Drenched in History
Jamila H.
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What does my piece mean? My piece conveys the message that we may wrinkle with time but the history of my people and their accomplishments will never die. Although this wasn’t the initial meaning for my piece, I created a new understanding and meaning for this piece despite its original idea. To deeper analyze and breakdown my thought process and how this piece came about, This piece was an assignment designated for the topic of activism, given to me by my ceramics teacher. When I heard this would be our topic for our pieces, my mind rushed with so many social, economic, and political issues that are going on today in which I could speak on through my artistic ability that would not only catch the eyes of the viewer but cause them to reflect on the issues at hand a little more. When I finally chose my topic, it was not only hard to choose which issue I wanted to cover but to choose one in which I could heavily relate and put such grave empathy into the piece. My original design and message consisted of the following: it was a fist with roots coming from the base of the piece to symbolize the root of all things. Due to a lack of time i took the roots off and created a new but still effective meaning for it and i call it “Drenched in history”, i called it this because as seen in the images of my piece you see the darker shade of brown sort of drip into another shade of brown to help emphasize the history of the fist. Might i also add The fist was a revolutionary trademark for black people deriving from the black power movement, while some may think it originated from the black lives matter movement, the fist was only then recognized as the BLM’s because of the newer generation. Lastly, my piece is meant to reflect the audacious influence of the African American people and that is why this piece means so much to me, it is meant to reflect a deeper meaning that helps emphasize the power of the fist, this fist is not only a silent but declarative pose but is was the start of a fight for progress and equality.
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Being able to create art work has helped impact my life in many ways. One way is when I was diagnosed with panic and anxiety disorder. Through this trying time art was my gateway to expressing the feelings and emotions in which I felt through my work helping me further see the beauty in my situation.
