Multimedia Essay: Artist Statement

During the course of the Multimedia Essay assignment, I ran into a series of problems that had a determining factor on its form. First and foremost was caused by miscommunication in the group, causing my other group members to take the tour without me. To make up for it, I had to reschedule to take the tour during a time after school. Because it was done after school, there are no photographs of or taken by the students themselves. Nor was I able to speak with the students and get an idea of the neighborhood. Because of this, I wanted to take pictures to try to show the school’s unique style.

Further hindering this project was that it took two weeks to schedule the tour. My own short-sightedness prevented me from finishing the other steps of the project during this scheduling time. Further scheduling problems prevented me from having a camera and a car for the neighborhood pictures, which is why they aren’t there. These problems have had a large impact on the project itself, so much that I felt it was necessary to explain them. In this way they give the project a story behind it.

As for the project itself, I tried to express an idea. For slides 3 through 7, each picture is a portion of a single poster. I ordered the shots to rise from the bottom, as though the artwork were pulling the consciousness of the viewer up with it. I had hoped to do this as an animation, but I am too unfamiliar with the more recent PowerPoint layouts to do so. I counted the five pictures as a single one of the fifteen, and the fifteen word quote is only counted one time for the 100-250 word limit.

I really liked the posters of woodcuts in the classroom, as I myself have carved one in highschool. From that, I know that woodcuts were the cheap method of mass communication in the past, since a single cut could produce numerous prints. Because of this, they seem to express the will of the people who aren’t as well off in society. Their artistic nature and disciplined nature of construction show resistance to their placement and labeling of being ‘lesser’. I felt that this would complement the nature of a school giving another chance to those deemed ‘at risk’, questioning the finality of this judgement.

I also felt that the colorful and inviting nature of the school was important to show. Regardless of how well a school can broaden the horizons of its students, it means nothing if said students close their mind to it. By using bright colors, a friendly and energetic atmosphere is created. By showing the success of others, through awards and images of their graduates, a sense of ‘you-can-too’ is instilled. Mr. Gonzales told me during the tour that although a number of the students are involved in gangs, that these are ‘left at the door’. I’ve gotten the sense that Loyola is an important place for many of the students.