Our Bridge 4 project was a feminist group focusing on empowering women, specifically in Hollywood and the media and entertainment industry. There are many double standards in this industry. An example of this are in interviews, where men are usually taken much more seriously whereas women are often asked trivial questions such as “How did you lose weight for this role?” and “How do you balance your career with being a mother?” instead of being asked about their business or career. Men are not asked this sort of questions.

Our mission is to change the conversation around women in media and Hollywood. We want women in the industry to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts. We plan to spread awareness on the double standards that are ingrained within the industry through a series of playful posters, stickers and merchandise that spread our message.

The goal is to have women in the media and in Hollywood to be empowered and acknowledged for their work.

 

The topic I originally began to look into for the upcycle project is animal abuse involved in the fashion industry.  Millions of animals are killed every year so that we can wear them, or animals are tested on (without regard for their well being) for our fiber for our clothing products.  After further research, I discovered that much of clothing made from animals comes from the meat industry, which sells extra animal parts (like skin) to leather companies.  So, the issue also stems from the meat industry.

With this, I wanted to create activist wear that comments on the animal cruelty involved in clothing.

Original garments:

Crew neck sweatshirt and hunting pants from the thrift store.

Sketches:

Process:

First, I took off the sleeves from the crew neck and layed it flat.  I traced the shape on to the hunting pants and cut it out.  This way, I would have a new sleeve from different fabric but with the correct measurements.

Then, I painted over the final garment the words “Fuck Meat” to evoke a response.

 

 

 

In this project, I made an animation about domestic violence.

In the research process, I watched lots of documentaries and films about domestic violence, and the statistic shows that over 80% of the victims are woman and children. Thus I set my main character as a woman. Also, I found out the thing that drove me crazy is that most victims just keep their mouth shut and pretend everything’s OK. They would always say, “it’s my family member, I can forgive him, I will be fine.” However, facts are never what they expected. So in the animation, I designed a woman with a face mask that’s been stitched on her face, and she took lots of  efforts and time to pull off that mask and finally revealed her badly bruised face. I want to promote the idea that the victims should seek for help and face the issue instead of hiding it which could harm them even worse.

In this project, I took apart a simple T-shirt and converted it into a sleeveless top that speaks for the size zero models. In recent years, many companies started to fire size zero models so build so called “healthy body image”. The original idea was to speak for the people who are not that skinny and are always being body shamed. However, this shouldn’t be based on the fact that they are making people who are born skinny into a worse situation.

Some mean people would say “OMG you’re so skinny that I can see your rib ”, so that’s why I started with the shape of bones in the sketch.

In the making process, I also intentionally added a high collar that’s really tight, symbolizing the idea that the pressure people brought to the skinny people are like chocking them and making them unable to survive easily.

Sketches:

 

Final look:

For Bridge 3, I    explored how C02 emissions from factories (fast fashion specifically) are causing environmental damage and causing those who live in factory heavy areas to suffer from smog and poor air quality, impacting their daily lives and their health. My pieces are an eye mask stating, “I    want to see” and a mouth mask stating “I    want to brea”- representing how the air quality is so poor that those in these areas are unable to even finish their sentences.

The piece was up-cycled from an old top and the remaining scraps of fabric was left to a fabric scrap bin. Pictured is the original piece before and after deconstruction.

 

Topic:

The changing climate is greatly going to affect all forms of life on earth.

Objective:

To slow down the temperature increase that’s happening in our ecosystem.

Goals: 

To bring the seriousness of climate change into everyone’s awareness. 

Create new, eco-friendly living habits

Create more eco-friendly devices that can replace old ones that contributes to climate change (eg. fuel operated cars < Electrical Cars)

Audience:

World Leaders, Adults, Children, Teenagers, Elderly

Ideas:

Posters – planting the idea of climate change in the subconscious as people transit pass these posters

Online Advertisement – See a push throughout social media, having the internet be one of the fastest ways to create connections, creating many advertisements and websites can help people be more aware along with raising money for organizations to help preserve our ecosystem

Clothing & Accessories created with natural fabrics – Show support of the movement, Uses a simple ad recognizable design. Create an aesthetic that’s instantly recognizable by all people, mac like a cocacola can, or a mcdonalds sign. 

