Saturday, July 6, 2019

Week 2 Photography (Janine Nguyen, Anthony Tran, Paula Jung)


“A Memorial Quilt Built on Multiraciality”
Paving the way for multiracial representation in media, the three experiences of the three figureheads, Charles Melton, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, and Zendaya, encompass the struggles and tensions that come with being mixed race in society. We decided to take monochromatic portraits of the celebrities with their cultural textiles in the background to portray this.

The usage of the different textiles tells the history of memory of each figure. Charles Melton, a Korean-American actor from the hit show Riverdale, is vocal about Korean culture. In this case, an example of traditional bojagi, or Korean wrapping cloths is used. The Korean wrapping textiles are small, but they are bold in color and graphic punch. On the other hand, Zendaya has proudly adorned her natural hair and she isn’t afraid of claiming her African-American and German-Scottish heritage. The large shapes and strong colors found in African quilting essentially shows that African-American culture is built on strength and resilience. In her career, Zendaya exemplifies cultural pride. endaya is a role model for younger generations and she is a prime example of a multiracial figure whose influence is equally pervasive and compelling. Moreover, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, cast as Maui from “Moana”, admitted that the character Maui was based on his grandfather, who was a pro-wrestler with many tattoos just like the character. Johnson self identifies as a proud Black & Somoan. The textiles are similar to how his tattoos are similar in Somoan and African-American patterns. The patterns are distinct, strong, and feature naturistic values.

1 comment:

  1. Nicely done, a lovely concept connect celebrities' background with corresponding textile. The overall presentation can be a bit lost. Good job.

    ReplyDelete