Vanessa's collage
My collage focuses on the image of silk stockings from Kate Chopin’s “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” I depicted the mother’s life before motherhood as being a well dressed woman, having time to relax, and having no worries for anyone but herself. I tried to illustrate her love for her children and her role as a thoughtful mother. Although she ultimately spent the money on herself, she had every intention of buying things for her children. Then I showed the impulsiveness she had the instant she felt the silk stockings. It took her back to a time when she could indulge in nice things and brought out the woman she used to be. This is why I placed the same picture toward the end of the collage as I did at the beginning. It symbolizes a return to her youth.
Upon realizing that she had not done anything for herself in who knows how long, she began her spending extravaganza. The power that shopping has over a woman is indescribable; the simple touch of silk stockings set her off. Personally, I sometimes buy things I should not buy simply because I feel like I deserve it…and that is what she is doing. It feels great while I’m doing it and for a short time after it, but eventually I feel selfish and guilty.
It may seem as if I am trying to portray her decision as negative, but that is not what I am trying to do. I definitely think she deserved something for herself. At the end of the collage, I am just trying to show that she probably didn’t need to spend money on all the things she decided to. Whether the children are expecting something from her when she returns or not, they will see her new things and will probably feel upset that they didn’t receive anything. Even though she does so much for the children at the expense of herself on a regular basis, the children will not understand why she got all these new things while they got nothing.
Tracee's collage
The piece that got me started thinking about this project was “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath. I was disturbed that no one seemed to notice her unless she was attempting suicide, and I thought about what could have led her to realize that she was only visible under traumatic circumstances. I decided that the message of women as unimportant, as almost invisible, has been relayed in many different cultures and through various media. I started looking at ways that women have been illustrated as invisible, and I found even more than I had expected.
The images in my collage are from books, television shows, movies, comic books, articles in newspapers and magazines, posters, documentaries, and CD covers. Women in many cultures are forced into almost physical invisibility by the apparel they are expected to wear. Female super heroes, such as The Invisible Woman and Violet from The Incredibles have invisibility as a “super power.” Women are described as invisible simply because they are women, and also on the basis of age, weight, race, profession, marital status, looks, and other characteristics. Even whole groups of women working together are often laughed off, like the protagonist in “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” or ignored.
The quotes that are integrated into the collage illustrate different perspectives on invisibility. They are as follows:
• She was nothing, pure nothing, in the middle of the day. –Rita Dove, “Daystar”
• My face a featureless, fine Jew linen –Sylvia Plath “Lady Lazarus”
• The very invisibility of women is a sign of their submerged status. –Howard Zinn
• Silence and invisibility go hand in hand with powerlessness. –Barbara Brenner
• Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got. –Jane Fonda
Tarah's collage
Jenny's collage
My intention in creating my collage, “Imprisonment,” was to play on the image of women behind bars. I derived this image from the short story The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the text, the main character is mentally ill, and starts to believe that she sees bars and a woman in the pattern and design of this yellow wallpaper. “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be.” The image of a woman behind bars, or imprisoned, brought to light several different thoughts for me, especially as I created the collage. I think images of women in prison are very powerful because they go against the stereotype of women being delicate and gentle, like a flower. On a deeper level, I created the collage in hopes that the viewer would think about all the different ways that women can be imprisoned in life; in marriage, in motherhood, in religion, in mental disorders, in our culture, in the simple daily routines of life. My intent with providing the concrete images of women behind bars is to hopefully provide insight into these different forms of imprisonment that women experience. Imprisonment is not just about the physical experience of being behind bars; it is a very emotional and mental experience as well. I hope the images of the women in my collage will help the viewer to see the way in which imprisonment of any kind, in any society around the world, can be a dark force and stronghold on the spirit of a woman within.
