Artist Biography
Whimsical Creatures: How Art Can Uplift in the Wake of Police Brutality
I am inspired and moved by social justice and feel that it is important to give voice to certain communities. When I began to hear about the innocent black lives that were stolen by the hands of police I felt like I needed to express my voice. I draw upon art for my mode of expression. As an artist, I am eclectic. I am drawn to objects that tell a story, collages that communicate importance, and art that can speak without using words. As a white woman, it has become crucial for me to support black, indiginous, and people of color, and help lift their voices to showcase the unjust nature of these deaths. I want to support the voices of black people so they can feel safe to lead the conversation. I best showcase my support through art. My artwork focuses on the deaths of four black lives; Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and Philando Castile. My way of dealing with the emotions I felt after the deaths of these four people was to use art to honor their lives. I utilized the art therapy technique of creating “worry creatures”, or doll-like figures, in order to contain my emotions and grief transforming the pain I felt into whimsical manifestations of the victims’ lives. These worry creatures were hand crafted with found objects, foam, felt, decorative stones, and buttons. Each creature lives in an environment that includes objects that represent the personality and interest of that person. For example, the worry creature for Elijah McClain lives within a blue violin case because Elijah was known for playing his violin at his local animal shelter. My overall goal in this art is to bring awareness, recognition, and honor to the lives of these four victims. With influences such as black artists, social justice initiatives, and art therapy, I hope to bring a new sense of life back to those lost.
Thesis Abstract
Whimsical Creatures: How Art Can Uplift in the Wake of Police Brutality
In the United States of America in the years of 2020 and 2021, the Black Lives Matter movement has surged in participation and activism, and rose to the forefront of the news media. While this movement has been around for a long time, it is only getting recent recognition due to the very public murders of black men and women by the hands of the police. This thesis aims to address the issue of police brutality by using art therapy to showcase grief and emotions that surround the deaths of four individuals: Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor, and Philando Castille. Taking inspiration from multiple black, indigeonous, and people of color artists, a series of small “worry creatures” are created in response to these losses. Each sculpture also includes a found object that is symbolic of the victim’s personal life, as well as decorative stones used during a meditation process, and other 3D art materials. Discussed in this thesis is the importance of using art as a mode of expression for emotions, as well as how art therapy can help support activists in the Black Lives Matter movement to work through grief and stress during these times.