This year has been all about experimentation for me, trying different mediums, styles, and ideas from what I normally stick to. Painting was the biggest change for me, having not done it since middle school. But normally, I prefer photography and illustration, but also paint and embroider. As a student in two level four art classes, I have made two portfolios, and will give a shortened statement for both.

The Beauty of Women of Color

Women of color have spent so much time in the oblong shadows of skinny white women, and for the longest time, they were not represented in any form of media unless they were some form of racist stereotype. Only in the past few decades have they appeared in media as their own people, and recently, they are finally being respected, loved, and considered attractive. Thanks to the rise in women of color being represented in media, the look of being stick thin and tall has been done away, and been replaced by natural, full bodies. Now little girls can look at the television or the internet, and see a beautiful black model and think, “It’s okay to love my body how it naturally is,” or, “That beautiful latina looks like me, I want to be like her.” My goal for my work is to enhance and push this new age of appreciation and adoration of women of color further, and really show that all women of any shape, size, color, or orientation are works of art.

Masculinity v. Femininity

I have never understood the finite lines that society has drawn between what it deems to be masculine and feminine. Why is pink and the arts seen as feminine, while blue and athletics are seen as masculine? And most of all, I wonder why it is taboo for someone to have interests in things that do not align with their gender’s assigned interests. In recent years, though; it has become more acceptable for men to like feminine things, and for women to participate in traditionally masculine activities. And, thankfully, that fine line is becoming increasingly blurred for younger generations. But many still cling to the binary shackles that have trapped countless people throughout time in unhappy lives ruled by societal constraints. My goal is to present my opinion that the drawing of this line was misguided, by showing how similar, different, and interconnected traditional masculinity and femininity truly are.

Watch Anthony's Senior Portfolio Video