Touch Assignment
"Our skin is a kind of space suit in which we maneuver
through the atmosphere of harsh gases, cosmic rays, radiation from the sun, and
obstacles of all sorts." - Diane Ackerman
Statement: After reading the above excerpt from A Natural History of the Senses, I began
to think about how incredible the body is. Not only does it protect us and hold
together our ooey gooey insides, but it also heals itself and adjusts to any
natural changes we go through. With my work, I wanted to comment on the
incredible abilities that everyone’s skin has. In order to accomplish this, I
photographed the scars of a group of my friends and melded them all together in
Photoshop. The skin is a fantastic organ and I wanted to show that with this
piece.
"To [my mother’s] generation, serious women have serious
hairdos that are formal, sprayed, and don’t move. A few weeks ago, she phoned
to warn me that professional women aren’t taken seriously if they don’t have a ‘wet-set’…
Loose ends on one’s head signal loose ends in one’s life.” - Diane Ackerman
Statement: Ackerman’s words in this section struck a chord in me. Being
a young woman with naturally curly hair, I am often seen as less capable of
accomplishing a job than a male counterpart. I think it is fascinating and
absurd that something as simple as a hairdo could hinder me in the workplace.
To show this absurdity, I paired two photos of myself together- one of me
looking “unprofessional”, with my hair down, and one of me looking “professional”,
with my hair up. I juxtaposed that pairing with two photos of my friend Jack.
Unlike myself, Jack would be taken seriously and respected in a workplace even
if he looked “unprofessional”. With this piece, I wanted to comment on the fact
that women have to change themselves to be seen as professional, while men do
not.
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