My collage: 1 | Kaylene's collage
My collage represents the images of women’s portrayal as birds in literature and also in pop culture today. In the past, women were written about in comparison to fragile birds. The reference also went so far as to describe them in ways that made them seem like caged birds. More recently, women often compare themselves to birds. They feel that they can ‘soar’ to new heights and ‘fly’ out of oppression. My intention for this collage is to visually explain the image of women as birds as described in literature. I feel that image is an accurate comparison across the past and present because of the different roles that both birds and women may take on. Birds are prey to many animals, just as women fall victim to many pressures surrounding their gender. Birds also care for their young, just as women are conditioned to. Birds may be caged in, just as women may feel trapped in their own lives. Both birds and modern women are able to take flight and find a haven away from what troubles them.
In this collage I included lyrics from Christina Aguilera’s song “Soar,” and lyrics from Alicia Keys’ “Caged Bird.” The lines from poetry are from Janice Mirikitani’s “Suicide Note,” and the poem read in class, “The Thirty Eighth Year,” by Lucille Clifton. I found a relevant quote by James Stephens and put that in my collage because I felt it was an interesting male perspective on this image. Keys’ lyrics relate that she feels like a bird caged in for others viewing and pleasure. She said that she understands how those caged birds must feel, and that they are so unique that she wants to just let them fly free.
The graphics I found show a woman in a bride magazine. She is standing in a cage while wearing her bridal gown. This image was particularly strong to me. I also found a modern piece of artwork that shows a bird head with woman legs. My background image is from the United Kingdom, but still relevant to American culture. The women in the picture are lounging under an outline of a bird. The painting beneath the “Caged Bird” lyrics depicts a woman setting a bird free. Toward the top right I put an image that shows a woman-like bird in a cage with other women around it. The images all work together to show the two main ways women can be viewed as birds.
I hope this collage shows the various ways women have been viewed as birds in literature over the years.
Sources:
Large Image: 1934 by Leon Underwood.
http://redfern-gallery.co.uk/pages/single/6850.html
Bird image: http://www.artishell.com/demontmollin/BWImages/eagle.jpg
Bridal image can be found online under slide 23 of 32 under bridal by Christopher Robbins: http://www.brucelevingroup.com/detected.php?page=&pass=
Blue cage image:
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2005/09/01/feature-01
Caged Bird image:
http://www.fotosearch.com/IMZ120/rbe0017/
Stephens quote online: http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/women_and_birds_are_able_to_see_without_turning/182023.html
Aguilera lyrics online:
http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.nsf/Soar-lyrics-Christina-Aguilera/8A54C277618244EF48256C5900291516
Keys lyrics online:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Caged-Bird-lyrics-Alicia-Keys/DA56FD3D363C109C48256A85002305EE
Mirikitani, Janice. “Suicide Note.” 1987.
Clifton, Lucielle. “The Thirty Eighth Year.” 1974.
Jim's Collage
Meegan's Collage
My collage represents the roles and looks of women. I start with the line from The Thirty Eighth Year and the pictures show how women’s looks have changed over the years, especially when talking about wives and mothers. In the 1800’s most women were in dresses, no make-up, and were kind of dowdy and plain. You see that change with the images up to the present day when you have the Desperate Housewives. However, although the looks of women have changed over the years they are still performing the same tasks and landing in the same roles; getting married, having children and raising a family while working and keeping everything together. Now we have modern conveniences to help us perform those tasks and keep up the roles but as you can see in the painting below which is titled Suburban Housewife women are still just as busy. I also think this painting shows that no woman is ordinary. This could be a painting of any woman’s busy life. So no matter how much the looks and conveniences has changed over the years no woman is ordinary. Even if women are still performing the same tasks and filling the same roles as women hundreds of years ago that doesn’t mean we are ordinary. Women are extraordinary for all the things they do whether it’s flying to the moon or racing across town to get to soccer practice in time.
Caylen's Collage
The original intention of my collage was going to be a focus on American culture’s tendency to tell women that they are not good enough the way they are. As my project developed, I became more interested in a more global focus. Although America is the “land of the free”, many women have also proven that it is very much the “home of the brave” as well. According to endabuse.org, “estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend per year1 to three million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.” This shocking statistic compelled me to focus my work on the women who not only internally think that they are not good enough, but their husbands, families and communities remind them every day through abuse, torture and concealing clothing. I chose images of Chinese feet binding, public stoning, Middle Eastern women being covered head to toe in cloth, domestic violence victims in America, and genital mutilation in Africa. I used quotes from “When I Was Growing Up”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “Gloire de Dijon”, and “Ain’t I A Woman?”. Although women’s lib has made large strides in the past century, there are still miles to go. This collage serves as a reminder that next time you flip through Cosmo magazine and spend time reading an article on “how to get a guy”, think of the women who would do anything to have the freedom to walk down to the corner store and get a magazine for themselves.
