Ephemera
FREE THIS MEAT
Mixed Media
61cm x 91cm
November 2016
Mixed Media
61cm x 91cm
November 2016
Exhibition Text
“FREE THIS MEAT” is a digital photography series that connects the feeling of gender dysphoria eating you from the inside to the literal act of eating. It was inspired by famous LGBT+ artists and gay iconography such as the pink triangle, a reclaimed symbol of oppression from the Holocaust. Thank you to Cecilia Cabrera for her help with the photo shoot.
“FREE THIS MEAT” is a digital photography series that connects the feeling of gender dysphoria eating you from the inside to the literal act of eating. It was inspired by famous LGBT+ artists and gay iconography such as the pink triangle, a reclaimed symbol of oppression from the Holocaust. Thank you to Cecilia Cabrera for her help with the photo shoot.
Planning
Planning Sketches
- The first few sketches I had for my ephemera piece as a whole varied greatly in theme and medium. For example, the second sketch was for a painting I would’ve done and subsequently left outside to weather the elements; however, the limited time frame for this project wouldn’t have been enough to get the raw elemental damage I wanted. The painting was going to be a religious renaissance style painting inspired by the large stained glass windows often found in churches, a safe place, whereas the outside world is unpredictable and would've made the painting more vulnerable.
- This sketch was inspired by Longo's work with silhouettes jerked back in motion and would've featured candid photographs of people I knew in rare moments of natural humanity. The silhouettes would've been overlaid on the photos as they changed like a video collage, but I decided to go with something I could be more active in making.
- The final idea was the cake, as I’d had the “Rude Cakes” series saved on my computer in case I had need for inspiration and eating something is ultimately making it go away. The party setting was meant to express the pressure that comes with cisnormative gender roles. Birthdays are meant to be fun and exciting, whereas gender roles in heteronormative-cisnormative society tell people to conform to their roles and be happy about it. The phrase "FREE THIS MEAT" came from my own brainstorm session where I tried to come up with simple slogans such as the popular and powerful SILENCE = DEATH slogan in regards to the AIDS epidemic. The original phrase was "FREE THIS MEATSUIT" as meatsuit is a term that feels like it disconnects someone from their body, like their body isn't them it's just something they wear, and was shortened to create symmetrical balance on the cake as well as to make it rhyme.
Process
Experimentation
Beyond my planning sketches, experimentation consisted of starting my other ideas and asking for different angles and composition during the photoshoot. I almost went through with the painting idea and even found an old canvas someone hadn't painted on that I could use, shown here. I didn't finish painting it, however, as I fell in love with the FREE THIS MEAT idea instead. |
Process
- Most of the materials were bought from local grocery stores and included rainbow napkins, red plastic plates, party hats, a bag of Starburst candies, a bag of Swedish Fish, lots of candles, lots of frosting, various party favors, a shiny "Happy Birthday" banner, red and yellow candy letters, and, of course, the cake.
- Before we could begin the cake had to thaw enough for me to scrap the orange icing flower that came already on the cake off, as I wanted a white layer of frosting to be the layer I would draw on.
- After the flower was scraped off, I smoothed a thick layer of white icing over the top and cleaned the edges that had gotten onto the pink border with another pink border mimicing the style of the first one on top.
- The white layer was then decorated using blue and pink frosting with some sparkly blue and green gel to fill in the figure. At first I tried using green to fill in the figure, but redid it in blue to keep with the blue, pink, and yellow color scheme. The candy letters were also placed on the outside of the cake to spell FREE THIS MEAT.
- Afterwards all we had to do was set up the fake birthday party by strewing candies and napkins all over the table and stringing the "Happy Birthday!" banner in the background. Then Cecilia photographed me as I cut and ate a slice of cake. It was weird! I only had to do minimal editing in Adobe Photoshop to resize the images and make sure everything was clear, otherwise the photos are unchanged.
Reflection
I am personally very proud of myself for the work I’ve put forth because it’s something I can personally connect to and was fun to create and write about. I feel like I created something unique to express something that hopefully other people can connect to and can feel solidarity in knowing that other people feel the same way.
