My Life

This is a remix of the add that I had from XXL magazine, which is targeted towards men. We as women speak a lot about how we are objectified by men. In this remix I wanted to illustrate how we as women of color objectify eachother.

-Mariama

Under One Sky

Under One Sky: Arab Women in North America Talk About the Hijab
The hijab, or head scarf, worn by Islamic women is the subject of this excellent documentary by Jennifer Kawaja. The film documents the prejudice Muslim women experience in North America because they choose to cover their heads according to Arabic custom. Islamic women who observe this custom have been the brunt of discrimination, especially since the Gulf War which demonized Arabic culture. Women have experienced taunts, ostracism, physical attacks and have even been officially banned from wearing the hijab in schools in some locations.

This quotation was posted from a review in CM magazine in Canada.

CM magazine is book reviews, media reviews, news, and author profiles
of interest toteachers, librarians, parents and kids.

For more info and the full text of this review go to
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol7/no7/underonesky.html

A girl Like me

I found this video on the seventeen website, then found out it is on youtube. I think that this girl did a great job technically and also expressing this sensitive issue. Please comment :)

-Mariama

The New Eve

I see Danica (the racecar driver) as the new Eve. Strong, assertive, attractive and full of SPEED. However. the original ad depicts her in a sexist manner as still the temptress, only impossible to beat or date (but you can still covet). By elevating her status as the new Eve, she has claimed her power by participating and competing in a man's sport, a man's world and she has come out on top. If you are tempted by this, you should be!!!

Get creative with art teacher barbie

As I thought about ways to remix the art teacher Barbie I began to imagine ways in which the doll could actually generate some fun or joy and I came up with the idea of a comic strip called “Get Creative with Art Teacher Barbie” or “10 ways to have fun with Art Teacher Barbie.” From there it was easy to imagine all sorts of parodies featuring art teacher Barbie being used in ways other than ridiculously teaching art - she really doesn’t look like she’d want to mess up her clothes! Here are two of the 10 ideas:



Why not actually use her as a paintbrush?













...or maybe a hood ornament?












- Carol H.

Poster for Night Visions

Nice work on the poster layout, Mariama!
Feedback anyone?
-sam smiley

the power of editing

I have always found it interesting the way women are portrayed in fashion magazines. In this particular issue of vogue, I was intrigued by the way they were portrayed in nature. They are visions of frail pixies that seem confused and helpless in their poofey dresses and high heels that would be difficult to walk in nature. The expressions displayed on their faces are blank and depressed. They are very concerned about what the viewer is observing about them. I am a lover of nature. I grew up in Maine, and have always been surrounded by it. I am an avid mountain, road cyclist as well as a commuter. In the remix of this portrayal, I wanted to show that there is more to do in nature than stand there and look pretty.

In the collage, I am racing my bike at an event in New Hampshire. I chose this image because I was smiling and had a blast that day.I didn't care what was happening around me, a feeling I get when I ride. Nothing else matters in the world. The wafer thin models appear even more lifeless to me as I zoom past their ruffles and bows.


~Suzi T

Caroline's Remix

Sorry for the confusing background on this one! I chose this advertisement from a Cosmopolitan magazine. I found it interesting because it seems to be promoting wild and bold make-up, not just because of the colors used, but the movement of the hair in combination with the tiger. The model is holding the tiger close to her, but there has been so much controversy with cosmetic companies conducting animal testing, I found it quite odd. This is what made me want to add make-up to the tiger itself in my piece. I wanted to show the gross reality of cosmetic companies and make the image more honest, in my opinion. Now, this is actually a MAC cosmetics ad, and they do NOT test on animals (but that was not my point; many other companies do).

Think different Be different

This image is a popular print advertisement by Apple Computer. The print ad depicts a black-and-white photograph of an older gentleman, resting his head on his hands, wearing a contemplative look on his face. The Apple Computer logo and slogan “Think Different” is located on the top right corner of the page. I was attracted to this ad because of its simple, yet well-structured composition and of the starkness the bright logo situated on a dark background emanates.