Jamie's Collage
To me, the common theme in the texts that we read was the difference between how women view themselves and how they believe society views them. The strong words that end Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus" are empowering, and Nellie Wong and Sojourner Truth both have the courage to speak out about how they feel about the colour of their skin. When it comes down to it, all seem to yearn for perfection in some sense. Whether they want to be the perfect age, perfect colour, perfect wife, perfect mother, or perfect cure, they all want to be a perfect woman. I believe my collage shows many perfect women and the artistic interpretations of women are beautiful. I was curious about how women are seen artistically, and none of them are ugly. They're unique and they're perfect.
Megan's Collage
With my collage, I wanted to focus on the preconceptions and the realities of motherhood. I show at first some calm, happy images of motherhood; it’s what everyone thinks of when they think of a mother. When I read the texts, “Daystar” and “The Silk Stockings” in particular, I had a different image: one of stress and exhaustion. From there I found images that depict that stress – the balancing of motherhood, wifehood, and a career. I wanted to show that chaos, so I layered a lot of pictures in differing sizes to make the bottom 2/3 of the page feel chaotic; the top third of the page is ordered and separated from the bottom, showing the dichotomy of motherhood.
Brandy's Collage
I chose to concentrate on the poem we read in class by Nellie Wong, "When I Was Growing Up." This poem discusses the issue of what makes a woman desirable. She talks about how she read magazines with blonde movie stars, white skin, and sensuous lips, and to be elevated. I also include images of blonde movie stars such as Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton among others. When searching the web, I found quotes from Askmen.com and they discuss what makes women desirable and included them on my collage. In today's society many women feel they need to become all of these things mentioned in the poem in order for them to be desirable. I believe that his is definitely an issue that is evolving and one that will not be leaving anytime soon.
Stefanie's Collage
When making my collage, my intentions were to convey a message of women empowerment. I wanted them to know that although they may have been treated badly in the past, or perhaps too well (in the case of women riding in carriages, etc.), they are now able to do as they please and overcome any previous expectations and stereotypes that were once attached to them. I want women to think that they can be hard workers, and be anything they want—independently and with strength. Some women feel the need to always have a male presence to take care of them and treat them like a lady… I think every woman should learn how to do things on their own and not rely on anyone else. Being a woman is just as good (if not better) as being a man. Women can do anything men can, if they put their minds to it.
Sources:
Pilgrim woman cooking: http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/images/pictures/woman_cook.jpg
Women slaves in field: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/media_content/m-3345.jpg
Old woman carrying pack: http://www.gov.nt.ca/MAA/photoalbum/photos/N-1979-056-0032sm.jpg
Woman in carriage: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/es/nm/es_nm_truth_1_e.jpg
Knight and princess: http://www.breakupgirl.net/essays/images/chivalry.gif
Slave woman drawing: http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/archive-files/2000/2798t.jpg
Woman of opportunity picture: http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/IMZ/IMZ130/sca0141.jpg
Young girl with books: http://www.csisd.org/images/girl-carrying-books.jpg
Older woman with books: http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/ncc/dclhist/images/pb19c.jpg
“We Can Do It!”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:We_Can_Do_It%21.png
(I forgot to retrieve links for Pilgrim woman washing and woman holding bike.)
