Change is what will help us all.
Project Background
For the second phase of our third Bridge project, we were asked to respond to the following quote by American writer James Baldwin:
We are the generation that must throw everything into the endeavor to remake America into what we say we want it to be. Without this endeavor, we will perish. However immoral or subversive this may sound to some, it is the writer who must always remember that mortality, if it is to remain or become morality, must be perpetually examined, cracked, changed, made new. He must remember, however powerful the many who would rather forget, that life is the only touchstone and that life is dangerous, and that without the joyful acceptance of this danger, there can never be any safety for anyone, ever, anywhere….Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
The underlined words were what I based my project off of. This project did not necessarily have constraints, as we were given the option to create our projects in whatever medium we thought would be most effective to embody our responses. Originally, we were given two weeks to complete this project. However, as a class we asked if we could have an extra week to complete it due to having other class work to get done. Luckily, we had enough wiggle room for Professor Mazza to give us an extension.
Response
In my illustration, I depicted myself looking into the full-body mirror hung behind the door of my dorm room. I illustrated myself looking into the mirror, and seeing myself as I am, except surrounded by symbols of racial equality, LGBTQ+, peace, gender equality, love, preserving Mother Nature, and suicide prevention, against a red and blue gradient background. Behind my reflection and these symbols are the repeated words of “WE ARE THE CHANGE.”
My intention behind this was to show that no matter who we are or where we are, we are capable of creating a change in the world today. Change can start anywhere and can be started by anyone. Regardless of one’s status or position in society, each and every one of us has the power to improve the state of our country, or even the whole world. It is simply a matter of addressing there is a problem, and that in our own little ways, we can move towards a solution.
Change does not simply happen overnight. It can be a tedious process, but the end result makes it worth it. Certain problems in the world cannot be solved by simply doing nothing. People tend to think that change is not possible due to lack of resources, but that should not stop change from happening. Change can be done in the smallest of ways.
Want to advocate for racial equality, gender equality, and the LGBTQ+ community? Treat others with respect and kindness, regardless of background. Want to support suicide prevention? Show others you care about them, that they and their thoughts matter, and that you are there to listen to them if need someone to talk to. Want to protect Mother Nature? Recycle your trash. You do not need funding or actual resources to do these things. The first step to achieving this is recognizing the problem at hand, and doing what you already can do to solve it.
To incorporate the theme of “multiple perspectives,” I chose to have my illustration bleed off the canvas to include the viewer into my piece. Besides this, there is the perspective of me looking into my reflection in the mirror, which is (literally) a reflection of the potential I have in making a change towards the issues I mentioned beforehand. Together, my perspective and the viewer’s perspective communicate with another. With this, I hope to have the viewer stand in my position and reflect on their own and how they themselves can achieve change in their own ways.
The Work
I took a photo of the door of my dorm room, then had my roommate take a picture of me standing in front of my mirror. I then used these pictures as guides in creating the layout of my graphic illustration.
Shift
My response/concept stayed the same throughout the project, but it was my execution that kept shifting. I was initially planning on creating my response in the form of a propaganda poster, but decided to simply create a graphic illustration that reflected how I thought exemplified my concept effectively. With the idea of a propaganda poster, I knew I would be restricting myself with color since propaganda posters usually consist of the colors red and blue which can easily relate to or be associated with politics. I am not one to really share my political stances, so to me, this project was not a matter of politics. Rather, it was simply expressing my thoughts and feelings in regards to the quote, as simple as that.
What I Would Have Done Differently
I think I would attempt to have depicted my idea in the form of a propaganda, as it would add a different perspective to my concept. Propagandas tend to reflect bias, and I think it may have been more interesting if I did choose to show specific political or social beliefs of mine, but as mentioned previously, those are things I tend to keep to myself.
