Since I talked about my identity during my midterm, I wanted to address a topic that I had in common with my fellow classmates, which is the burden of a college student. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 61% of college students suffer from Stress, and 70% of Americans have student loans. Thus, it is worth noting that the USA's higher education system is quite broken and it needs to be fixed. Education, should not be so expensive or inaccessible in a country such as America. As a returning student and full time worker, I suffered from stress and insomnia because I am constantly worrying about my grades and student loans. As I keep earning academic credits, I am also taking out loans semester after semester. In short, I am always asking myself if I am really making the right decision by continuing my education. Yes, it is true that sometimes earning a degree can help you live a better life. But is it guaranteed that I will find a better job that will help me pay off my loans before I retired? Maybe, maybe not.
So, the above collage looks so simple but it is meaningful as well. First, I want to talk about the materials that I have used in order to bring this piece to life. I used ordinary objects such as coins (pennies), a sheet of paper, white stones, a canvas painting, and a graduation cap. All of them have a meaning. For example, the coins represent what I am expecting once I graduate. I am hoping that I will find a descent job but I don't know for sure if I will have that. Only time will tell. Moreover, we are chasing after coins in our day to day life in order to survive. The diploma, which I crafted with a simple piece of paper and a gold ribbon is a another important goal that I have to achieve. I used gold because it is something that I always wanted ever since I immigrated to the USA. So it is precious to me. The stones depict the daily obstacles that I endure, and that is why they are placed between my foot and the graduation cap. As you can see, the obstacles (stones) are the only things that are refraining me from getting the diploma. I also used a white crayon to draw a silhouette of my left foot and to write most of the classes that I have taken so far.
I was inspired by Basquiat when it comes to the writing.The silhouette of my foot was an Ana Mendieta's inspiration. Since she used her body to create art, I decided to use my left foot so it can contain the credits earned. Also I decided to draw my foot to really illustrate that those courses are under control, that I pretty much put my foot on them so it means that I am moving to the next phase. The eye (pupil) represents the spectacle and the gaze theory. As I am pursuing a bachelors degree, the spectacle, in other words, the whole world is watching. Friends and family, and not only they are watching but they are supporting me as well. I wanted to outline the female gaze, the oppositional gaze and the imperial gaze. I mainly wanted to represent the education of minorities in a abstract way. Therefore I used Kehinde one more time as an inspiration. I utilized a pastel abstract painting and cut it into pieces for the borders and the graduation cap. It totally made sense to me because I can't wait for graduation which is going be the most important moment of my life. Kehinde usually uses bold earth tones colors because they depict joy and pride. Lastly, I wanted to add a touch of Warhol's work. For example, the digital prints on the border are similar to silkscreening. I used a Guard ID roller and it looked just like silkscreening.
As Finkelstein puts it on page 6, "what we see is not exactly what we get".
The whole scope of this project was to invite the viewers to think about some important issues that need to be addressed such as mental health and student debt, so that we can keep the conversion going. It is obviously going to be one of the most important topics for many politicians in the upcoming presidential elections. Therefore, I hope it will impact most of my classmates or at the very least, one of them so that he or she will vote for the right candidate in 2020. Because One vote can make a difference.
References.
accessed 5/1/19 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/heres-how-much-the-average-student-loan-borrower-owes-when-they-graduate.html
accessed 5/1/19 https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/09/numbers
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