This cake featured in this series has symmetrical balance both on top and on the sides with the yellow and red candy letters. In fact, dark red dominates each photo with yellow accents and the lettering was a perfect fit for that. Lighting was very important to this piece, as I wanted it to have the surreal washed-out yet contrasted vibe that strange old photographs (usually with timestamps) give off. The small lines around the figure were meant to mimic the lines in Keith Haring’s work that give those little cartoons their vibrant movement. The thick smooth lines are also reminiscent of Haring’s work, as the figure was directly inspired by “Pop Shop Quad I”. The space around the figure was just as important because not only did I not want to make the top feel so crowded that it lost its simplicity, candles also needed to go on top!
If I had to redo this, I would try to make the frosting as smooth as possible, as the strangely smooth texture of cake icing not only makes it look cleaner but helps bring out the simplicity of what's drawn on top. I would also try to set up some more professional lighting because while I do love the reds and yellows, I would love to experiment more with a dark background and high contrast lighting.
This cake featured in this series has symmetrical balance both on top and on the sides with the yellow and red candy letters. In fact, dark red dominates each photo with yellow accents and the lettering was a perfect fit for that. Lighting was very important to this piece, as I wanted it to have the surreal washed-out yet contrasted vibe that strange old photographs (usually with timestamps) give off. The small lines around the figure were meant to mimic the lines in Keith Haring’s work that give those little cartoons their vibrant movement. The thick smooth lines are also reminiscent of Haring’s work, as the figure was directly inspired by “Pop Shop Quad I”. The space around the figure was just as important because not only did I not want to make the top feel so crowded that it lost its simplicity, candles also needed to go on top!
If I had to redo this, I would try to make the frosting as smooth as possible, as the strangely smooth texture of cake icing not only makes it look cleaner but helps bring out the simplicity of what's drawn on top. I would also try to set up some more professional lighting because while I do love the reds and yellows, I would love to experiment more with a dark background and high contrast lighting.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The cake concept was inspired by Tara Welch and the figure drawn on the cake was inspired by the figure in the top left corner of Keith Haring's "Pop Shop Quad I".
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
For Keith Haring’s biography the author was simply restating his life story while the LGBT+ art history page was laced with hints of pride, as the organization that posted the article is an LGBT activist organization meant to spread the love.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
For my research into LGBT+ artists in art history I’ve learned how important art is as a form of activism as it helped spread awareness throughout communities suffering from the AIDS epidemic, because while it did hit the gay community the hardest it was not exclusive to the gay community.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central theme was LGBT+ struggles with gender dysphoria and the feelings associated with it. Dysphoria can feel like being disconnected from yourself or it can eat away at you from the inside and I wanted to express that in a more literal way.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I was able to infer that Keith Haring’s work and the work of other LGBT+ groups at the time helped not only raise awareness but helped spread acceptance and pride as they reclaimed old symbols of oppression and transformed them into symbols of dignity.
The cake concept was inspired by Tara Welch and the figure drawn on the cake was inspired by the figure in the top left corner of Keith Haring's "Pop Shop Quad I".
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
For Keith Haring’s biography the author was simply restating his life story while the LGBT+ art history page was laced with hints of pride, as the organization that posted the article is an LGBT activist organization meant to spread the love.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
For my research into LGBT+ artists in art history I’ve learned how important art is as a form of activism as it helped spread awareness throughout communities suffering from the AIDS epidemic, because while it did hit the gay community the hardest it was not exclusive to the gay community.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central theme was LGBT+ struggles with gender dysphoria and the feelings associated with it. Dysphoria can feel like being disconnected from yourself or it can eat away at you from the inside and I wanted to express that in a more literal way.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I was able to infer that Keith Haring’s work and the work of other LGBT+ groups at the time helped not only raise awareness but helped spread acceptance and pride as they reclaimed old symbols of oppression and transformed them into symbols of dignity.
Bibliography
Biography.com Editors. "Keith Haring." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014.
Web. 30 Oct. 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/keith-haring-246006#related-video-gallery
"LGBT Art History." Revel Riot. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
http://www.revelandriot.com/resources/lgbt-art-history/
"Tara Welch." Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/by_year/2006/tara_welch.html
Biography.com Editors. "Keith Haring." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014.
Web. 30 Oct. 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/keith-haring-246006#related-video-gallery
"LGBT Art History." Revel Riot. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
http://www.revelandriot.com/resources/lgbt-art-history/
"Tara Welch." Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/by_year/2006/tara_welch.html