My Gorilla

For those of you who have been following my blog, I illustrated a very realistic Gorilla 3 years back. It just sold! I am very excited to know that someone else is enjoying my Art on their walls!



Price: 100.00
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The visitation of Confinement - More intent

Introduction

Living in a judgmental world is hard for most everyone. There are times in our lives when we want to hide the way we are or the way we dress. Most of this occurs because of the judgments placed on us by other people. Human nature is to break a person down if they do not fit into the normal world or perceived culture that society has set forth. So, why would it be any more harsh to break someone who is homosexual?

       After extensive research and interviews, There's the question of whether or not society plays a large role in homosexuals hiding their sexuality.

       Homosexual people hide from the truth about themselves. They are not only afraid of what will happen externally, but what will happen internally. They fear that because society looks down upon them, that they too should look down upon themselves as being an outcast. It is not just society lashing out at them, it is also they, themselves trying to come to terms with their sexuality and its perceived abnormalities.

       By living in a world where you are always being judged, you can no longer hide from society. They know or will know everything, especially in our ever changing, fast paced world. So why hide being Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, or bisexual? 

       Let's pose this question: If you had this life changing secret that would possibly destroy your happiness, would you come out with it, or would you hide it, and you yourself try to hide from it? Most of the people interviewed have all replied with hiding their sexuality because of the unreadiness to accept whether or not they will be truly happy or horribly miserable for the rest of their lives.

Project

This project was started because most everyone, like me, believes or did believe, that society is the culprit for pushing homosexuals into their “closets”. There is concern with the morality of the human and why they do not support homosexuals and or homosexual tendencies. It is looked down upon mainly because of the religious views of most everyone in the world. For many centuries, many people have believed it to be a sin to copulate with the opposite sex. There are also many people in society that have done hate crimes against homosexuals. But, now that the technology generation is growing up, it is not so immoral to be homosexual. In fact, a lot of the generation these days, even if they do not believe in it, they still are not quick to break the homosexuals down for being the way they are.

The project is aimed toward society. The project is going to be an installation piece that focuses on what being in the “closet” feels like. Most everyone in their life has something that they hide from themselves and the rest of the world. They are hiding it mostly from themselves, but feel better about it because they have the mindset that its being hidden from society. This installation will provide an environment to the viewer so they too, remember what it feels like to be trapped and or confined to their hidden secrets. Like homosexuals, the viewer will feel the pain and triumph in hiding the secret, and then recognizing that they do not need to hide it. Their happiness is more important that the pain.

Project Statement

This project will consist of delving into a subject matter that people do not feel comfortable talking about. Homosexuality and the concerns behind it are coming to the forefront, coming out of the closet. I will try to recreate the feeling that a homosexual person may have by being trapped “in the closet”. I will design and begin construction on an installation piece that will be a confining realm.

Research:

During research, like stated above, I found that most homosexuals do not feel trapped by society, but by their own want for happiness. I feel that by knowing this and figuring this out, I will be able to make this installation even more powerful. Not many people know or understand the cruelty passed on to homosexual people, and they will never know all of the details, but by bringing them to a place where they have already been and titling it about homosexuals, I feel that having that mind set before entering will make the viewer more aware of the kinds of angst homosexuals put themselves through.

I researched implementing symbols for society, the self-esteem deprivation, and many other things that would relate to this piece's message. I found that society can be symbolized by noises under the door, like every other closet. I decided this because I do not want the viewer to be able to see complete shapes of the outside world, I felt like that would be too intriguing and then the viewer wouldn't pay attention to the effects of the noises around them. People tune in more to just sounds and voices, especially if they think the people they hear are talking about them.

Interrogation was another aspect of this piece because in society, when you are judged, you are being interrogated with multiple questions as to why. Many people feel small when this happens because their life is now in the spot light. There will be three lights in the installation, one at the top middle of the space and two at the bottom on each side of door. The light at the top will be the interrogation light, and the two at the bottom will be the spot light. The lights at the bottom are to light up the viewer so they feel like they are in the spot light and they feel like their entire lives are on display. Which brings me to the next element, a mirror.

Mirrors will be placed, one on each side of the wall. This will make the viewer curious and they will look to see what it is and they will find themselves, just as they are. I am hoping that like most everyone else I know, they will be fascinated with their reflections and they will peer into the mirrors many times before they leave the installation. They will still be able to hear the voices around the enclosed space, and the two lights at the bottom will still be on. The light at the top, shuts off shortly upon entering and the two lights at the bottom then turn on. 

 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melannie35/the-visitation-of-confinement-installation