For my final project there were several things that I wanted to include. I was mostly inspired by Sophie Calle’s form of artwork through letters. Originally, I had wanted to make a video to show what I found to be heartbreaking that tends to get overlooked, which was mental health. The aftermath of being beaten down by words, society, and social media. But, for my final project, I decided to show a series of words, society, and social media quite literally tearing me apart. Sophie Calle has a book named “Take Care of Yourself”, so the physical aspect of my project was inspired by her book. She has several letters throughout pages and beside each letter an image. I do not have nearly enough pages as Sophie, but the inspiration still stands. Apart from just heartbreaking letters, I wanted to show heartbreaking topics such as letters, social media, and body shaming because of society’s beauty standards.
In one of the pages, you will see me standing in the mirror comparing myself to an image of Kim Kardashian, alongside is a Facebook post encouraging women to get plastic surgery in order to look their best. I specifically included the image of Kim Kardashian because she is someone that everyone knows, and her beauty is one of the biggest reasons why she is in the eye of the public. People are constantly talking about her looks, bashing her if she looks a certain way or if she does not. The issue with social media, is that they encourage these types of changes and make it seem like they are the new “norm”. Social media plays a big role in how society views beauty, and one of the main reasons is because there are women who have a lot of fame, that are being presented as the “leaders” of this movement and try to get their fans to go along with it. This is unhealthy because it can lead to body dysmorphia and people deciding to get work done just to fit in. “The spectacle reduces the reality to an endless supply of commodifiable fragments while encouraging us to focus on appearances”.
In one of my other pages, I decided to include a letter written to me by someone is really good at imagination/writing. I asked them to write me a mean letter addressing it to me so that it could feel real, and when the audience picks up my book to read it, they can feel the kind of hurt the words bring. The letter is one way to show that words really do matter and I think that some people forget that they are just as strong as actions. Sometimes the words play in your head all day long causing an obsession with it. Finkelstein states, “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”. I believe that this quote is a great example as to how people’s perception of us affects the way in which we view ourselves.
On my final page, I decided to include a note written to myself, to finally show that despite everyone beating down on me, at the end of the day it is up to myself to prosper and show people that I am worth it, good enough and that I do not have to pretend to be like someone else.
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