Topic: Mental health concerns within the LGBTQIA+ community

 

Objective: As a collective, we feel as though there needs to be education about the issues that surface the 

 

Goals: Create a safe space for a community where those are more likely to suffer from mental health issues because of stigma and isolation

 

Audience: the LGBTQIA+ youth, people who wish to learn more about this facet/subset of culture.

 

Ideas:

• Create a web magazine as a collective
• Accept submissions of various creative forms
• Engage with others by doing volunteer work with local organizations
• Create some form of outreach education (stickers, posters. etc.)

Topic: The pressure on Asian American youth to assimilate and succeed in Western culture, academically, socially, and culturally.

 

Objective: To lessen expectation on Asian American children growing up to behave or live a certain way, from the perspectives of parents, the individuals, and the general public.

 

Goals: Allowing people with similar experiences in regards to my topic find solidarity through art.

 

Audience: Young Asian Americans and family members, people who wish to learn more about this facet/subset of culture.

 

Ideas:

• Including some sort of community oriented program focused on theatre, writing, and performance
• “Propaganda Posters”/political cartoons exposing the realities of this issue
• Short video
• Installation involving megaphones
• A collection of designs compiled in a zine deconstructing stereotypes

• A description of the topic

Misconceptions and stereotypes of Illegal immigration

• Your objectives – longterm ideas for change

Reevaluation of immigration policies.

• Your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change

-Break misconceptions of illegal immigration as a whole and bring awareness to those that are misinformed.

-Document the lives of cuban immigrants in Miami in order to break stereotypes of illegal immigration  

-Personal stories in a form of a zine highlighting the lives and stories of people that came to miami. These stories and images hopefully break stereotypes.

• Who is the audience?

People who have misconceptions about illegal immigration

Illegal immigrants that have misconceptions about themselves

• 5 ideas to achieve your goals

-a tapestry of words and photos of cuban immigrants

-a video of cuban immigrants explaining why they came to the US

-A Zine with photos as well as quotes/ stories

-instillation with photos and sound of people telling their stories and why they had to leave their home country

 

• sketches / visualization
• 

• 1 inspiration – a project an artistic activist project that speaks to you

Guadalupe Rosales (USA b. 1980) is an artist based in Los Angeles.  She is the founder and operator of Veteranas & Rucas and Map Pointz, digital archives accessible through Instagram.

 

• – a description of the topic
  • Microaggressions integrated and normalized in daily life, specifically in the context of Asian Americans
• – your objectives – long view ideas for change
  • Create an environment that is completely safe for people of color
  • People educating themselves on microaggressions (and how it is detrimental/racist) and making a conscious effort to change stereotypes on Asian Americans
• – your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change
  • Create work that instills questions amongst the audience.
  • Artistic activism that is peaceful and factual
  • Explain the history of Asian discrimination in America (Japanese internment camps, Chinese Exclusion Act, gook, chink, etc)
  • Explain Asian racism in 21st century context/in current events
• – who is the audience?
  • People who refuse to acknowledge Asian American racism
  • Ignorant individuals
  • Asian American activists, Asians in general

• – 5 ideas to achieve your goals
  • Video
  • Zine
  • Poster (created through Illustrator
  • Collage
  • Picture book (elementary type reading level, many illustrations)

• – 5 sketches / visualization

The mental interconnectivity of humans lie between the mutual understanding of individualized human experience. Understanding a human does not necessarily account to statistics or numbers, but the empathy that lies in analyzing ethics. This is especially present within the AIDS epidemic, due to the sterilization and censorship that the LGBTQ+ community were forced into. While the death count exponentially increased, the sole statistics did nothing but instill fear and homophobia in the American public. The lack of acknowledgement–that people were dying–from former President Ronald Reagan further intensified the fear of being HIV positive. However, in the small fraction of people who chose to show compassion, did growth really appear. Princess Diana of Wales was unafraid to shake hands with an AIDS patient out of lover for her people and did not let ignorance cloud her understanding of human experience. Only when people get in touch with their human selves do they come to empathize with others, even others who are not like the others.

