Self Portrait Collage Project

Frida Kahlo – Roots, 1943, oil on metal,

Wangechi Mutu Le Noble Savage,2006 

Kleine Sonne (Little Sun), 1969.

"Maiden Howl"

Quotes: 

“This cut-and-paste aesthetic was wholly embraced by Berlin Dada as a form of political and social critique.”

 

"We [the Dadaists] regarded ourselves as engineers, we maintained that we were building things, we said we put our works together like fitters.”[1] 

“This presentation is a rare opportunity to see how she built her identity” 

For my collage, I used construction paper, a toy tree, a toy rock, and cotton balls. To start off I drew a wolf to represent the animal that I am using howling, second, I drew a moon and clouds, also clouds with snowflakes, and the sign of the Virgo. I used the cotton balls to make snow-like creation at the end of my paper with the wolf standing on top of it. The tree is in the middle of the snow. The rock was put on the side of the wolf to represent him standing on a hill. This wolf is supposed to be an arctic wolf. Although a wolf is not identical to me in my physical appearance. It is part of my identity because it represents my birthday’s zodiac sign, which is my identity. My project answers the theme we have been addressing because my collage is an understanding of surrealists and dada because it is made with ready-made objects. In Hannah Hoch's article, it was said “We [the Dadaists] regarded ourselves as engineers, we maintained that we were building things, we said we put our works together like fitters.” [1] you're building something out of nothing you're creating an identity piece with just what you have in front of you, I was creating something to represent me with anything I find that made sense to my work.  

The idea behind it was made through a creature that we see in the wild and weather that we experience in some parts of the world. I picked to represent a wolf because I have read some articles about my zodiac sign which is Virgo. In my readings, it was said that wolf is fiercely loyal and always looking out for their pack, they possess a deep connection to Mother Earth and its elements. When Virgos connect with the wolf spirit, they can tap into enormous amounts of strength and determination. Wolves are known for their hunting skills and keen sense of smell, both of which can be seen as metaphors for Virgo’s ability to see through the deception in their life. I feel it connects to me as a person because I always try to look out for the people I care about. I always try to protect them even if it's just their feelings. The wolf connects with nature, I like going on nature hikes and seeing different views and different wildlife.  Contemporary media plays a role in identity, cultural and societal norms because it provides information in a way that the media plays role in educating people and making them familiar with some cultures and different understandings of different knowledge. Society and media change people's perspectives on how people live their lives and who they are because of the judgment it comes with from others giving their opinion. Hannah Hoch explains “This cut-and-paste aesthetic was wholly embraced by Berlin Dada as a form of political and social critique.” The form of being able to grab different items and put them on paper or making a collage of some sort is in a sense you grab stuff from all around you which makes up part of you and society in one area The artists that inspired my work was  Frida Kahlo, Wangechi Mutu, and Hannah Hoch because in all three of their work they all had the ability to include nature in their work and tied their way of incorporating it in. Working with a collage to try to explain your identity is very unique and different because it takes a lot to understand how to use everyday objects to make them into something that represents me. Frida Kahlo also uses objects around her to explain her life “This presentation is a rare opportunity to see how she built her identity” Drawing a wolf and using objects I have around my house to explain a little part of me was very interesting to create because it made me view things differently. The wolf is a representation of a sense of an animal always traveling which is something I would like to always do and incorporate into my life. In Frida Kahlo's portait she was wrapped in roots which to me represents my tie with nature as a wolf is my spirit animal like she was connecting with her roots and nature.