Nicholas Sanchez, Myura Trawick
Artist Statement:
We were inspired to do this comic after the conversation we had in class about mixed race people being fetishized. Also discussing that even those that are mixed with white, they will truly never be considered beautiful because of their other race. So we created a satire to show how people view those of mixed backgrounds, and how ridiculous their beliefs are and highlight how we hold eurocentric features as attractive. It’s also important to note that -- even among non mixed-raced people -- the idea of being mixed is only attractive IF the individual is mixed with white. This way, there can be a sense of ‘exoticness’, while also offering this sort of safety for the minds of white America: “They’re FOREIGN, they’re EXOTIC, but they’re only half that, so they’re not too ethnic!”
Thursday’s conversation was particularly poignant to us both, and left us thinking about what to draw for our comic. We considered more extreme examples before settling on the idea of a individual going through a mixed-race dating app, commenting rudely about how dark or unattractive they think each candidate is until they come across someone who is mixed with white. To which they exclaim “GORGEOUS”. The individual is clearly biased, as all of the candidates are conventionally attractive but none seemed to appeal to them until they noticed -- and it’s highlighted -- that the last girl is mixed with white.
To create this comic, we used a digital art program and a tablet. We hashed ideas back and forth until we thought of someone poking through and fetishizing mixed-race people through a dating app. Prior ideas involved the idea of ‘mixed-race’ individuals being the target of scrutiny on par with committing a crime (touching on anti-miscegenation laws that we discussed last week) or mixed-race people being considered a threat to Eurocentric beauty in media. We settled on this because of the ‘modernness’ presented in the comic, as well as how uncomfortably relatable it can be for some audiences.
The notion of mixed-race people being attractive is only true to many when someone is mixed with white, because any other combination is considered ‘too foreign’ for an appeal.
What went through my mind when I read this is "Oh god, I do this all the time." The notion of whiteness and the features of straight silky hair with sharp nose has been ingrained into my brain. I know we talked about this in class but I didn't realize how serious it was until I read this. This is a good one.
ReplyDeleteYour comic is short yet very powerful because it presents the most basic of how society has put whiteness on top of all other races. Race is a social construct and your group presented that well in your comic. Indeed the idea of exoticism and being foreign too is society's influence on how we should view certain groups of people as opposed to others. Awesome job on the statement and the comic!
ReplyDeleteThe artist had very interesting inspiration for their comic strip. Though I do not know of this ASA115 course they speak of :D. The artists cleverly blended age old socially constructed ideas of beauty that even bleeds to mixed race individuals with social media romantic connection applications like "tinder." I am curious how much of the art already was part of an art application template and how much of it was created by the artists themselves.
ReplyDeleteI did all the art myself! :) The symmetry behind the mobile device is using polygonal tools available in the art program, haha.
DeleteSimple, yet powerful. I love that you based your comic on prevalence of the notion that Caucasian people are the superior race even within the mixed race community. The artist statement lends additional support and information on theses issues.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the comic strip is that it is very simple, but it portrays a lot of what society is today and also relates to the themes we talked about. Having that mixed race of white is supposedly "superior" than the other ethnicity. Great work!
ReplyDeleteSimple, Straight to the point, clear, clean, and entertaining. I adore how you incorporate social media in perpetuating the ideology of mixed race.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous piece of art work! The art project incorporated the idea of exotic and how having white can be superior to the rest of the race. It also going to deeper understanding about the beauty standards nowadays. The art project is simple yet very clear on the theme it wants to express. The artist statement are very well constructed, expressing in more detail the idea for the simple piece. Although everything in the artist statement was well considered, it might be a little lengthy. Over all great job!
ReplyDeleteThe comic strip is fairly simple, clean, yet powerful. It reflects some of the themes being discussed in class this week including mixed races fetishes and white supremacy. The artist statement matches well with the comic strip and goes beyond the surface level of physical attractions and dating apps. I wish there was a build up in the storyline, other than that great job!
