Audience:
My target audience for this piece would definitely be anyone who has been subject to any sort of racial prejudice, no matter how small or large. I think it is a relevant issue and although racist thought isn’t perpetrated in the same way as it used to be in the past it has become something more integrated into our culture that creates privilege for some and oppression for others. I think anyone who has been subject to racial ostracization could easily relate to this kind of image. The feelings associated with not being able to define your own identity but instead being prescribed one by the people who surround you, are the types of feelings I imagine would resonate well. Even people who may not have been subject to this type of prejudice can get a clear image as to why this would be stressful and while not “scaring” at least harmful to someone’s psyche at an impressionable age.
Goals:
The few goals I set for this assignment were slightly opposite of the ones that I had set for myself in my previous assignment. In the “Worst Job Ever” assignment I relied heavily on my cartoony aesthetic to communicate my thoughts and feelings and a limited use of text. With this image I wanted to integrate multiple mediums: photography, modified imagery and a limited use of my own artistic style. I also wanted to introduce the use of more text to communicate my feelings as apposed to letting the image do all of the work.
Process:
I started off by following the steps that were described in the syllabus. Listing my family lineage as far as I could trace it. Describing what type of people I grew up around. What type of people my immediate and extended family grew up around. The types of prejudice they were or were not subject to. All of this left me very confused about what I wanted to make this image about. It was an effective reminder that my own ethnic, cultural and racial identity was something that I had not fully established in relation to my own siblings and distant relatives. I found this to be disconcerting and looked to a place where my identity was most volatile or at least not in control by my own actions. I didn’t have to look far because growing up my neighbors (who weren’t necessarily bad people) teased me quite a bit for being black but not adhering to generic black stereotypes. With this distress in mind I did my best to emulate what it felt like growing up around those types of people and how it still affects me today.
Intent:
The primary intent of this image was to communicate discontent with a type of social branding that I was subject to as a child without being overdramatic. Looking back on my experiences with my neighbors. I don’t think they were heavily detrimental to my development as a child (although they weren’t particularly helpful) but their ignorant tendencies were definitely something that further shaped who I’ve become as a person. I think this idea that we don’t only make ourselves but the people we surround ourselves with (or our forced to be surrounded by) shape us just as much, for better or for worse, is one a lot of people can relate to or latch on to.
Format:
For this image I didn’t want to deviate to far from the requirements and the idea of integrating several smaller pieces into one larger piece seemed like an interesting challenge. I recognize I haven’t necessarily broken down the final product into these smaller images but I fully believe this could be cut apart along a grid and separated out without losing the meaning. I was pretty certain I wanted to approach this image from an integrative design style because I think the idea of conveying a narrative with images is very interesting. However I think my image is much more geometric than it is integrative.
There is no literal repetition of form, which is essential to the integrative design, however there is a repetition of the “puzzle piece.” There are two sets of pieces. One set of pieces is black and represents stereotypes that I don’t adhere to. The second set (this is where the repetition lies) is white and although a different shape serves a similar function. These are not “white stereotypes” these are the actual categories that make up my identity but because they are not generically perceived as black they have been warped into a white mask instead of an integral part of my character. The form I am repeating is the idea of a puzzle piece instead of the actual shape itself. Although somewhat of a stretch, I think it adds a nice dimension to my simpler geometric layout.
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