CYLCLE OF SOCIALIZATION
MASK PROJECT
Artist Statement
My mask represents how stereotypes have impacted people's lives. In my mask, I incorporated many different brands of kids' toy brands like Nerf, my Little Pony, Lego, Hot Wheels, and Barbie. I included these because these are all brands I feel are very set for one gender. As we have seen in certain toy commercials, only girls are playing with dolls and only boys will be playing with nerf guns and legos. On my mask, I also included shows and movies that I thought were good representations of how society wants us to look or act a certain way because of our age. In my mask, I included quotes from people who have been affected by the media. They talk about body issues and how after seeing things and being influenced they feel they have to look a certain way. I put this on my mask because what you see in the media is a big part of how you are influenced. The main part of my mask is the words “is there choice”. When I was a child I didn't have a choice in how I dressed and how I looked but growing up now I feel like I do. I included that question because throughout stages of your life you wonder whether you have a choice of what you get to be.
Reflection
I wouldn't change anything about this project I thought it was very well thought out and included everything it needed. My 3 main takeaways were how much I didn't know about how socialization has impacted my life and others. After learning about each thing that takes a part in forming socialization my understanding grew and this was a very interesting project for me. Another takeaway I had was that most people who asked me about my mask I had introduced them to new ideas they had never thought of before. I thought it was interesting that even the most simple things get overlooked because of how social norms have been set. My 3rd takeaway was the more time you spend on something the better the outcome will be. I find this to be true with my mask and essay because I refined my essay many times and kept adding things to my mask that would improve the message I was trying to get across. In the end, I feel my project was presented well and it displayed my ideas. Something that was challenging for me was making my mask and essay original. At the start when reading people's essay outlines I realized that ours were similar and where portraying the same Ideas. One of the main parts of this project was how all of these things impacted my socialization this was challenging to think about ways socialization has impacted my life. I think the exhibition went well because I got to explain my mask and share my ideas. When explaining my mask many parents said they had never thought of certain ideas before and each of the parents gave me new insights. In the exhibition, I feel I was well prepared and felt like it was very engaging for the audience. I feel like I knew what I was supposed to be doing and the directions were very clear. I wish I could learn more about the privilege each person has. I think this would be interesting to see everyone's different perspectives and thoughts about privilege. When we did the privilege walk we got to see how each person has a different story, I think it would be good to expand this and see how what you are given when you are a kid and how that affects your privilege. Liam Marches' project impressed me the most because of how much time and effort he put into his masks. He created 3 masks each with a very deep meaning that reflected him well.