MIREYA BARRIENTES
Senior HL
Curatorial Rationale
For my exhibition, I developed a sub theme under our class ‘umbrella theme’ of Perception, to serve as the central focus of my body of work. The personal theme that I created speaks to the loss and reclamation of personal identity. I chose these ideas because they are developed, or influenced, by how we as individuals are perceived by our peers and predecessors. The idea of identity, (or how we are defined to and by others) is one to which we are meant to rigidly conform, particularly during the end of adolescence into early adulthood.
We are forced into labels and choices that are conceived, defined, and attached to us, and can follow us the rest of our lives. We are so often influenced to live our lives by how we are perceived by others. This is an experience which is different for everyone. For example, my ethnicity is something that has a major impact and influence upon my life, as it tends to be the first thing people see when we meet. For a long time, I’ve felt this as a source of discrimination and a wound to my pride. However, I use these negative experiences and influences as a source of strengthening as I turn them into ways of expression and ideas to share.
My reasoning for naming this show after the theory of Solipsism is that I want the viewers to further connect with the pieces and expand past themselves and the world they are familiar with. To step outside of their own inward-looking, insular selves, and into another’s. Thus, I wanted to create a body of work that displays this idea, and for it not only to reflect myself, but the personal thoughts most everyone has had at some point in their lives. I wish to raise awareness about lives that others may be unaware of, or have never experienced. Thus, furthering my goal of being able to connect to everyone, despite opposing views.
Furthermore, the idea extends to even the arrangement of my exhibition - down to the corner space I selected for my exhibit. My reasoning for choosing to show my work in the corner of our exhibit was to make a comment on how often artists, and particularly minorities, are marginalized and get ‘set in the corners’ of exhibitions - placed out of the way, rather than centrally, or a place of importance where viewers tend to gravitate. The specific artist that was influential to me in choosing to do this was Latin American artist, Felix Gonzales Torres.
MIREYA BARRIENTES
click images to enlarge - artist statements below - leave comments at bottom
ARTIST STATEMENTS
Girls Rising
Digital.
Created for a club I assisted in founding at my school in hopes to further the awareness on women's causes and societal issues. The image is of a women of minority background who is positioned in a stance that holds power and authority showing that this group should not be taken lightly or over casted.
Getting Carried Away
Acrylic on canvas
This piece was created to experiment further with acrylic paint as well as the being in the exploration of self-ideal. The distortion of the face is carried out in this work as it is throughout several of my pieces. It stands as an important significance to how we can tend to feel incomplete throughout various times in our lives.
Silent Noise
Charcoal on Paper
Silent Noise depicts a man who seems to be in a calm state of mind however, where his head should be are screaming mouths instead. This a piece that is based upon the disorder GAD, or generalized anxiety disorder. The disorder is characterized by the extremity of anxiety with constant worrying to the point where it inhibits the victim form performing everyday activities. Therefore, taking inspiration from this disorder and channeling my own feelings I created this piece to represent some of the emotional struggles of what anxiety can feel like. I chose to use charcoal for this piece because I felt the messiness of the media would work in the interpretation, I was trying to replicate which would be to show how mental illnesses such as this are hard to fully concept. Another technique in which I used was keeping the object of the piece simplified almost like if it were a sketch. The reasoning for this was to portray the inability to form a complete thought and follow through and how the anxiety can prevent one from experiencing all the pleasures of life. I do enjoy the way this piece has turned out; however, I would push the values more as well as further develop the mouths of the figure for it feels incomplete.
(Thank you America)
Oil on Canvas
For this series, the works are supposed to be representational to the peoples who have been oppressed within America through the years as it has developed as a country. Thus, the first piece of the series begins with a Native America woman who is surrounded by bloodroots. In each piece it can be notice that there is a theme of flowers. Each flower within the piece is significant to the character in which they are surrounded around that is native to their homeland. The reasoning behind their eyes being covered is to further convey the idea of being dehumanized as the eyes are important to the character of a person.
Naranja
Watercolor and Gouache
This piece is one the is very personal to me, it is a representation of the treatment of migrant workers. The idea behind this stems from my grandfather who used to work in this way. The issue of rising tension between Mexican immigrants in white America is something that has been in current event for the past decade and is only growing, thus I wanted to confront this issue. In the work, there is a hand of a worker holding an orange, while other oranges flout around him in the background. The bright colors of the piece are made to mock the grim topic, almost covering or hiding the it. The reasoning for this was to mimic how the issue is overlooked or “sugarcoated”. However, to show some intensity, there is a barcode stamped on the wrist of the figure, the stamp is a representation of how replaceable the workers are in the eyes of those they work for. Overall, I do like the idea behind this piece and the message however I would have liked if the work appeared neater then it originally did. Furthermore, I would have liked to change the leaves into dollar bills to further the subject of the piece.
Face
Acrylic on Masonite board
This work is a self-portrait taken after bathing in a tub as it is focused around the ideas of vulnerability and the feelings of detachment or fogged visions of the future that we have as we enter our young adult lives. The piece was created with a very simplistic design to again further the theme of being incomplete. The barcode in the center of the work is to symbolize how we do not control ourselves and that we are easily sold and bought by tends or ideas that we believe we need following to feel accomplished.
Artie
Acrylic and Ink on Bristol
This work is to mock the idea of what should be considered art and what “art” is in the terms of social perceptive versus that of the art world. Thus, in order to create this idea, I made a rough inking of a figure that looks like a clown; however, its features are heavily distorted. The colors are kept simple and were applied in what could be called a ‘sloppy’ manner. Overall, I do enjoy this piece for what it represents more than its actual look. There is nothing in this piece that I would change except for the possibility of adding more details.
Brilliant Sun
Ink on Bristol
Brilliant Sun depicts an incomplete figure of a two-dimensional woman. Taking inspiration from the famous sculpture, Venus de Milo, this piece to praise the female figure. I chose to simplify the dimension of the body in order to show my developing artistic style this is also reflected in the simplicity of the colors. In further design of this piece, the concept of creating a layer of tattoo like designs on top reflect both sides of the perception of the naked body. This piece stands to represent the objectifying of the body in what is deemed as both “positive” and “negative” ideals.
Subdue Me
Multimedia
“Subdue Me” is a sculptural piece that focuses on the idea of self-reflection especially during our young adult years. I wanted this piece to portray this ideal because I believe our young adult years are some of the most influential times in our live and it is where we have a lot of important decisions to make that will affect us late down the road. Because of this, many can feel as if they are drowning in a sea of emotions as they are unsure of who they are yet are burden with making choices that they may not be ready to make. I felt that creating a bathtub with the central focus of a young women missing parts of herself was a way in which would best represent my idea. She is incomplete much like the other pieces in my portfolio as especially “Face” in which this work is influenced by. In the original development of the piece, the tub was to be white, however as I thought more into the portrayal of my idea, I decided to paint the tub black making it almost reminiscent of a coffin to further signify the feeling of suffocation. Another key figure of the work is the broken mirror at the bottom of the tub. My reasoning for this addition was to make the piece interactive with the viewer as when they gaze inside, they are left to see a broken of incomplete image of themselves.
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