mask" is about a beautiful black model that has a lot of body image issues, an ugly inside, and with a dark past. “Encasing the woman’s body and face in a cut out of a voodoo sculpture, Mutu envelops her cover girl as a product of typecast desire and role-play: warrior-princess, S&M freak, chastity-belted virgin. Overlapping the controversial facets of cultural association, Mutu’s figure beacons as a subversive dominatrix, shrewdly co-opting the rules of hierarchy, power, and manipulation" (Enright 28-46).
Mr. Ryan Gallagher
English 12 CP Period 6
23 March 2009
Wangechi Mutu: Research Project
African artist Wangechi Mutu has created very interesting and beautiful art work in galleries in America with her crazy and disturbing collages from pictures out of fashion magazines and also in porn magazines. Mutu's art work are creative because she sometimes begins with a picture of a woman cut out from a magazine or maybe a coffee table book and begins making art. But she also mix up the image by cutting it into pieces, rearranging it, and adding other materials until the woman that was cut out of the magazine looked freakish or crazy. The people Mutu creates in her pictures seemed to tell a lot stories within them. Most of the stories in the pictures are about traditional African womanhood mixed with by the influences of American ideals of beauty and some of them seem to also show a sad story about women's pain and anger, her art work can be so emotional. Wangechi Mutu was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1972. Her upbringing was modern and urban, and she was puzzled by the Western tendency to think of Africa in terms of its rural, traditional cultures. She currently lives and works in New York. She moved to New York in the 1990s to study anthropology and fine art at Cooper Union in1996, and Yale University in 2000. She creates painted and collaged images of female figures, first painting outline images on Mylar, then adding detail with photographic fragments of idealized women collected from print magazines. Mutu has trained as both a sculptor and anthropologist (Murray 205).
Wangechi Mutu has created a multitude of interesting, crazy, gruesome, and also very beautiful art work all in one sometimes. One thing that Mutu always seem to do in her pictures is that she includes her African heritage with most of her art. She commonly create a picture that involves the African American's struggle's, pain, sadness, hard ache and insecurities but she also includes happiness and love, sometimes she combines the two and make beautiful art for example: In "Untitled", Mutu uses strange textures to draw a wide range of character's, from glamour models, to dyed fabrics, diseased skin, and science fiction special effects. Her goddess-like figure becomes an embodiment of the art work of modern Africa, caught in the flux of Western preconception, internal turmoil, ancient tradition, and blossoming future (Kazanjian 214).
In the picture ovarian cysts, the picture shows you a multitude of images. The main image that stands out is the image of this black skull figure that looks pretty scary and weird. The next images are pictures of legs that are bent and wearing heels (stripper heels), and the color of the legs are brown which let you know that they are African American woman that might be either strippers or porn stars or most likely both. Also, in the brain area of the skull theirs a man there that seems to be a doctor holding two skulls in his hands, he seems to be observing them and also there's a bunch of skull head's surrounding him and the two skull head's in his two hands. And finally in the background there a picture of old 1930 medical diagram of an ovarian cyst. the definition of the ovarian cyst is: any collection of fluid, surrounded by a very thin wall, within an ovary. Any ovarian follicle that is larger than about two centimeters is termed an ovarian cyst. An ovarian cyst can be as small as a pea, or larger than a cantaloupe. Most ovarian cysts are functional in nature, and harmless or benign. Ovarian cysts are found in nearly all premenopausal women, and in up to 14.8% of postmenopausal women. Ovarian cysts affect women of all ages. They occur most often, however, during a woman's childbearing years. Some ovarian cysts cause problems, such as bleeding and pain. Surgery may be required to remove cysts larger than 5 centimeters in diameter."Wangechi Mutu uses collage as a metaphor for the shifting concepts of global identity. In Ovarian Cysts Mutu unites a medical diagram, an archaeological photograph, and kitsch advertisement within a glittery death-head; each element conveying disjointed and dislocated associations of Africa. Drawing from colonialism, ancient history, contemporary politics, and lifestyle ideals, Mutu creates an emblem of tribute, encompassing both a tormented past and powerful future".
In the picture cancer of the uterus, the picture shows you so many images in the picture. The main image that pops- out is this black glittery image and on the side you see like a fluffy white hair like thing on the side of this characters face. Then you see this big shiny red top lip and on the bottom you see this burgundy colored lip and you also see these two Caucasian blue eyes that seem to be sad. And finally you see this old diagram of a cancerous uterus. I believe this picture is about self image just like the image in "Adult Female Sexual Organs." That picture in my own words is about a woman suffering with her insecurities of being an African woman and wanting to have western qualities about herself for example I thought the woman wanted to be white because she had white cotton balls on her face and a white fashion model in her brain area that I believe is symbolizing her wanting to be white. In the pictures "Cancer of the Uterus" and "Adult Female Sexual Organs" shares some similarities because they seem to share body image insecurities with wanting to be a different race. The picture cancer of the uterus in my own words is about this character that wants to be black but is not sure because that character likes being white that’s what the white glittery spots represents on that characters face. And also while this character is having these body image issues and insecurities it's also giving this character a cancer that is growing inside their uterus because of this character's situation."Wangechi Mutu’s collages seem both ancient and futuristic; her figures aspire as a super-race, by-products of a troubled and imposed evolution. In Cancer of the Uterus, her figure is an ominous goddess; pasted over a pathology diagram, her portrait is diseased at the core. Mutu uses materials which make reference to African identity and political strife: her dazzling black glitter is an abyss of western desire, which allude to the illegal diamond trade and its consequences of oppression and war. From corruption and violence, Mutu creates a glamorous beauty; her figures empowered by their survivalist adjustment to atrocity, made immune and ‘improved’ by horror and being victims".
