Gender and the American Dream Remixed by: Rachel St.Pierre

      I decided to buy a Vogue magazine for the remix project, because I knew I would find plenty of images pertaining to gender, particularly femininity, which is what I wanted to focus on.  This untouched image of a black, chubby-cheeked little girl with braids and a smile as bright as the sun was the only one of its kind in this magazine.  Out of 646 pages in the March 2014 issue of Vogue, this simple black and white image stopped me dead in my tracks. It was the most relaxed and natural photo in the entire magazine.  The photo left me feeling joyful and warm inside.  

For the remix portion, I thought of Kohl’s article, and decided that I was literally going to deface this gorgeous portrait.  I began cutting out pictures of eyes, lips and noses from various makeup ads.  I replaced her natural braids with silky smooth untraditional African American hair fastened back by white roses.  I also played around with the idea of giving her an African-inspired necklace with an oversized diamond pendant domineering the lower half of the composition.  I wanted to play around with the irony of America supporting femininity as long as it was on America’s terms.  It is funny that in a magazine like Vogue, which gets lots of their fashion inspiration (bright colors and bold prints) from Africa expects their models of that heritage to suppress their own ethic attributes of that culture.  The irony of this is sad but evident.  

Photo Credit

Vogue March 2014 Issue #08449

Balloons transcend borders

Source of photo: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/we-hacked-north-korea-with-balloons-and-usb-drives/283106/

I came across this image while trying to track down a separate image of balloons in North Korea and decided that this was powerful enough to share as well. Please read the article if you're interested, as it is a fascinating piece.

Viewing this photo without the background story:

Although at first glance I do not understand the context, I can tell through the body language of the people on the ground that what is happening is important. Arms are upraised in a celebratory fashion, and it looks to be an event that is bringing this group of people together. It's also powerful in it's own right because I've never seen balloons that look that way, and there is obviously a message written on them. The photograph is composed very effectively because the action is gathered in the center with the exposure set for the sky and balloons. The figures are thus darkened, which plays into the reality of the situation. Lastly, the small amount of sunshine is used here as a hopeful/triumphant device of sorts.

Circus Acceptance

WATCH CIRCUS ACCEPTANCE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJH6fYf90mM&feature=youtube_gdata_player&noredirect=1

Circus Acceptance illuminates a dream world of animals who live in joy and harmony, while a human is isolated from their community, lonely, alienated, and sadly cast off in shadow. He witnesses their atmosphere of loving celebration and longingly wishes to be included. In a gesture of kindness, one bear offers his scarf as a sign of friendship to the human figure. He accepts this symbolic act, and is welcomed into their community celebration. He finds home, comfort, and peace amidst the animals. 

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A Heartbreak Deferred

Marathon Sports on April 25, 2013, 671 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON

Photo Credit: Catherine Howard 

During the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded at 2:49 pm EDT, killing 3 people and injuring an estimated 264 others.

"You can't go to Costa Rica alone, it's too dangerous." My mother had warned me that traveling to a Central American country as a young female all by myself could be dangerous, but I took that plane ride despite warnings. It turned out that traveling far away that day in April was a blessing in disguise...as the real danger, violence, and tragedy exploded much closer to home, in my own backyard of Boston, Massachusetts. My friend ran over the finish line in celebration just minutes before chaos ensued, which means, had I not been out of the country, I would have been right there at the scene to cheer his victory. I was not there. I didn't cry out in the crowds, see the swat-teams, feel the heat of lockdown, hear the chase on the news, or even understand fully the mourning of a city I call home. I returned to Boston opening up again and getting back on its feet. I didn't have a story about where I was that day along the race route when the bombs went off. I merely witnessed Bolyston buildings in band-aids and Marathon Sports flocked with those paying respects with old running sneakers, signs, prayers, and curiosity. That silent, awestruck curiosity that tends to bubble up at places where great evil leaves broken windows and hearts boarded up till next year. I witnessed healing for a heartbreak I didn't live, or really know anything about, until it had already ravaged my community. 

These are my sons. The one on the bottom is K and he was 4 and his brother T, sitting on top was 14 months. The love they had for each other was my greatest joy. K took his responsibility of older brother very seriously.  K followed T around and always made sure he was safe. T looked up to K and mimicked everything K did. T died of a rare brain cancer in 2005 at 2 years, 3 months, 21 days. For me this photograph is a reminder of the love we had and lost and that is powerful.

American Fate Story

This is our short film. It's centered around the idea that Americans can no longer accept fate as a plausible cause for happenings. The two characters are brought together by fate and torn apart by their inability to believe in it.