“Ain’t I A Woman?” quotes by Sojourner Truth
“When she was three years old on her daddy’s knee, he said you can be anything you want to be.” Song by Faith Hill, Wild One
“Stronger than yesterday, now it’s nothing but my way.” Song by Britney Spears, Stronger
Lori's Collage
collage
I based my collage on Sojourner Truth's, "Ain't I a Woman?". My intention for this collage was to depict what may have been the thoughts of Truth, and what she was trying to get across to her audience about how women should be treated. Truth refers to "that little man in the black there" and I tried to use him and his thoughts as what Truth was trying to counteract. For examples, I used the "We Can Do It!" poster image to represent Truth's quote of "Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted..." and on the other side, I put an image of a carriage to represent her remark, "That man over there says that women need to be helped into coarriages..."
quetta's collage
Comments (40)
Vanessa Weitlich said
at 10:58 am on Jul 14, 2006
Tracee's Collage
The thing that initially stood out to me was the picture of a woman with her hand on the man's neck, but the woman's head was invisible. It's just a great image that doesn't even need explaining. I think you addressed a serious issue that women face on a national level. I don't think it's as bad in the United States as it is in other countries, which you illustrated with many pictures of women from those other countries. I thought you made a great point in your explanation when talking about the female superheroes having the ability to be invisible as their super power. That is something that I've never thought of, but is a really strong point in this image. I like how you used the eye to place your pictures on...I'm not sure what you meant by it, but to me it's something that I am forced to look into it. To me it was the focus of the collage and was something that I couldn't prevent looking at. It makes me think of all the woman activists today that are fighting for the freedom of women in foreign countries and just to be recognized. Those women are strong and courageous and are making it impossible to for people to not pay attention to them in the same way that it is impossible to not look into the eye.
Meegan said
at 3:04 pm on Jul 14, 2006
I also liked Tracee's collage. Your images were thought provoking and I think they really relayed the message you were intending. I was particularly interested in the image of the woman with her finger to lips like she was shushing someone. For so many years women were expected to be quiet; seen and not heard. I think that is still the case in some ways but I think women have also come a long way in finding their voice. It would be nice to be heard more often but it's much better now then it was 100 years ago.
Meegan said
at 3:12 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Jim I like your collage. It was an interesting idea and you showed it well with your images. Women are so often portrayed in movies as evil and dark yet still portrayed as sexy at the same time. Why does everything come back to sex with women? Women in the types of movies you described are seen as powerful and in charge which is a good thing. but then the are eroticized and i think that really takes away from the image of a strong, powerful woman. So people are still looking at women as sex objects and using their powerful position for evil. Even in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, Glenn Close is seen as a powerful, strong woman but she is also a total bitch. That is such a stereotype. We discussed in my Social Inequalities women who are in top positions in the corporate world and can't win. If they are too feminine then it's said that they can't handle the job because they are too sensitive and not aggressive enough. On the other hand, if women are aggressive and more masculine then they are seen as bitches. I thought your collage was very interesting.
Meegan said
at 3:17 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Megan, I was drawn to your collage, obviously, because I am a mother and these images were all too familiar. :) i think you make a good point when saying that motherhood is looked upon as this wonderful, peaceful state when in reality it is stressful and exhausting. I actually have a friend whose husband once told her that as a stay at home mom she does nothing and certainly doens't work as hard as he does!!! I was flabbergasted, trust me. Mothers have a very difficult job whether they work inside the home or out and I like that you pointed out the contradictions of the way people think about mothers. Motherhood is wonderful and very fulfilling but that doesn't mean that mothers love every second of it and they shouldn't. It's a difficult job and people should have a clear picture of the ups and downs of motherhood.
kaylene said
at 4:14 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Jim: <I>I really like the ring graphic you made; so as far as design goes...great job!</I> Since the discussion in class on Thursday (about Disney's portrayal of evil women), I've been interested to see how your collage turned out. I think it does visually show dark women being viewed erotically. Your image choice was accurate, as I can see the intense visual portrayal of women in a darker and sexier way than real life allows. Media and literature play up these visuals. They, along with your collage, evoke a strong reaction from all genders.
kaylene said
at 4:21 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Caylen:
The focus of your collage is one of scary subject matter. While pursuing my Sociology minor, I've heard all the facts about women and abuse. It's more common than most people think it is, even in America. Most of my readings for those classes have attempted to find reasoning behind the continuation of abuse in our society. Several have come to the conclusion that it is because of the portrayal of gender condition in media and literature. Men are mainly portrayed as the aggressor and women as the object of aggression. The text that you chose accurately represent that idea. The images were intense and painful to see. I applaud your ability to turn a tough subject into a piece of art.
