Decolonize and Dream
Format
Senior Art and Design Exhibition
Faculty Mentor Name
Marie Anna Lee
Faculty Mentor Department
Art & Graphic Design
Abstract/Artist Statement
My designs address Decolonization and Dreamers which are two issues facing the Latinx community and are two issues that are important to me.
My work is inspired by the Plakatstil poster movement of the early 1900’s. The posters of Plakatstil favored minimal design with strong and decorative typography and bold colors. My work uses this style with modern elements such as contemporary typefaces and color schemes. The main difference in my work from Plakatstil is that the pieces I have created reflect a Latinx experience not a European experience.
My first piece “Decolonization” represents the Decolonization movement within the Latinx community. Decolonization means to take away Euro-centric perspectives and idelogies. Different Latinx countries have been made to feel less than because they do not fit European beauty standards imposed on their people centuries. I made this design to remind people of indigenous and Latinx descent that we ARE beautiful.
The second piece “ Los Sueños No Mueran” or “Dreams Do not Die” is about the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and also incorporates the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. DACA members are known within the Latinx community as “Dreamers”. Dreamers are symbolized by butterflies which are known for undergoing transformations and migrations as part of their natural life cycles. Day of the Dead is about knowing that loved ones are never really gone and that’s what this design is about. There are many injustices occurring, but the dreams created through DACA will never be erased.
Location
Reynolds Gallery
Start Date
23-4-2017 6:00 PM
End Date
12-5-2017 6:00 PM
Decolonize and Dream
Reynolds Gallery
My designs address Decolonization and Dreamers which are two issues facing the Latinx community and are two issues that are important to me.
My work is inspired by the Plakatstil poster movement of the early 1900’s. The posters of Plakatstil favored minimal design with strong and decorative typography and bold colors. My work uses this style with modern elements such as contemporary typefaces and color schemes. The main difference in my work from Plakatstil is that the pieces I have created reflect a Latinx experience not a European experience.
My first piece “Decolonization” represents the Decolonization movement within the Latinx community. Decolonization means to take away Euro-centric perspectives and idelogies. Different Latinx countries have been made to feel less than because they do not fit European beauty standards imposed on their people centuries. I made this design to remind people of indigenous and Latinx descent that we ARE beautiful.
The second piece “ Los Sueños No Mueran” or “Dreams Do not Die” is about the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and also incorporates the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. DACA members are known within the Latinx community as “Dreamers”. Dreamers are symbolized by butterflies which are known for undergoing transformations and migrations as part of their natural life cycles. Day of the Dead is about knowing that loved ones are never really gone and that’s what this design is about. There are many injustices occurring, but the dreams created through DACA will never be erased.