Project 1, Writer's Statement

Shannon Ryan'
February 21, 2009
New Millennium Studies, Section 10
Artist Statement

For my first New Millennium Studies Project, I decided to create a collage exploring the history of body piercing and the sociology of why people get piercing today.
I chose to make a poster board my artistic medium because I wanted to create a project that was thorough and to the point. In high school, many of my classmates used to design collages filled with cut out photos and textual quotes when they needed to present an extensive presentation that pieced together information that they did for a topic. Back then, I always thought that this approach was brilliant because depending on the student’s research or design, the project was very to the point because it highlighted all the important information. Thus, I decided that a collage was the best way to get my point across to my audience.
Another decision that I needed to consider was what to do for my topic. I knew that I wanted to focus my project around the second option, wearing your heart on your sleeve. I knew that I wanted to focus my topic around this concept because the idea that people show their emotions, feelings and opinions through the clothes and accessories they wear was an sociological concept I believed in my own understanding of human nature. However, I was unsure what I wanted my topic to be about. Should I make my subject about tattoos, piercings, the fascination with name brand stores or fashion trends in modern day society. Finally, I decided I wanted to focus my paper on the practice of body piercing and the reasons why people choose to get body piercings both today, and throughout history.
After choosing my topic, I set out to develop my topic and turned my attention to various websites and articles on the Internet in search of research. To be honest, I found myself slightly overwhelmed by the broad results of my research. After all there are at least a thousand psychological reasons why someone would decide to get a piercing in their ears, navel, above their eye lid, tongue and private parts. I considered my options and decided my topic would be best served by narrowing down the reasons in my topic. I chose to divide my project up between three historical reasons (a religious ritual, a status of wealth and in the days of piracy, pirates would get their ears pierced for work related purposes because they believed having their ears pierced would increase their eyesight). I also decided to choose four sociological reasons (to look tough, getting a piercing as a form of rebellion against authority particularly parent authority, to attract sexual appeal and peer pressures) to explain the popularity of this trend.
Furthermore, I decided to make the message of my piece that body piercing has never been done for the sake of “because I wanted one.” I decided to rely on my historical and sociological reasons to back up this point.
This meant, that I had to find photos that exemplified my reasoning. I began to check out all the various websites from Flicker to Yahoo, looking for images. Eventually, I convinced myself that the only way I could find images that suited my topic headings was to pretend that some of the female subjects did not have pierced ears. Thus, I found a picture of a father and daughter arguing to personify rebellion and a boy flirting with one girl and avoiding another on a couch to exemplify sexual appeal regardless of the subject’s pieced ears. To exemplify religion, I printed out photos of a religious symbol panorama, random tribunal ritual, a man wearing face paint and elaborate earrings. Around these images, I placed the photography evidence of the different kinds of piercings that supported each category further. I think that this success was solved, because of my final design of dividing up the photos and reasons into categories. I am very happy with the way this problem was solved.
Other effective things that I did in my project was placing textual content on the posterboard along with the images including my own reasons for getting my ears pierced, a cartoon spoof with two kids in a art museum commenting how Jesus is cool because the painting shows how he was pierced to the cross and several graphic images of piercings on a vagina and penis to get across to my audience how disgusting one can become when they take their freedom to pierce their body to far.
However, I think the my project’s most evident weakness was that in the end, the project appeared more like a informational poster board rather then a collage. This is because I eventually decided that I would rather that the final result was readable, rather then cover every space of white with an image the way a collage should be. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is a weakness in a way because the final result wound up not being the project I set out to create.
If I had to choose an artist and an artwork that closely resembles my piece, I think that Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe pop art comes closest. The reason why I reference this piece as a inspiration for my project is because Andy Warhol divided Marlyn’s project by two different colors in each print. My project operates in a similar way, except that I have divided each image cluster of the collage up by argument.
I wanted my audience to feel disgusted and awkward by the graphic photos and to personally reflect on the dangers of this type of piercing can have on their body, and what motivation one could possible have to get trademark on a sensitive part of their body. Regarding the rest of the reasons and images that the collage depicted, I wanted my audience to reflect on the piercings they may have, and ponder if they made that choice because of the pressure of society, to increase their sexual appeal, as a form of rebellion, to look as if they can handle any obstacles that comes their way, for religious purposes, as a status of wealth or for work related purposes. I think that in the end, my project succeeded in stimulating these reflections in my audience.
The guiding questions from the unit that this project addresses how does body piercing stimulate or decrease our self perception. The answer, according to my project is that when we get a part of our body pierced, our self perception increases. The project shows this through the images of the people looking happy that they have a piercing on the poster board. How do another’s perceive another person because of body piercing? According to the images that I have placed around the board (particularly in the “because everyone else is doing it” category), they are culturally accepted or according to the “to look tough” category), they are respected because of their appearance. The poster board also addresses the guiding question of whether we are alienated or accepted by society through the reflections of the audience. In conclusion, depending on the individual if someone were to get a piercing in a visible location (such as their ears, eyebrow, navel, tongue and lip if the person is rock musician or part of a “Goth crowed”), the new addition that they have made to their
body is cool (the exception being a parent as seen in the rebellion argument). However, if one were to make an addition on a private area, they alienate themselves in intimate relationships because the health risks are dangerous and the look its self, is gross. Finally, the collage addresses that the type of labels that body piercing will generate are “cool,” “tough,” “hot,” “part of the crowed” and “beautiful” or “ugly, “disgusting” and “gross” depending on where the piercing is located.
Finally, I do not think that this project was more or less difficult in contrast to past poster boards that I have completed for various classes in the past. It was certainly easier in some ways then other collages I have created because the information was more accessible. It was more difficult on the other hand, because I found too much information and had to narrow down my arguments, not to mention the fact that finding photos online proved to be more difficult then it was in past history, science and other classes. In the end however, I think the quality of my worth ethnic on this project and past assignments in high school had the same result. It was a plausible result.
I enjoyed creating this project. I also, can not wait to create more artistic projects that echo society issues over the course of New Millennium Studies this semester.