kaylene said
at 4:38 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Stefanie: Your collage incorporates pictures of past hardships and modern triumphs for women. I like how you combined the past and present. The picture of the girl in the middle, carrying her own books, was my favorite. As a child, I played sports with all the boys and considered myself equal to them. I still feel that way, maybe even more. I think women empowerment has always been a theme in women's writing because it is something we all need to hear. If we don't keep getting it pushed into our minds, we might lose sight of our goal. I like this collage and the message behind it.
Tracee Miller said
at 6:15 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Jenny- I found your quote by Thoreau especially interesting. I guess if men actually did think about women and their imprisonment, it would automatically be less of an issue. In any case, I was also interested in your collage because I saw this show while I was babysitting (seriously, I'm doing more than sitting around watching TV while I'm babysitting...) and I think it was Tyra Banks who went to visit a women's prison and she spent a day as a prisoner or something and she said something about how all the women were there because of men. I don't think I necessarily agree that the women weren't at fault, but there were a lot of instances of abuse and adultery that drove women to extremes. One thing that I think is particularly insteresting about all this is the parallel between being physically put in prison and being mentally or emotionally imprisoned. Tyra talked about how lonely prison is and how even when you seem to be making friends, you feel like so much of you has been neglected that you aren't capable of really sharing yourself with anybody. It's weird because in the case of the women in prison, they had been driven to crime, often violent. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," the woman was driven to insanity.
Tracee Miller said
at 6:26 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Lori- A rope is a unique symbol of security and identity. I think it's interesting because it's all about how you use it. Like Rapunzel... her hair saves her and is her claim to fame, so to speak, but the only reason it saves her is because she gives it to a man. I honestly don't know, so I wanted to ask a question to anybody who has any thoughts- Are there instances of images (involving ropes maybe?) in society/culture or literature or anywhere that suggest that women need to learn to share their secrets in order to be saved/accepted/beautiful/loved etc.? I feel like secrets can be a way to remain independent, but they might also present a significant obstacle to forming meaningful relationships. The example that comes to my mind first would be people saying "tying the knot" to represent marriage.
Tracee Miller said
at 6:33 pm on Jul 14, 2006
Caylen- So, that was scary. One aspect of your piece that I really enjoyed was how the first quote was kind of about Sojourner Truth being ignored and then the quotes turned more toward physical violence. I worked at a domestic violence shelter two summers ago and it was awful to see women come in physically battered, but it was definitely worse to see the emotional and mental effects that the abuse had on them. They thought that they deserved what they got, they wanted to go back, they thought the men who had hurt them truly cared about them, and so on. I think that it's often the way women are treated emotionally and mentally - ignored, laughed at, easily forgotten, dismissed, etc. - that make he physical abuse possible.
Jenny said
at 2:11 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Vanessa- I found your collage to be very thought provoking. I really liked the quote that you put in the middle of the collage. I think the words mixed in with pictures helped to enhance the idea of motherhood being a 24/7 thing. It really doesn't end. I liked the way the words seemed to shift in thought from the top of the page to the bottom. Starting with sacrifice, the words need, provide, and mother all fit into that category. And then with the word consequence, desires and escape play into that. I think it's interesting that you chose to put desires and escape under consequences, because I agree that there would be consequences for following your own selfish desires and wanting to escape motherhood, but I also wonder-- is that a natural thing? Is it something that just comes with the territory? Do mothers deserve to have these desires for escape, regardless of the consequences?
Jenny said
at 2:18 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Brandy- Your collage was very striking and impactful for me. When I first opened it, I was taken back by the "beauty" on the page (beauty being a very relative term of course!) I think when I continued to look at it, I began to feel sad. Reading the passage from the text alone, I don't think you really get the true ramifications of this thought process and sterotype until you see it put into a visual form. Your collage definitely did that for me. I was saddened by the fact that these are all women who may be respectable, may not be, but they are all icons for young girls and seem to stand out as icons for our society as a whole. I ask WHY? Thinking about celebrities and such, you do think of beauty and money, etc. but when you put all of these photos together, the message seems very clear: this is desirable, this is what you should be, this is BEAUTY? How very sad...
