1. Review your LP and your work at Parsons so far, reflect on this semester, reflect on your life.
2. Create a written list in your sketchbook of 5 (or more) things you have learned about life, design, and art.
- In order to do what you want to do, you must first have done what you did not want to do. (I live by this saying)
- Forgiveness is for you, not for the person who hurt you.
- If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will./ I am qualified
- humility is POWER.
- Put God first and he will put you first.
- Love can feel the best yet, hurt the most.
- you must speak up for yourself.
- It is much more effective to be kind than it is to be mean.
- life is all about balance
- Walk with confidence even if it’s just to the restroom.
- Art should affect all viewers on a personal level.
- Form follows function but, beauty is pain.
- Art speaks volumes, many times without even making a sound.
3. Based on this list, write a manifesto or statement.See examples below.
I am intelligent, I am creative, I am strong, I am fun, I am kind, I am a woman. When I was a child I was very shy in turn meaning, I was very very quiet a quality that is often thought of as an asset to being a ‘good’ woman. As I got older I began to shed my introverted tendencies and became more outgoing, a quality that some perceive to be masculine. However, I see it as a trait necessary for survival in the world and most importantly New York City. My first day of high school was the day I realized that I was not going to make it if I didn’t toughen up. Alone I went, having never ridden public transportation I was experiencing culture shock within my own culture, ironic I know. It seemed like everyone knew what they were doing, everyone except me. New York City is the place where you either speak up or get walked over and I didn’t want to get walked over, so I decided I was going to speak up. I dove in head first realizing, that if I wanted to be a successful New Yorker and more specifically a contributor to the fashion industry my fears could not outweigh my desire to accomplish my goals. Even though I knew what I had to do, that didn’t mean I knew how to do it. I wanted to make it but I didn’t want to change who I was, so I decided that I would not lose myself in the process. I did some research, read a couple books one of which was 48 Laws of Power and I was ready. I know, super dramatic but I was in it to win it and I was not going to give up. I changed my face. Yep, I changed my face. How? You ask I changed my expression to let people know I was not to be bothered. However, don’t think this meant I became a mean person; I just began giving off a less vulnerable vibe. Living in New York it is common knowledge that people only bother you if you allow them to, so to non-New Yorkers we seem mean. However, through close examination, we are kind and helpful just in a blunt straight to the point way. Ultimately, my journey has resulted in a stronger more assertive self both inward and outward and I am beyond proud of my growth and can not wait to see what the future holds for me. Using the glass self-constructed window pane it represents my fragility as a person while the flowers are a representation of my ability to grow and stay true to myself without abandoning who I am. The black glass separations speak to my ability to now be strong when necessary. While the fractured feel of the separations represents my vulnerability and my innate sensitive qualities. I used the contrast of warm and cool colors to express the complicated person I am, but a complicated beautiful person at that. By combining all these qualities it represents all the points I have previously listed because the way I am is a result of all the things I have learned on my journey to finding myself.
4. Think of an artistic, visual way that you could express these ideas and express your unique aesthetic and personality. You can use any format and medium (such as video, collage, painting, sewn piece, etc) but the final result must be expressed in an LP post titled “Reflection” that includes the text list and its visual expression.
I decided to create a piece modeled after a glass window pane to represent fragility, a theme that I further discuss in my statement and its correlation to who I am as a person.