In the painting "Mask" the woman that seems to be a model kind of has a mask on her face everything is covered except her eyes which seems to look a little devious (devious- not straight forward; shifty, departing from the correct or accepted way; erring, deviating from the straight or direct course; round about, away from a main road of course; distant or removed) her eyes are almost saying: "I have a hidden little secret and nobody knows but me. There's also a rock mask figure on her body the mask is unattractive which represents an ugly body in the inside which also makes her outside ugly with the horn like hair in the picture, I think it symbolizes that her inside is hard as a rock, ugly, and cold because most rocks are cold (rock- a mineral matter of variable composition, consolidated or unconsolidated, assembled in masses or considerable quantities in nature, as by the action of heat or water, a firm foundation or support.)So meaning her personality, her soul is ugly. And the model also has her arm covering her body because she's insecure so that gives her a cold personality. And there is also a picture behind the model maybe it's something in her past, something hard and dark which makes the person she is today.
For my description on "Adult Female Sexual Organs", there's a picture of an African American woman's skin tone is very very black! Almost as if the picture was taken in black and white. The woman’s lips are huge! With red lipstick, I believe the red lipstick on her huge lips dignifies her strive to becoming a beautiful women in he mind, and also the color red symbolizes anger to see red is to become very angry; become enraged; so when I view this red color of lipstick on her lips the woman probably has anger maybe about her looks she maybe is angered about her insecurities on her skin color, lips, and maybe race. The picture also shows that the woman has brown wrapping tape on her face, covering everything except her eyes, nose, lips, and her thoughts about a white model. I believe the white fashion model represents the person that she wants to be in life. My thoughts are that she wants to be the white fashion model because she looks happy, beautiful, fashionable and white! The definition of white is auspicious or fortunate, morally pure; innocent, without malice; harmless; decent, honorable, or dependable. Ex: “that’s very white of you". A color without hue at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to black. A white surface reflects light of all hues completely and diffusely: most so-called whites are very light grays: fresh snow, for example reflects about 80 percent of the incident light. It is the ultimate limit of a series of shades of any color. The definition of white has a lot of good meaning to it, knowing that, i believe the woman in the painting wanted to be white and have those good meanings about her. The definition of black is: soiled or stained with dirt, gloomy; pessimistic; dismal, deliberately harmful; inexcusable, boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening; without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked; indicating censure, disgrace; or liability to punishment, marked loyaisaster or misfortune: based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life, done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous. The meaning of black has a lot of dark, sinister meaning to it. After knowing the definition of black it doesn’t think anyone would want to call themselves black, the woman in the picture is so black! She doesn't see anything good about herself so she wants to be something pure, clean, and expectable, maybe she tried to become a fashion model also but she couldn't because her look was unacceptable, she was to black, maybe if she was really trying to be a fashion model race probably played a big part with her not making her dream come true, people probably thought of her as dirty and unreliable. So maybe that’s the reason why she has a picture of a white fashion model in her mind. In the picture the women also has light brown wrapping duct tape on most of her face. The duct tape is way lighter than her actual skin color that she would hopefully like to have as an African American but she can't so she put the duct tape there to represent the skin color that she wants to have. Being light brown like the wrapping duct tape would be the next best thing to a white skin color. And also the picture has a white patch of cotton on her face. Cotton means: a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mollow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc. to become fond of; begin to like, to approve of; agree with it come to a full understanding of; grasp. Maybe the cotton represents the women being soft and peacefully and also white or maybe it's something she wants to be in life soft and white. In the back of the head there is a part of the brain that is showing which the cerebellum is. The cerebellum is the trilobed structure of the brain, lying posterior to the Pons and medulla oblongata and inferior to the occipital lobes of the cerebral hemispheres, that is responsible for the regulation and coordination of complex voluntary muscular movement as well as the maintenance of posture and balance. So I believe the artist concluded the cerebellum to show that even though this character might be feeling ugly or insecure she still keeps her head up, she still has her pride in being a dark African American woman.
"Adult Female Sexual Organs" is a picture made by Mutu that plenty of people could understand mainly women. When people first see the picture they can quickly understand what the picture was about. In my own words I believe the picture is about an African woman that has a multitude of insecurities, in this picture I think Mutu is trying to show in this picture that some dark African women would love to be white and have lighter skin, because maybe it’s more excepting in society. Mutu cuts out and paste this picture of a white women that seems to look happy, you can see that she puts this picture in her brain because it depicts what she wants to be in life, a white woman, model, or both but she can’t because of her facial features and her dark skin. The head is a caricatured mask – made of packing tape, its material makes reference to bandages, migration, and cheap ‘quick-fix’ solutions. Mutu portrays the inner and outer ideals of self with physical attributes clipped from lifestyle magazines: the woman’s face being a racial distortion, her mind occupied by a prototypical white model. "Wangechi Mutu observes: "Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body." Piecing together magazine imagery with painted surfaces and found materials, Mutu’s collages explore the split nature of cultural identity, referencing colonial history, fashion and contemporary African politics (Cox l). In another picture Mutu created is the picture "Mask". Mutu creates this woman that seems to be a model and she also seems to have insecurities about her own body image because in the picture the model covers herself with her arm and she also has this stone type mask that covers half of her face. The whole story on the picture "Mask" is about a beautiful black model that has a lot of body image issues, an ugly inside, and with a dark past. “Encasing the woman’s body and face in a cut out of a voodoo sculpture, Mutu envelops her cover girl as a product of typecast desire and role-play: warrior-princess, S&M freak, chastity-belted virgin. Overlapping the controversial facets of cultural association, Mutu’s figure beacons as a subversive dominatrix, shrewdly co-opting the rules of hierarchy, power, and manipulation" (Enright 28-46).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
