The work changed me on a molecular level. Well...that may be a bit extravagant but it got pretty damned real. The semester is over and I still have not actually completed a piece, but somehow I still made it out of the class with an A- !! That kind of killed my 4.0 but it's way better than I expected to get. And it was worth it.
Above was the first painting I started and my biggest struggle. It's after Da Vinci's Girl with the Ermine. I'm trashing up the classic work of art. The girl in my painting is a picture of my adorable little sister. The raccoon in her arms is, among other things, a play on the racial slur "coon." This piece (and all of the pieces) are somewhat self portraits.
This piece (above) is my comic relief, if there is such a thing when dealing with such heavy topics. It is a parody on Westboro Baptist Church and closed systems.
While the other two pieces are references to myself, this last piece is a true self portrait (that's me under the hood). My parents were KKK members and my step father has a robe that his grandfather used in the 30s, apparently. When I was growing up, I went right along with this line of thought. I have a lot of guilt about it, though I was a child and didn't know any different. I am wearing a "white trash" tshirt and my fingers and stuck in a Chinese finger trap, alluding to the ignorance of this cycle and the closed system (inability to escape).
I would say, enjoy! Though these are some heavy topics. They are very powerful for me and have lent me a voice. I hope they do something for you! Now to finish the dang things!