For my project, I want to create 16 photocards that contain photographs of AIDS victims with a small biography. I want to personalize each patient to the student in order to evoke emotional attachment out of the student. I also want to cut out 16 hearts that are pasted onto the wall; with the front side containing the students’ names, and the backside that quotes, “And rain will make the flowers grow”.

– a description of the topic

Bringing more awareness too people with such disabilities, more specifically prosthetic and uniped, and support how they have to live their lives

– your objectives – long view ideas for change

Lessen public discrimination and inequality against uniped showing they are just like everyone else but with added uniqueness

– your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change

Making the disabled feel more comfortable with social wellbeing, bring happiness and joy to them and their families

– who is the audience?

Paraplegics/Good pedestrians

– 5 ideas to achieve your goals

Zine

Video

Advertisement

Poster

Sticker

– 5 sketches / visualization

– at least 1 inspiration

Artist you showed us that created that a huge tshirt made up of 50 Individual t-shirts that she had people try on in public.

Group proposal by Noël Madland, Manci Zhu, and Florence Gao

• – a description of the topic
  • Animal cruelty, specifically against dolphins, starting with The Cove documentary on Taiji, Japan
• – your objectives – long view ideas for change
  • End the dolphin murders
  • End animal cruelty in general by finding better ways to feed humans without destroying ecosystems
• – your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change
  • Explain dolphins’ intelligence, how they experience trauma
  • Show how the killing is a bad influence on children in the area
  • Explain dolphins’ importance to the ecosystem
  • Call on people in Japan to stop buying dolphin meat
  • Encourage supermarkets in Japan to reject dolphin meat from companies and fishermen.
• – who is the audience?
  • In short term, the new generation worldwide that has access to internet and social media, to recognize the problem and put pressure on the dolphin trade industry in Japan.
  • Ultimately, the Japanese lawmakers in charge of environmental protection and the Japanese meat market
  • The new generation of Japanese citizens who can stop buying dolphin

meat and push for better environmental protection laws

• – 5 ideas to achieve your goals
  • Traditional reaction video
  • Zine
  • Posters
  • Performance piece (synchronized swimmers in a red pool)
  • Immersive experience from the perception of the intellectual animal dolphin (surrounded by 1. sound of waves, dolphin’s tapping in the water, fisherman’s sound……2. Smell of blood and the sea)
  • Put paintings in public place and capture how people react with camera.

 

• – 5 sketches / visualization

1. Sketches for poster:
   1. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Visualization for pool performance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Visualization for immersive experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• – at least 1 inspiration – an artistic activist project that speaks to you
  • https://www.instagram.com/p/BwziXWGIXdi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzuSULcqgxQ
  • https://www.dolphinproject.com/blog/dolphin-meat-cruel-toxic-and-wasteful/
  • https://www.dolphinproject.com/campaigns/save-japan-dolphins/frequently-asked-questions/
    • “There is another essential and rather shocking aspect to the dolphin hunt: During a meeting with the Taiji fishermen in January 2004, the fishermen told us that they not only hunt dolphins for their meat and for sale to the dolphinarium industry, but they hunt them “as a form of pest control.” From the fishermen’s perspective, the dolphins eat too much fish, and the fishermen are simply killing the competition. This was the first time Japanese dolphin hunters openly admitted to executing pest control on dolphins.

Overfishing of the oceans is a tremendous problem on a global level, and the Japanese fishermen, supported by their government, are wrongly blaming the dolphins for this depletion. The Japanese government is making the same false argument in front of the International Whaling Commission – that whales eat fish and therefore need to be controlled by killing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

• • https://www.instagram.com/p/BwziXWGIXdi/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Two synchronised swimmers have performed in a pool full of plastic to highlight the problem of pollution. Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe carried out their World Championship routine doing their best to avoid drinking bottles, toiletries, carrier bags and containers. It’s the kind of plastic waste that is being dumped into the world’s oceans, causing serious issues for marine animals.

Why it speaks to us:

The synchronized swimming performance is visually powerful and straight forward, having humans instead of marine lifes struggling among plastic. Also, this is a smart combination of art and environmental protection. It indicates that marine lives are supposed to be moving freely in clean water, just as the synchronized swimming should be performed and appreciated in clean water.

