Where I Come From and Who I Am - Self Portrait Final

 

    I decided for my project to look back into the past and reminisce on all the lessons I have learned about Cuba and my family. I did this by doing a mini series of my looking at artifacts and giving a cheer per say in honor of the things I have that relate to me and to my family's past. I was inspired by the stories that were recently being told about my late grandfather and my mom and dad’s past. I also took inspiration through Carrie Mae Weems and her dinner table series. Carrie Mae Weems series really bolstered my inspiration as I also am at my dinner table and looking back on the past and seeing what's to come as well. “Everyone can relate to this work,” Everyone can relate the table being a place of peace and calmness or the complete opposite. I wanted to show what was going on in my head while I was hearing these stories. All the artifacts hold a special meaning to me as they all tell a story. The subject of my series is the stories and lessons that artifacts can tell and how those stories are important in history and how you leave a mark on the world. I chose to do a mini series because I felt that was the best way I could give my thoughts to you. I wanted to show you what I was thinking about in my head when my parents were telling me stories about their past and how I was relating to them. 

    Just to go through some of the artifacts I chose, I went with some old Cuban tequila and ron, which Cuba is historically known for. I chose artifacts like a dolphin to represent the Cuban Marina which is a tourist attraction in a Boat trip way. I also chose various framed photos of important people such as my grandma and my mom which are very important to me. An artist that also inspired me a lot this semester was Ana Mendieta. She was Cuban and came to the United States as an immigrant through a program that gave Cuban children a start in the US for better opportunities. That is what my parent’s did by immigrating to the US and giving me a better life and more opportunity to succeed.“My art is grounded in the belief of one universal energy which runs through everything: from insect to man, from man to specter, from specter to plant, from plant to galaxy. My works are the irrigation veins of this universal fluid. Through them ascend the ancestral sap, the original beliefs, the primordial accumulations, the unconscious thoughts that animate the world” This quote stuck out to me because her art has her parent’s signature all over it and that is what I wanted to do with my mini series self portraits. The mini series helps the audience understand that there is a story behind everything in art. That is also something that I have learned recently, there are many meanings to different things in art and we need to have an open mind and be free to understand them.     

    The difference behind my mini series and the portraits is that I am including artifacts that have real life meaning and being from a place such as Cuba only brings more light onto these artfacts. I would say I did push myself because I am not a photo genetic person and decided this was a great time to show another side of me. Our perceptions of ourselves and others are altered by the media information we are exposed to. The beliefs that the media espouses have a significant impact on young people. In practice, there are many different interpretations of what is lovely, seductive, attractive, and appropriate in the media.  “ Art is the one place we all turn to for solace. We turn to it constantly, whether you are listening to music, or pop in a film; you want to escape reality “. This Carrie Mae Weems quote spoke to everything I wanted to do in the series and I hope you enjoy it.