Self Love - Riya Bhajan

 

Artist Statement: 

    
The artwork I created is artistically inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat and his motif of the “crown” that appears frequently in his artwork. There is no fixated meaning as to why Basquait included a crown into most of his artwork, it could be that he wanted to depict himself as king or to acknowledge the people who influence him through his art, or lastly, to portray his ambition to become great. I interpret and admire the meaning of crown being Basquait’s way of portraying his ambition to become something great. I believe Basquiat used the crown in his art as a way of manifesting his success as a young artist by confidently crowning himself. “It would be no big surprise to learn that the same artist who had self-image issues, struggled to find inner peace, and lingering self-doubt would crown himself. Expressing the special nature about himself through his art may have been a way for him to show the world what he believed to be true about his place in the world while reassuring himself of the same thing.” (IncredibleArt) This concept of knowing your self-worth and your ability to succeed is what inspired my artwork “Self-Love” 

Constantly viewing advertising, fashion, and social media makes it easy for us to compare ourselves. From the way we look to what we have achieved so far in life compared to others, it all makes it difficult to be happy with what you already have. I believe a way of solving (or at least maintaining) this issue of comparing yourself to others is to develop inner confidence of knowing your self-worth. Loving who you are despite the circumstances. It’s easier said than done, but when you make yourself the main focus of your life and be happy with who you already are and what you already have, the lives of other people won’t bother you or affect your confidence. The goal of my artwork is to showcase the importance of self-love. Self-love is a concept that I am still learning and achieving but it’s something I know is completely possible.

Quotes: 

1.  Art materializes the imagination; it turns objects into surfaces that can be overwritten by the imagination. Advertising achieves the same" (page 152)

2. We are increasingly self-conscious and alert to how others are looking at us. Indeed, thinking about how others see us is an engrossing preoccupation. Pop psychology has made ‘people-watching’ and the search for ‘motives’ into respectable pastimes. (page

3. Fashion might suggest that we share the aesthetic values that circulate around desirable objects but, more often than not, these standards elude us. The ‘real’ body is an obdurate reality that resists the promises of fashion. (page 190)

4. When we come to see ourselves through the eyes of others, to evaluate our lifestyle and possessions in relative terms and in comparison with prevailing fashions, then a new level of significance is added to our social experiences. We become self-consciously aware of the other’s importance in defining our own identity-" (page 195)