 

How we relate it to our proposal:

Empathy is the key element in this activism art.

1. If swimmers are put into a bay to perform, with all the water dyed to red, just as shown in the Documentary where the entire bay got red with dolphin blood, the vision will be shocking, and the audience will immediately realize that this is an immoral holocaust.
2. Immersive experience from the perception of the intellectual animal dolphin. Set up a dark room. Have the audience surrounded by sounds and smell to experience and imagine the holocaust that once happened in th Dolphin Bay.

-1. sound of waves/ dolphin’s tapping in the water/ fisherman’s sound.

-2. Smell of blood/ smell of the sea

 

4. Sketch/visualization of zine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5: Visualization of reaction video

Proposal

– a description of the topic

The topic is about domestic violence, which remains as a huge problem in many families that people don’t know how to deal with or don’t even realize they are facing domestic violence.

– your objectives – long view ideas for change

The minimize the occurrence of domestic violence.

– your goals – short term

Let more people understand what domestic violence is and encourage people who are experiencing this to seek for help and get better.

– who is the audience?

Everybody who has a family.

– ideas to achieve your goals

Posters, videos, interviews.

– at least 1 inspiration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iykl054or9Y

– description:

We are a feminist group raising awareness for equality of women in media!

– your objectives – long view ideas for change:

The objective is to create better treatment of women in media.  Women who become successful via media aren’t given the credit they deserve; they aren’t taken seriously, they are objectified or stereotyped, and they are seen as lesser than the men who made it in media.

– your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change:

Reveal what women in media are doing behind the scenes and show how hard women have had to work to make it in media.  Exposing injustices that current women in media have faced in the past is a great way to get peoples’ attention and create a short term spur.

– who is the audience:

Everyone!

– 5 ideas to achieve your goals

Posters, zines, stickers, instagram, and in the future we could go into short films, documentary style films, ETC.

– Inspo:

Barbara Kruger

 

Topic: the defunding of Planned Parenthood/opposition of the “gag rule”

Long Term Objectives: allow continuation of funding for Planned Parenthood sites, raise donation money, have people sign petitions, election of candidates that support Planned Parenthood

Short Term Goals: raise awareness to this issue, inform people that they have a right to accessible health care, encourage others to stand with Planned Parenthood

Audience: millennials, anyone that can vote, those who would benefit from Planned Parenthood’s services (most people over the age of 14)

5 Ideas: pamphlets/flyers, posters, online advertisements, t shirts, zine

Sketches:

 

Inspiration: The Guerrilla Girls- I admire their upfront/confrontational approach to educating the public about an issue they’re passionate about.

Women are exploring their body to reclaim power due to centuries of fighting stereotypes and hyper sexualization. My art piece will further explore this topic through my own personal experience of exploring what it means to reclaim my body and my sexuality. I am casting my body and essentially deconstructing the casted body  and then reconstructing it.

For this project,  I want to speak on the issue of women getting judged on their capabilities to succeed at their work from their appearance. This was especially an issue with the most recent presidential election as there was more interest by the public on Hillary Clinton’s fashion than her policies. This design is of a blazer that has become a staple in women’s fashion for women to feel empowered. However it is a deconstructed blazer as only the frame of the blazer is sewn together to show how women are essentially using the blazer to give themselves a sense of confidence.

Thesis: The existing problems in the sharing bicycle system that are being wildly discussed or ignored, and the possible solutions that the system haven’t exam yet.

During mid-Febuary of 2019, the Fashion industry was devastated by the news of Karl Lagerfeld’s passing. Social media instantly erupted with “Rip Karl Lagerfeld” instagram posts and stories that morned the loss of the great fashion icon. However, many people were also angered by how social media had disregarded all the controversial statements that Lagerfeld had made throughout his career. This began the debate of wether it was right to support someone who held on to such an old, conservative mindset. Over the past decades in the fashion industry, Karl Lagerfeld had established himself as one of the most influential fashion designers in the industry, however, his standings on certain situations has steered many people the away from supporting his talent.

