Questions I had from last week's research:
Last week I found an article from NPR about a teacher starting a club for grief-stricken students. The article is from a time when the peak of COVID had just started to wane. With this in mind, the author brings up a depressing statistic about how the pandemic managed to leave over 200,000 kids without a parent or primary caregiver. This made me question the impact this had on the mental health of the masses, children in particular. At the same time, I also wanted to consider the mental health disparity that exists among minority groups; the article itself does a great job at including imagery of ethnically diverse children sharing their grief with each other. I find that representation plays a key role in how efficient mental health support reaches minority groups.
When it comes to grief with kids, reading this article also made me question how many schools actually provide sufficient support for these types of situations. In my experience, going to a public school that was predominantly Hispanic/Latino, the resources I had for my mental health after my father’s passing was relatively minimal. Speaking to someone 1-on-1 wasn’t as helpful to me as I think a support group would have been. This then brought up my last question when it comes to addressing grief with kids: what makes mental health support actually beneficial and in what matter? When kids don’t seek help, what does the impact look like?
Although I may not thoroughly address these topics in my BFA project, my story does stem from them and I hope it can clearly communicate a form of representation and solace to readers. In my project titled after the protagonist, it takes place in a town full of cryptids, centering on Quita– a young half-beast girl who works in a family-owned antique store. Her mother, who is human, runs the store as best she can alongside her daughter after their father’s sudden passing. Unfortunately, Quita struggles to “move on” from the tragic experience as quickly as her mom did, so she tries to find answers to her sorrows within a gift her father gave to her years before.
__
Based on the articles I've looked through, I was able to get some information and statistics that address bereavement and mental health disparities. One is a study that compiles data on the quality of support given to those who are grieving. Something I found quite surprising was how pets (compared to therapists and family) came out to be the best support for those experiencing grief. Other results I found were the many negative effects that come with not seeking mental health support after a traumatic experience. My sources are below:
___
Sketch of Quita and Slugdog
For my project, I want to create a comic that intervenes in the lack of representation of grief in stories about people of color, specifically Latinos. My work aims to push against this underrepresentation by centering a young Latina protagonist, Quita, in a story that treats grief as both personal and emotionally varied.
By incorporating fantasy with my own personal cultural experiences as a Peruvian American, I hope to make a story about grief not just something “sad,” but something readers can find comfort and recognition in. In doing so, I hope my project challenges the ways grief is typically portrayed in comic/animation media and expands who gets to be represented in stories of loss and healing.
________________________
READING ASSIGNMENT: The Critique Handbook by Kendall Buster and Paula Crawford
Write one or two ideas, expressions, or sentences that strike you from each page of the reading. This can be a direct quote. | Write your responses and reactions (thoughts, feelings, associations, questions, confusions, connections ...) to what you put on the left side.
|
Preface, “Conceding that there cannot be a single system for the evaluation of art, but rather a network of interlocking languages based on sometimes incompatible assumptions, we've isolated some of the larger spheres of influence in an attempt to both examine and connect them.”
| I think it's interesting that critiquing tends to be different for everybody, which makes it so valuable. I believe there is a right and wrong way to be a critic, which is why in some prior art classes I've had there was almost always a discussion on how to train your eye with art. I'm curious what the “larger spheres of influence” are when it comes to evaluating art– what pinpoints how useful the critique will be? |
Introduction, Page 1, “Thus, the critique is both a deadline and a marker of a perpetual beginning, a freeze-frame moment in the context of a continuous studio practice.”
| Very well put. Whenever I'm assigned an art piece that will be critiqued for next class, it's always a bit stressful deciding what stage you think your piece is in. You might think you're almost done, but the professor says there's a lot more you can do. The more times you undergo critiques, the more you come to expect there's room for improvement. That's what makes the process fun all over again. |
Introduction, Page 2, “While this can be confusing to students, it at least sends the healthy message that the interpretation of art is subjective, and that often winners and losers alike do not necessarily deserve either the censure or the praise they receive.”
| I agree that art is very subjective. I also found it interesting how this quote chooses words like “winners and losers” within the art world as I think you often see that easily defined with social media. Whether an art account has a big following or not, it should not define the artwork itself as automatically good or bad.
|
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment