1. Please identify (at least) one way in which creating visualizations (as a form of annotation) supports your research/creative process.

My visualizations help my research process by showing a different aspect to my thesis. The objects create a real life feel to my claim. Since I’m more of a visual learner, having a tangible object to see and touch makes it easier for me to understand and explain my research to others.

2. What was surprising/ interesting to you about the connections you made between sources as you organized your visualizations in the collection/ in the box?

I was very surprised that my visualizations turned out to be what they were. I envisioned a different feel for my project when starting out. As I reread my sources and started to make connections to items, I realized that I would need to change gears. I did and that’s how I ended up with the visualizations that I had for the project.

3. What inspired you in the work of one of your colleagues? (Was it a question, a research area, a source, how the collection was organized, the craft or techniques used?)

I was inspired by the work of Ashley. Her cabinet was filled with objects that truly represented the research topic. Not only were they completely accurate visualizations but, they helped the viewer to understand the topic even better. This was the goal of the project in my opinion and the way it was portrayed inspired me.  I was also inspired on how she created her box. It was a homemade suitcase that showcased some of her sources on the front, then it open and contained the rest of her sources. I found this to be a nice surprise.

Research Question –

Why and how is social media, Instagram specifically, causing anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression in adolescents?

Research Thesis –

While Instagram is used daily by millions worldwide, studies have linked the use of the social media app to depression and low self-esteem in adolescents. It causes low self-esteem and depression, because it allows people to create unrealistic personas, leading to an element of comparison of fake lives. After looking at personal anecdotes and scientific studies, it is clear that more light needs to be shed on this, and a solution needs to be made.

Annotated Bibliography-1yk2iv0

Process Photos

Final Product

Sources and Objects & What They Mean

1. Red Blocks: Red is an emotionally intense color. Anger is an emotion linked to the color red. Feelings of anger and dissatisfaction is linked to social media use. Source – Primary (My Google doc survey)
2. Blue blocks: Blue is a cold and depressing color. Depression is a common side effect of social media use in teens. Source – Primary (My Google doc survey)
3. Cash: Cash represents the constant expenses that come with using media and social media in this day and age. This is fairly new, as media has changed our lives and how we live completely. Source – Valkenburg, Patti M., and Jessica Taylor Piotrowski. Plugged In How Media Attract and Affect Youth. Cumberland: Yale University Press, 2017.
4. Designer Name Brands: Designer items are seen daily on social media feeds all over the world, even though the average teen can’t afford them. This creates an impression of a lifestyle that seems normal but, is unattainable for the average adolescent. Monica Anderson, and Jingjing Jiang. Source – “Teens’ Social Media Habits and Experiences.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. January 07, 2019. Accessed March 03, 2019. http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/11/28/teens-social-media-habits-and-experiences/.
5. Pills: Pills represent addiction. Social media can be extremely addictive for teenagers. Source – Lee, E. Bun. “Too Much Information: Heavy Smartphone and Facebook Utilization by African American Young Adults.” Journal of Black Studies 46, no. 1 (2015): 44-61. http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/stable/24572928
6. Heels & Purses: These two items represent how sexism is evident in social media. Women on social media are expected to be very feminine if they want to attract attention to their feed. They are expected to be the stereo typical small waist, big purse, high heel type of woman. Source – Sherlock, Mary and Danielle L. Wagstaff. “Exploring the Relationship between Frequency of Instagram use, Exposure to Idealized Images, and Psychological Well-being in Women.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture(Apr 12, 2018).

In Bridge 3 I focused on adolescent’s mental health. Social media plays a huge role in the youth’s mental health now a days. I choose to do this because I personally know how social, media and media as a whole can really affect the way a person sees themselves and their lives. Social media has a way of portraying people to be “perfect”, when in reality this is nowhere near the truth. Young girls, and boys use social media every day. Whether its Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat, the youth is engaging with these apps and making them apart of their daily lives. While that doesn’t seem so negative, the psychological results of using these apps have been found to be extremely deteriorating. I followed my instant of writing about this topic and then creating it, because I find it something that people know about, but tend to not think twice about, which is the problem. Social media use, Instagram as the number one perpetrator, has been proven to cause low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in adolescents. These are serious side effects for just using an app.

When recreating the Victorian Cabinets of Curiosity, I wanted to incorporate modern day and age into it, because my topic is so modern. My sources helped me complete this project quite easily, by providing me with the data that I needed to fill my “cabinet”. I choose to fill my cabinet with “common” items a teen would see on Instagram daily. The ironic factor of this is that these “common” items, are in fact, not common at all. They are extremely expensive for the average teen, or they are just out completely unobtainable. I also choose to fill my cabinet with the negative side effects social media use, such as addiction. Finally, I completed my cabinet by filling it with some of the positive aspects of social media.

For my storyboard, I re-read my sources and wrote notes on how I will organize the main points in my research paper. From there I wrote down my main points on the story board and connected them to the sources they belonged to. Connecting my sources to my main points, in order, was harder then expected. My sources have lots of valuable information, so narrowing them down to the specific point I wanted to convey was not as easy as I imagined.

My 5 Questions –

1. What is the real story behind the Shadow Boxes?
2. Why did Gris create The Man at the Cafe in such an abstract way?
3. Why did Cornell continue to use the same bird, the Great White Crested Cockatoo, in his early Cabinet of Curiosity works?
4. Joseph Cornell was known to be extremely reclusive. What made him this way?
5. How did Joseph get his work into the MET, and other museums, when it is widely known that he was a sort of self-taught artist with not much experince?

Answers –

1. Shadow boxes were used to address recurrent themes of interest such as childhood, space, and birds, and they helped to create a feeling of escape for Joseph because he was known to be reclusive.
2. I believe that Gris created his famous The Man at the Cafe from an abstract point of view because he had a secret message. “Alphonse Bertillon was a famed French criminal investigator who championed the forensic science of fingerprinting. The article posits that artists should be required to register their fingerprints, which then could be compared to ones found on any given canvas, rendering forgeries impossible. The presence of this shadowy figure, whose own fingers are colored a spectral blue, suggests otherwise.” I think he painted this piece in an abstract way because of the message he was sending. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/500421  
3. Joseph used the Great White Crested Cockatoo continuously in his work most likely as a private reference. There was a singer that Jospeh had been known to listen to while working. She had a nickname of Song Bird and had many similarities to Gris as well.
4. Joseph had a disabled brother for whom he cared for, along with his mother. This is most likely the reason he was so reclusive. It also has been said that he was very eccentric and that lead women to not find him suitable to be with. Having problems with women doesn’t help if you’re already used to being by yourself. This, I believe, played a role as well.
5. While it’s known that Joseph was a self taught artist and didn’t have much experience, his work is in the MET today and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His work remains in such famous museums because of the uniqueness that it showcases.

•  I choose the initial image, because of what it stands for. The advertisement advocates for equality. That subject is very important to me.
• I choose to change the initial advertisement in the 3 ways that I did, because I felt that more was needed. The original ad was plain. I choose to show more images of the product along with a video to really showcase the hijab on the models. I wanted women, or anyone who wears a hijab, to see the Pro Hijab in its full glory.
• When I think of my target audience, I think of sand and the color tan or light brown. I am reminded of a warm, quiet location. I feel calm, but also a sense of oppression. I think of all the injustices minorities go through.
• Yes, I incorporated my thought process into my work when completing my 3 assignments for Bridge 2. I wanted to portray the feelings of strength and feminism in this assignment.
• I am most proud of the “Instagram post” (the collage) that I created. It shows off the Pro Hijab in a clean, simple, but appealing way. The one worded message, “sisterhood” is my way of advocating for feminism.
• I felt happy showing my work to the class. I believe that equality is a serious issue. My assignment tackled this issue and I believe portrayed it in a meaningful way.
• Having the DAI while I was present had me slightly nervous, but I was interested to hear the feedback of my peers.
• If I could change anything about my work, I would have done more with the variety of models in my photos. I would have used models with different skin tones to represent the product more realistically.
• I would have shared stories of Muslim women’s oppression. It would have brought even more seriousness to the fact that even just playing a sport as a Muslim women is a challenge.