People are beginning to dress more and more sensual. The contributors of “Consumer Behaviour Towards Sustainability in Fashion” discuss just how much consumers have gradually considered the number of products and quality of what they are purchasing. Who is able to understand where their items originate from is who is most likely to participate in sustainability. Dr. Philipa and his colleagues discuss how accessibility relates to consumption. By imploring better accessibility, sustainable technologies and fashion brands, consumers and designers can make sustainable fashion more available to diverse communities. 

Fast fashion companies underestimate the environmental and social impacts of production. However, scientists and engineers are constantly innovating new technology that further contributes to the negative impacts on our planet. D. Orourke discusses just how important sustainable fashion is to the environment in “The Science of Sustainable Supply Chains”. 

 

Star Trek used its platform to bring about change in the real world by tackling social and political issues through science fiction storytelling. In order to convey this, I am going to make a video. I will use clips from the show, news reels from the time, and interviews with the actors and creators of Star Trek. I will compare moments in the show to political issues of the time and artistically show the connections between the two. The interviews will give insight to the goals of the show as perceived by those involved.

For this multimedia project, I am combining both video and and an art piece. These two pieces as a whole focuses on the issue of gentrification. The video is based on the song “We The People” by A Tribe Called Quest. The songs lyrics speak on many political topics such as police brutality, racial misrepresentation in media, discrimination, and inequality of women. but mostly gentrification. The images used illustrate the meaning of the songs lyrics. The people that are removing lower income communities are focused primarily on the money they will receive and not about the people they are displacing. The physical aspect of this project is meant solidify the idea that real people are being pushed out.

Growing up in Miami, Fl, I was surrounded by a melting pot of different cultures, foods, traditions and rituals. Neighborhoods where all these important aspects are present are being replaced by glitzy luxury stores, pricey city centres and high rises. I saw this dislocation in areas that I would pass by on a daily basis, and now it is present in areas that I grew up around. I was aware of this issue before, but never realized the magnitude of it until I came to New York City. Here, I have met so many people from areas that are being currently being threatened by gentrification. These people have told me stories of how they were pressured to leave homes they have grown up in because  they simply couldn’t afford the price increase. I think this piece brings awareness to those that aren’t directly affected by gentrification, and aren’t aware of how this affects people in communities.

For my Research I was interested in looking into the Kardashian Empire. It is very interesting to me how this family obtained a large amount of money and have created many businesses from it. All of the Kardashian/ Jenner children were born into wealth yet they have built upon that and created an even greater wealth on their own. They are all phenomenal business women and I find that interesting and inspiring. Part of my research is to find out how they became such great business women. The other part of my research is to look into women in media and how the media is a huge part of success in our time.

While browsing through social media platforms for hours on end, it is often that we are unaware of the effects that they have on us. YouTube, a major streaming platform, is home to all sorts of content, whether it be music videos, food reviews, gaming screen caps, or makeup tutorials. One of the major YouTube communities that has developed over time, is the beauty blogger community. These videos tend to consist of clothing hauls, daily vlogs, makeup tutorials, or weekly outfits. Specifically targeting teenage girls, this type of content may provide helpful advice, although it can promote unhealthy buying habits. YouTubers are depicted showing bags of clothes, candles, and makeup, all while suggesting that their audience should buy it as well. What does impact does this have on their young and impressionable viewers?

In this research paper, I will highlight the underlying issues with these YouTube videos and how they promote consumerism to masses. I will discuss, interview, and survey different people within this targeted audience, to see if these videos prove to have a negative influence on viewers. This will provide me with further insight to my study, along with several reputable sources.

Environmental sustainability has become important in the fashion industry.  More and more brands are going green, and more and more customers are growing conscious of the clothes they buy.  With this, “eco-friendly” has become a selling point for clothing companies.  This is happening because brands are responding to the customers’ demands, not the earth’s.  Brands aren’t trying to take fault for the apparel industry’s damages to the earth, they are simply using the rise of environmentalism as a marketing tool.

 

Why do we wear black? For efficiency? Simplicity? Mourning? Aesthetics? Fashion? No matter what the reason, there is always a reason for wearing all black. For my research project, I plan to discover the specific and many reasonings on why people wear black through a series of interviews with accompanying photoshoots which will make the content for a magazine, along with a brief history and explanation on the rise of black in fashion.

