"Modern frida"
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Exhibition TExt: This project represents what my style as an artist is as I interpreted an original artwork through another form of artwork. Inspired by the indigenous women of Oaxaca, I've tried my best to incorporate the meaning to me just like the women from Oaxaca typically focus on their aspirations.
Artistic & CUltural Inspiration: Embroidery has been a style of art for ages. Famous for being used by the indigenous in Mexico as well as other Latin American cultures, it is a part of their everyday lives. Women make jobs out of making shirts, dresses, table cloths, etc. The use of color, and detail is so incredible and it has always been something that I am a big fan of. When I was a little girl, my mother once taught me how to. She would draw big flowers for me to fill in with colorful string. I found it so relaxing and generally appealing. She would tell me stories of how this was something that every girl in her town had to learn how to do. This was used as a practice for gaining severe sewing skills.
Embroidery was traditionally done with the tip of a leaf of maguey pr agave, but eventually was replaced by the steel needle. In Oaxaca, a state in Mexico, it is common for the different colors and shapes to symbolize differet things. For example, the dreams, aspirations, their life from beginning to end, and nature. At first it was difficult to think of what exactly I want to do with embroidery. Originally, I had thought to just recreate another floral pattern to fully represent the technique as well as the culture behind it. However, I knew that it would've been too easy for me and I did not want to settle. Therefore, I thought about recreating pieces of art. The first artist that came to mind was Frida Kahlo due to the shared culture and the fact that she would wear embroidery and loved wearig traditional garments. Although I wanted to incorporate Frida's work, I had to do my own spin of it. Therefore, I decided to pursue a more minimalistic style. It is something that I am not used to, and I just thought that it would add the modern look that I was going for. But most importantly, it wouldn't be as difficult.
Meaning: Throughout this piece, I wanted to make connections between the artist which I truly admire and am inspired by, and the culture which I associate embroidery with. There is this further connection with this process that I feel. Whenever I think of it, I think of home, something that a mother or typically grandmother would do. Especially since I was taught as a kid how to do it. As I was doing it, I felt like at ease, and also calmed. Overall, this piece demonstrates the simplistic side of things. My goal is to incorporate this sense of modernism to everything that I create, and I truly feel like I've done that through this piece. I was able to make that connection between "old" and new. I was able to use embroidery to create something trendy. That's what is happenning a lot today. Although some do it for admiration, others are taking for granted the great work that original artists have put into what they've done. The modernization of art could either be a curse or a blessing.
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