This month I’ve made four new collages so far, making up a bit for not really getting in the mood to create anything in October. Full disclosure, I’m applying to grad programs right now, so all of my non-work energy has been poured into that. However, as I was a bit unproductive on my applications last weekend, I was able to complete some chores, run some errands, and make new collages instead.
This collage uses pieces from a “CARtoons” magazine I found in a vintage shop, a photo of a Greek sculpture from a renaissance art book I found at a used bookstore, as well as a photo from a fashion magazine I had lying around the house. I love the fun, retro, 90s-style illustrations against the photo of the marble statue. The collage just reminds me of how people can sometimes act when they get really worked up about their hobbies, especially if the person who they are talking with isn’t that interested.
The collage above is made from a few different ads found in a fashion magazine as well as a cool super hero graphic I found in an art magazine, I believe, done by an artist from Iceland. The model whose face is featured in the center of the collage is Adut Akech of South Sudan, one of my current favorite models. When I saw her cool, glittery makeup in one of the ads, I had to use her photo. I got the idea to use this look with the comic graphic from seeing the model Anok Yai’s halloween costume as the X-Men character Storm at Heidi Klum’s halloween party this year. Anok looked so killer, and while I will always love Ororo, Anissa Pierce, and Monica Rambeau, we can always use more Black heroines!
The collage above was basically a product of my desire to use this really awesome full page photo of a bunch of walruses lying together on a rocky beach that I saw in a nature photography book. Then, I saw this great pose from a nike ad in a fashion magazine and decided to pair the two images together.
This collage also does convey some of my deep, dark feelings about exercise and body image as well. Sometimes I feel like there is a constant battle within me, between being comfortable at any weight and needing to be “fit” in order to be happy. I want to be fit, as in strong and healthy, but I also feel great pressure from all of the images around me (especially the curated images of Instagram), to be fit in a societally acceptable way. I should’t get mad at myself for gaining a few pounds, but I also shouldn’t be apathetic and let myself go either. Being a young person, being a woman, being a person of color, all of these things make me feel that I have to try even harder, especially when it comes to my appearance. Not to waste my youth, feminine beauty, or add any additional stresses to my already marginalized identity. But, learning to love (and actually loving and taking care of) yourself is a never ending journey, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers.
Nothing too clever or philosophical about this collage. Just really liked this broken face from a statue I saw in an art book from the used bookstore. The faces that I used here a mixture of models from ads in fashion magazines and faces from other art pieces in the book. I also wanted to play around a bit more with keeping some of the white space from the paper I used for the collage underneath the images. I also played around with geometric shapes, triangles and rectangles in solid colors. Can you spot Alicia Keys?
KDTfunctional 