 

For my project, I want to discuss the topic of climate change. I want my piece to look like as if it is melting off the mannequin.

1.shift in depiction: from social visage to individual personality

2.vision: after the reform and opening-up policy, the urban areas were drastically expanding, conflicting with countrysides

3.genre: no genre, no strict rules, innovations from European genres like French New Wave. Boldly trying out new shooting styles and narratives.

video: detail demonstration

Concept:

The site that I chose for observation was Union Sq 14th St Station. I watched a lot of street artists performing in cold weather for hours. They were performing for the passengers passing by, bringing people happiness but at the same time they were not, because of no matter if anyone really gets the performance, they would continue. In that regard they were really doing this for themselves. Understanding that carrying heavy devices and commute to crowded public space was nothing easy, I don’t know what was motivating them to perform regularly, but I admired that passion and determination so much. The street artists within the NY state is a community that contains very different people, binding by nothing but their radiation. They were like heat sources radiating to surroundings,  and the radiation was uneven and covering the entire space. I picked light materials that can float and support themselves in the air. The warm colors in my work represented when someone was captured by their performance, the temperature at that spot would rise.

My location for this project was The Bean, a coffee shop close to my dorm. When I was observing and writing down my field site notes, I realized how much everyone was in their own world. It was interesting to see how technology and the internet has wedged itself between any human connection deeper than ordering a cup of coffee or small pastry. I created a piece inspired by how the internet and technology divides people into their own world along with bringing everyone together at the same time.

I used the wifi signal as the foundation of my design, as each “world” is decided by the curved lines of the wifi signal. When I though about creating different worlds, I was instantly drawn to something that resembled the underworld, the earth and the sky. These worlds contrasted the most with each other, however, at the same time they are still connected together by nature. 

The base fabric was created with two pieces of muslim that I glued together on the edges wit white glue.I played with texture by using both embroidery thread along with felt. I used the embroidery thread to create detailed images of deep and dark caves in the underworld section along with the trees and leaves in the earth section. I wanted the sky portion of the project to feel light, airy and fantasy like so I used pastel pink, purple, and blue felt to create that feeling. I used buttons to add more variety to the texture. One thing that I struggled with for this project was embroidering the patterns. I didn’t realize how much time it took to embroider without an embroidery pen and many parts of the project took much longer than I expected it to take.

Concept:  My field site was a Haitian cafe in Hoboken, NJ.  I wanted to represent the cafe in an abstract way, visually representing the vibe of the place.  It was small, very friendly/full of conversation, and there also was a lack of communication due to the abundance of people working on their computers.  So, I made a tapestry to create this feel of a “barrier,” and I used vertical and organic elements to also represent this contrast.  I chose to use bright colors because I was inspiried by the bold, colorful art from Haiti on the cafe’s walls. I died my fabric with tea, coffee, and spices, and I used recycled materials since the cafe stressed their earth consious values.

 

Reflection: Throughout the process of making this piece, I found that it could be interpreted in many different ways.  Shari mentioned that you could view it on the other side, where the punch needle created a wild, organic, growth-like patterm.  A few classmates pointed out that the piece could be staged between two people for symbolic purposes, or that the piece could be a sort of flag.  With this, I found that the piece could be versatile and up for interpretation.

Through this piece, I    wanted to encapsulate the unique individuality of the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe and the people who occupy the space and spend a lot of time there. During my time there, I     overheard many interesting conversations that gave me sneak peeks into the lives of these strangers at the cafe. The piece is meant to resemble a book with pages that are given chapter titles which are snippets of conversations that I     eavesdropped on. On the pages include imagery that could represent more of what was being spoken between those who found the Bookstore Cafe to be a safe space.

As some pointed out in class, the piece is more of a personal one. Not everyone who views it can fully understand, unless they were at the Bookstore Cafe as well on those same days witnessing the same strangers and listening in on the same conversations as I    did. The piece is an overall reflection of what I     personally experienced there and if one were to visit after me, they would experience something entirely different.