SENIOR PROJECT I | odessiaserawop

The beginning of my Senior show I wanted to show the Empowerment of Indigenous Women. Show that these are the women that I have looked up to and have never got to understand where I have come from as a female. There is a loss of indigenous education and loss of family history that I am fighting to find through my family members that are still alive today and the things of the women that have already passed on.

The thoughts that I have been looking at are the ledger drawings on checks, I feel that this was a part of all the plains natives and the fact that there have not been any females on the currency to date. Why haven’t we got the recognition that we so deserve, so I will be making money with an indigenous female on the front as well as putting the information about the Ute people on the back.

The dress outline is what I have been using for the dress in my show, this is the most used template that a plains native dress would look like. This is also the type of dress that my grandmother wore, while at the pow-wows or bear dances. So this is another way to connect with the past while paying homage to the women in my life.

Su Blackwell “While you were sleeping”, is how I would like to showcase the dress, I have done a lot of research on why she made this installation piece. I made a connection with the story line and it is how I have envisioned my dress being installed.

However, in order to get this type of effect I have to build a structure that will hold not only the dress but also the photos that will be hung around the dress. This at least gives a visual on how I want the structure to look like.

I would like to utilize the serigraph skills I have learned in the two semesters of taking Screen-printing to showcase the empowerment of females present in my life time. I have had strong women on both sides of my family. I plan to include my great-great grandmother, great-great aunts, my maternal grandmother, my mother and various aunts and nieces, as well as myself.

Using images from photographs I have taken, changing them into a screen-print image, and then printing them as wallpaper on the gallery walls in my installation. This type of process, I learned by working with artists Terry Allen and Wangechi Mutu, selected by my professor to work with them during the SITE 20 Years/ 20 Shows Spring 2016.

I have also looked at my peers for inspiration who use similar techniques, such as Kuākea ʻO. Yasak, who is a fellow serigraphy printer. These background images will be different than the people in the framed photographs. They will be printed in sunset colors on the wall. The different framed photographs will reveal the wooden texture under the rice paper to create unity with the rest of the installation.

The skills I have studied over the years are helping me create an exhibition with which I am very happy. The colors are bright and vivid, while drawing people’s attention to focus on the detail. The contrast with the white background and the intense colors creates perspective.

My work intensely personally. Recreating my familial feminine heritage through my art and sharing it with my audience has been my primary goal. This interactive installation creates a window into my soul- as an indigenous artist and as a strong woman, who realizes that strength comes from within and without. My female ancestors’ DNA has created me and their blood inspires and motivates me.

The focus of my installation is the room that I shared with my grandmother as I was growing up. For the first six years of my life, we shared this room. Like my son has today with my mother, the bond I had with my grandmother was a fundamental bond that I have never forgotten.

Because my grandmother died when I was very young, I would not realize the importance of this bond until I became an adult.

She was the source of the empowerment that have today. From her mind set and the strength behind her drive, I remember the power and the security she gave me. She gave me inspiration to do anything I set my mind to, and I see that today as an adult.

There is a vanity set up as a reminder of what she had in her bedroom. I remember when she had a table with all her things on it. I used to play with her items, and try on her jewelry.

The few items that I have selected are from each family member that has donated personal items, or they are things that I have bought through two years of searching and researching.

The photo of the book shelf is the type of bookshelf that I want to have in my installation. It is not what my grandmother had, but it’s close. I would like to build it myself; however, I might down-size closer to the show.

The photos of the money are what I would like to use for prints as take-aways in my installation. This thought came about when I was able to attend the opening exhibition Feast Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art, SITE SANTA FE. Seeing Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s,Untitled, this exhibition has a strong message about AIDS and why he makes this artwork.

The best part is that you can walk away with a piece of the artwork, but with his artwork, the pieces are all take-aways. Eventually the piece will no longer exist. His work influenced the research for my installation. I have not yet settled on the number of dollar take-aways that will be given, but I have two possibilities that will be revealed at the opening.

I have prepared a mockup of the floor plans and the setting of my installation. I want my audience see the beginning of my process with the pieces of furniture, exactly where they will be placed once the installation is well underway.

I have carefully thought out and planned of all the details. I want a light mint paint color. I will use two types of fonts for the installation. They are Sumptuous Light and Marbre Sans. My final thoughts on this installation will be completed next year, as I work towards the final senior class project.

The installation component is subject to change because of the feedback that I received from my peers, instructor and guests. Originally I intended to use a large mirror with the alpha emblem and the female sign collaged together. If I am not able to find what I need, this may change when the final installation goes up in May 2017.

The side table will have a few items on it such as a lamp, record player, or a plant. These ideas I have not yet decided on, but I’m going to see what happens and what comes together while making these decisions later on in the semester.

There will be framed photographs that I am restoring and will be hung on the wall. I am still uncertain about how many will be shown and if these photographs will be of predominantly women.

Taking into consideration the feedback in the class critiques and the one-on-one that I have had with my instructors during this first step, I have listened to their inquiries and have started to alter certain elements of my installation. Since this is going to be an interactive installation, I have considered making a comment board or leaving a book for the audience to sign.