The image I decided to create as a re-mix to the Apple Computer print ad, depicts myself in a somewhat funky outfit, standing and looking towards the side of the page, appearing to be yelling. I find that my pose, my clothing, and the act of casual yelling are different from the norm. The photograph is also black-and-white, keeping with the same style as the Apple Computer image. Similar to the Apple Computer print ad layout, I placed a logo on the top right corner of the page, with the slogan “Be Different”. This slogan represents the physicality of being rather than the mentality of thinking. The logo is of a fruit basket consisting of pineapples, bananas, pears, and apples. Although the logo contains apples, it still contrasts the Apple Computer’s stylized apple icon.

- Susan L.

Filiz's remixed images

Here are my original images, both ads found for luxury products targeting women in different fashion magazines. I chose them because of their dramatical tone but also because of a disturbing element in each. I felt that both ads misrepresented me as a woman but I also thought of how common this type of imagery is and how immune we become to it.

The black and white image is for Yves Saint Laurent, a high end fashion brand. The woman looks desperate and obsessed with the product, a purse. She also looks weak, powerless, vulnerable and unhealthy and pale.

The second image was one of a series of imagery in a print ad for Rolex. I thought this was extremely disturbing. The female is beautiful and looks young. However, she too looks not only vulnerable and weak, but dead. The scene resembles an eerie crime scene under water. I could imagine the tragic story...clearly not an emotion that Rolex intends to elicit from a viewer.

I remixed the ads to play on their weaknesses and disturbing elements. I tried to tell the stories that were really being told in each ad. One of a woman obsessed with her weight to achieve the unrealistic waif-like shape which models portray. The other, how women are portrayed as weak and vulnerable (because apparently it is supposedly sexy to the opposite sex?) and how this unhealthy image of the body and self are dangerous and detrimental to women.

Filiz

Creative Commons Video

http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/getcreative/

-sam smiley

Shannon McKay's remixed images

Comments: (BEFORE) I was drawn to this image by the rich colors and skin textures. The colors go well with the visual and concept of relaxing, letting yourself go, enjoying a foot massage, and motivating viewers to have a similar experience. This is a positive, relaxing image that makes me want to go to a spa - which I've never done before.




Comments: (AFTER)I took the previous, original, positive image and turned it into an eerie, sad, and depressing image. The woman and foot she is massaging from the original image are relocated in a morgue. The body with the foot is extended by adding the second foot, which is lying on a white sheet, and there is a tag on his foot with the text blurred out (autopsy/identy tag; no text!). I have added a wedding ring to the woman's hand (3-d with glitter and it's hard to see in this image), suggesting that the foot belongs to her husband. The original image is transformed from a peaceful, soothing image to a depressing image implying the death of a loved one

Night Visions logos

For Lesley's Night Visions, a media festival at Lesley May 2-5, 2007, Filiz Soyak made a few logos. Here are the examples. The Night Visions Festival is at http://www.lumeneclipse.com/nightvisions/

-sam smiley

More teacher suspensions in US

hi..some of my off-campus students had pointed me to these stories.
-sam smiley

Teacher gets suspended for taking her students to the Dallas Art Museum
http://www.miserywatch.com/2006/09/why_this_countr.html
here's the NY times version
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-78777.html

and a teacher's art gets him suspended when he posts it on YouTube. (flowers painted with butt cheeks)

http://coxsoft.blogspot.com/2007/03/us-teachers-bum-art.html

Hey Monie! this thursday 4/12/07

CHICKS MAKE FLICKS presents
Featuring Dorothea Gillim and her animated comedy series, Hey Monie
7:00 pm
M.I.T. Campus, 77 Mass Ave, Room 6-120, Cambridge

Women in Film & Video/New England (WIFV/NE) presents the fourth evening of this season's Chicks Make Flicks, the monthly screening and discussion series presenting work directed by local women filmmakers. Dorothea Gillim, producer at Watertown-based Soup2Nuts, will share her favorite episodes of Hey Monie, an animated comedy series about a single, professional black woman and her exploits in big-city America. Dorothea created this series for the Oxygen Network in 1999 and it went on to be the first animated series on BET.

Gillim will be present at the screening to introduce her work, and will stay for a post-screening discussion.

For more information, including film stills and interview opportunities, please contact the WIFV/NE office at info@womeninfilmvideo.org, or 781.788.6607
You can read an interview with Dorothea Gillim here in this Boston Phoenix article.


-sam smiley

Last class I mentioned the newspaper article about the geography teacher suspended for refusing to remove flags from his classroom. Here is a link.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9731862/detail.html