Short Essay 2

Christine DaCruz Series

Christine DaCruz Series

Stephanie Tichenor's Little Steph

    Our class met to see the WW12: A Health Survey exhibition at the Visual Arts building on campus. We got to see the amazing pieces done by amazing women who address the health issues that have been accumulated and boiled together after a year of dealing with the pandemic that left many people feeling all sorts of ways. This exhibition showcases the feelings that these artistic women have conveyed with their work that many people can relate to upon viewing them as we continue to try to get back to normal.

            Out of all the pieces of art that were displayed in the exhibition, there were two pieces that stood out to me. The two artworks are Little Steph by Stephanie Tichenor, and the Christine DaCruz series. Little Steph stood out to me due to it being an interactive fiber sculpture. She made this sculpture to showcase what she was feeling internally from her pain due to her medical procedures. It was a way for her to separate her pain from her body and pinpoint the pain she’s been feeling. Little Steph allows people to express the pain in their own body without using words. I think this is a very cute and creative method to literally show how a person is feeling internally. The second piece of art that stood out to me was the series of photos made by Christine DaCruz. The series of photos displayed are meant to show her self-reflection journey towards healing, vulnerability, and being completely honest. She mentions how her display is meant to focus on her identity in different ways: as a woman, daughter, and caregiver. In her photos you can see animals embroidered into the photo. The animals are meant to represent the path that she is on, deepening her personal connection to her own spirit. She mentions that for her, the animal-human connection has been very healing for her. She uses her photos to highlight her reconnection to her own story and experiences that helped shape her into the person she is today. It shows that she now understands the life lessons that were related to different moments in her life that associated with struggle, compassion, and vulnerability. She shows that throughout her journey of self-reflection, achieved the ability of restoring balance to her body and spirit and to truly feel peace with oneself.

            Both of these works, along with the rest of the artwork in the gallery, discusses the health of oneself. With the pandemic that continues to impact us today, and going through quarantine and isolation for months, multiple people have come out explaining how this portion of the pandemic really effected their mental health but also granted people the opportunity to grow from the situation. I do think that these works are activist as a person can look at their work and feel that overall health and mental health needs to be taken more seriously and addressed more often rather than pushed to the side. With Stephanie Tichenor’s Little Steph, she uses her fiber showcase to explain to her doctors how her body feels without words due to her inability to do so. She goes through chronic pain and struggles to get her doctor to understand how she is feeling internally. By reading this and seeing how she has to use her sculpture in order to get her pain across to her doctor, it can start a conversation surrounding healthcare especially towards women. Christine DaCruz’s work is also activist. She highlights her journey of self-reflection and self-healing. In her art she had animals embroidered to connect them to her spirit. It can inspire others to take their own journey of self-healing and making their own health a priority after the crazy year that has passed.

            In Kimberly Drew’s This is What I Know About Art she says, “I was depressed, burned-out, and I felt like I was failing in every direction.” (page 12). This quote shows the impact of mental health on a person, especially one so young, that can carry on into adult years. She used her art to help make herself feel better and heal herself as well as others with her work. She also goes on to say, “The more art I saw, the more I wanted to share it with others.” (page 33). I feel like this quote gives a good perspective on viewers of exhibits who see art that truly inspires them to share and possibly create a work of art with the same message. A final quote that was used in the book is “Instead of leading with rage, she helped me understand this difficult crossroads. By the end of the meeting, she asked me to think deeply about what I wanted to say, and, more importantly, how I wanted it to be interpreted. It was not enough to be angry.” (page 43). This quote reminded me of the artists work in this exhibition and how they thought carefully about how to showcase their work. They let their feelings and emotions go onto their art but they thought carefully on how they wanted to portray their stories.