ReplyDeleteThe statement correlating the comic strip was very powerful in that it really pinpoints what society thinks is "beautiful." It is horrible that beautiful is judged by the color of your skin and your race, and I think that society is one of the hugest factors that allowed this to happen. Great job on this project!
ReplyDeleteThis comic is very clean, simple, and overall executes society's warped favoritism for mixed people who contain White DNA very well. The statement is well-written and touches on the in-class discussions of romanticizing mixed race people as well. No need for improvement found.
ReplyDeleteWow, I love how this is so simple and very artistically drawn. This project consolidates the issues talked about in class such as Hybrid vigor, hybrid degeneracy, colonized minds, and stereotypes of mixed race people (in. Mixed is fetishized) Again, dating scenes provide the best example how society views mixed race population, with regarding them as the worst of both ethnicities or the best of both worldsides. But in either case, they are still regarded as the perpetual other. Thumbs up on simplicity and powerful statement! :)
ReplyDeleteThe drawings delivers the central message of the artist statement effectively and within four panels of the comic. The comic drew its ideas from discussions in class and the eugenics component of week two's themes. For instance, the comic and artist statement breaks down the racialized eugenicists ("good genes") origins of the mainstream public's adoration of mixed race people with European heritages.
ReplyDeleteThis comic is so artistically drawn. It is short and to the point. Although, I do think that the artist statement really helped deliver the message. The topics of how mixed raced people are fetishized was clearly showed through this comic strip. The only thing I would think could be improved is the text in the comic strip. I think that without the artist statement, it would be difficult for someone who is not taking the class to understand the satire behind it.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how we internalized this and thinks people of mixed-race with white are attractive. Great job on the artist’s statement and the comic strip! It was definitely insightful, witty, clever and definitely something that we can relate to the topic that we learned in class on how we fethizeses and eroticized mixed-race people and to dating apps like “Tinder”. The message was straight to the point and something that we can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI think your group did a great job in carrying out the overall message that you wanted to get across about how mixed race people are only attractive if they are mixed with white. Your artwork was concise, but it really delivered the stereotype and beliefs about mixed race people that you sought to imply. The artist statement is also strong in that it clearly explains your message in detail, and needs no improvements.
ReplyDeleteThere is some cleverness in offering very little text/dialogue within the comic: we are forced to deal with the artists' aesthetic and thematic intentions. Because I viewed the visual piece before having read the artistic statement in order to prevent skewing my initial thoughts, many questions arose, such as, "Why did they choose those background colors, and what specifically is the correlation of character-to-color," and "How does the dating application and/or technology disseminate the fetishization of mixed race sexuality?"
ReplyDeleteMost interesting, however, is the very fact that there is no disparaging physical feature between all five characters determining race! Perhaps that is the central message in this comic: we are obsessed with racial titles (I read and re-read 'titties' oddly) wedded to attractiveness rather than attractiveness wedded to racial construction.
Wow!! I enjoyed this comic strip. With all of the social media that is being used in a day to day basis. We do this subconsciously. This is a great illustration of how we always look at the person first and always try to figure out their ethnicity in order to gauge their attractiveness.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the simplicity of this comic. Despite how simple it may seem from a superficial aspect, it contains a deeper message that fetishizes all mixed people into a "exotic"-like category. I also liked the incorporation of social media and how that feeds into the stereotypes that people uphold about mixed people. My own concern is that the artist statement is a little on the lengthier side, but is nice and thorough otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how this comic had little dialogue which leaves more to interpretation. Also how colors are used outside of the comic, but not within it, could be commentary on how the actions of judging mixed race individuals is "white-washed"?
ReplyDeleteI really like your comic strip! I feel bad for admitting this but I do this all the time (unconsciously) when I’m stalking people on my Instagram. Perhaps it was because growing up I was taught that white people have the best features; tall nose, light skin, etc. So perhaps, I have internalized the notion that whether someone’s fully white or being mixed with white, they are still essentially better looking that anyone else. And now I know that this is a wrong perception to have. Thank you for an amazing comic strip!
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