Created by:
Rachel Bailey
Jim Martin
Stephanie Rosario

Pledge of Allegiance By: Bling Nation

Bling Nation
Jessica Axelrad
Yael Ginossar
Blake Moskowitz
Rachel St.Pierre

Our movie is comprised of 8 shots which take place in different materialistic settings.  Each shot has a singular line from the Pledge of Allegiance.  Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner plays in the background.  We wanted to keep our shots tight so the audience couldn't connect a face to the character but rather just see their hands.  We played around with lighting techniques using flashlights (paparazzi shot in elevator)  and handheld colored filters (poker chip shot with green lighting).   Overall we had a fun time and worked really well as a collaborative group.

Banksy, west bank

Artist: Banksy. December 2007, Bethlehem, Israel. 

The photograph of the mural was retrieved from: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7125611.stm

The image depicts a role reversal that redefines the hierarchy of power between IDF soldiers and Palestinians. In reality IDF soldiers are the dominant and powerful agent in the occupied territories and the Palestinians are the oppressed group. Part of the daily practices of IDF solders is to conduct search on suspected Palestinians. IDF justify these kind of practices by claiming they are necessary for the security of Israel. This image challenges this perspective by depicting an absurd situation of a girl conducting a search on a solder. This situation obviously challenges the typical hierarchy. The girl symbolizes naivety and innocent represents Palestinians. The unexpected reversal role is amusing at first, but quickly becomes disturbing. This is a powerful allegory about the reality of the two nations. The medium of graffiti strengthen the message of the image. Graffiti is created in the public sphere and is an unauthorized act. Stencil graffiti, that was used in this case, implies of recurring pattern of IDF solders acts. 

Who do you see?

Jimmy Armstrong the dwarf, Clyde Beatty Circus, New Jersey, 1958. Photograph by Bruce Davidson.

I saw this image while I was reading Lapham’s Quarterly, Comedy. Comedy, for me, should be something makes you happy and laugh. And clowns are the ones to bring happiness to everybody. I was astounded when I saw this picture, because instead of happiness, all I can see is sorrow and loneliness. This image makes me think about what the meaning of happiness is, and how we can easily define someone is happy or not. Just like this clown, even though he showed his happiness and brought joy to the audience, how many people ever care about his true life behind the stage? How many people care about his probably tragedy story?

This picture was taken by Bruce Davidson, an American photographer. He described that when he took this picture, his camera shutter did not seem to disturb the clown. “He seemed to know that it was the inner moment I was drawn to and not his clown face or physical appearance.” Yes, it is the inner moment of the clown that makes this image so powerful.


http://www.dandy-club.com/2011/05/bruce-davidson-circus.html

I tried very hard to think of a meaningful image from our incredibly media rich world. My favorite image from memory is a personal one and I hope that is acceptable because it has always held great meaning for me while growing up.

As a child I looked forward to turning the page and seeing this particular photograph in my family album. This is a photograph taken by my Aunt Peggy well over 35 years ago. It was ten years before I was born and ten years before I was even manifested by my parents. It was the evening my parents decided to get married.

Paint by Touch

In 2001, John Bramblitt became completely blind. It was then that he decided to start painting. Unlike most seeing painters, Bramblitt’s process is done by touch. First, he lays down the outline with fabric paint. This creates a raised line that he can use later to guide him in applying the color. Second, he applies the paint through a tactile approach based on the texture of the paint. Titanium White, for example has a toothpaste-like texture, where as the Black is more watery. 

Shown above, Street Cello by John Bramblitt, displays an excellent aesthetic quality in color and design. The painting resonates with me in two primary ways. One, it shows brilliant use of color and design to illustrate a sense of movement. It is easy to get swept away in the imaginary song that the cellist is playing.  Two, the painting demonstrates the arts as true form of expression for everyone, including the physically disabled. The artist’s plight and perseverance to overcome his physical limitations are as inspirational to me, both as an artist and a person. 

Bramblitt, J., “About”, Aug. 2009. http://bramblitt.net/?page_id=1315 Accessed Jan. 5 2009.

Bramblitt, J., “Street Cello”, Jun. 2013. http://bramblitt.net/?page_id=1315 Accessed Jan. 5 2009.

Balance

http://www.flickr.com/photos/froggerjaunt/5354946007/
The photo I chose speaks to me in many different ways.  It was taken in San Juan Puerto Rico at the once famous Swimming Natatorium. I was hoping to capture some amusement in the eyes of the 4 student-athletes in the shot, who were nearing the end of 10, long, intensive training days.  Instead, I think I managed to capture the innocence of 4 student-athletes who are mesmerized by the opportunities student-athlete life has awarded them in the years since they'd become Wheaton College Lyons.


photo by: James Martin
Jan 13, 2011