"Open Minded" by Donald Spring 

"Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumors" by Wangechi Mutu

The collage I have created for this week was inspired by the work of Wangechi Mutu, I call it “Open Minded.” While looking through the article “From the Archives: Wangechi Mutu Dresses Cultural Critique in Freakishly Beautiful Disguises”, I took lots of inspiration from some of the work I’ve seen made by Mutu’s art, as they really break down the actual physical image of someone and make it more about the self image of someone. I really enjoyed the way Mutu breaks down the photograph of a person and adds in other elements and images to create a whole different meaning to the self image of the photo. I love the way these Images are broken down and created into these collages, which distorts the image yet enhances the image because of the addition of the other elements which helps express the self image.

In my college “Open Minded” I’ve chosen to manipulate my self image and express the way I feel and see the world with my creative mind set. As an artist, there isn’t a time where I’m not thinking of and trying to connect the real world with my art and trying to think of the next project to work on. As shown in my collage there are a variety of different art mediums behind the image of my face to show some of the ways I want to connect the real world and the world of creativity. The art mediums also show the way I express myself and show others how much I take pride in my art and how I want to show people my perspective of having an open mind connecting reality with the creative side of me.

While in the process of making my collages, I wanted to make sure that this project really emphasizes the theme of expressing your self-image and identifying yourself to others in the world. I think that it is very important to be confident in the way we express ourselves and how we identify ourselves in the world. Though my collage is based off of Mutu’s work, I also think that Cindy Sherman also played a role within my collage. Though Cindy Sherman’s work is related to the female gaze versus the male gaze, I was inspired to have that comparison between the gaze people have of me versus the way I see and express myself within the work I have created for this week.

Wangechi Mutu Quotes

"The artist’s elegant and powerful hybrid female-animal figures command viewers’ attention and regard. Unable to return to her native Kenya for many years while living and working in New York, Mutu reflects on the convergence of African and Western influences that have informed her artwork and her binational identity."

"From her Nairobi studio, artist Wangechi Mutu considers her relationship with the natural world and the ways in which it has influenced her variegated artistic practice."

Reading Responses and Quotes

"So, the “mirror” does not obey the laws of optics so much as it does the laws of majesty, like the painting itself. The seventeenth century was a period in which monarchs around Europe claimed the power of absolutism. That is to say, they were more than just people. Kings were God’s representatives on Earth, symbolized by their being anointed like a priest during the coronation ceremony. Combining secular and spiritual power, the absolutist monarchs claimed overwhelming power that was centered in their very person."

"How, then, should the king be shown to convey a sense of this power? Not every individual person that happened to become a king or queen was impressive."

The accessibility to creating a photo of one's image and being able to publicize yourself in today's world has become so easy to do that the definition and meaning behind people has changed so much compared to how it used to be.