Jenny said
at 3:10 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Stefanie- I think your collage was very empowering. It's very easy to become discouraged as a woman in today's society, and I think you collage captured the true essence of what women are capable of doing (anything!) I really liked the image of the young girl carrying books because I think education is perhaps the most important thing for women (everyone for that matter) to obtain. Without knowledge, it would be impossible to make informed, responsible decisions and to be able to think for yourself. I think you did a good job of showing the different things women can do throughout the ages, which shows that this is not just a movement for today; its for all generations.
Anonymous said
at 4:54 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Brandy-
Your collage really represents "When I Was Growing Up" very well. Your quotes and pictures are really representative of what is thrown out there for women to measure up to, and it's not even realistic. I think your pictures are exactly the type of image that the girl in the poem was using to define what beauty and being good enough was.
Anonymous said
at 5:04 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Tracee-
I though your collage was great!...very different and creative. I didn't think about it until I saw your collage and read you explanation, but the lady in "The Yellow Wallpaper" really did seem invisible because no one took her comments or feelings serious. I don't think the poem makes it seem like the women even realized she was getting looked over.
Anonymous said
at 5:10 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Jenny-
Your description of your collage really helped show how much thought you put in your collage. At first glance it seems simple, but there is a lot of meaning to it. Taking the quote from "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and pulling so many meanings from it was really thoughtful.
Anonymous said
at 5:14 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Megan-
I really like your collage. It was creative how you used not only the images, but the format of them to creative a sense of being calm and hectic. It does seem like motherhood is portrayed and a wonderful, perfect time, but in reality, it is a lot of work. I think it is more work than mothers are given credit for. I think your collage really showed that.
lori said
at 8:02 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Tracee: I really liked your whole idea of invisibility in your collage. I think you put it together in a really unique way. I like how the big eye is able to see all these images of women being invisible. It's really sad to think of myself, being a woman, ever considered as invisible. I also think you did a good job incorporating more than one piece we've read in your collage; it was interesting to see how the idea of invisibility played out in "The Yellow Wallpaper," "Lady Lazarus," and "Daystar."
lori said
at 8:09 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Stefanie: I thought there were some really great images and quotes in your collage showing the message of women empowerment. I like the idea of women now being able to do as they please, regardless of how they were treated in their past. I definately believe all women should learn how to do things on their own and know how to act independently. Relying on someone else all the time can really put you in tough situations. I like to have a sense of independence myself because I like feeling a sense of accomplishment and I like knowing I did it myself. I think it makes you a stronger person and I think women need to feel that way.
lori said
at 8:13 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Brandy: I think your collage did a good job visually showing these unrealistic expectations of women's beauty in our society. Everywhere I look, in magazines, television, or the internet, I always see the same types of women displayed. It's just really sad that girls growing up today are striving to be like Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton. A lot of them have had plastic surgery and all of them are air-brushed too, which makes it even more unrealistic. Setting such high standards like this leads to more serious problems as well such as eating disorders. It's extremely sad to see the girl in the poem feel she has to look a certain way to be praised and desirable.
Tarah said
at 10:51 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Stefanie-I rthought that your collage was very modern and was representing the shift in women's role. I agree with you in the fact that we are changing, we don't need to depend on men as much. I liked how your collage kind of contradicted "Ain't I Women". In that poem all she talks about is how she has to rely on a man, etc. In your collage you are representing a shift in roles, one that isn't really represented in the poem. the first thing that came to mind when looking at your collage was 'Lady Lazarus". The quote about her coming up from the ashes popped into my head. I just think that it relates to women finally taking new roles, and rising up from men.
Tarah said
at 10:57 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Megan: I really liked you you formatted your collage into saying something not with just pictures but even with the order. In the twp poems that your collage represents there was always a complete state of chaos at one point. In the "A Pair of Silk Stockings" she was having a chaotic problem trying to figure out what to do with the money at frist. In "Daystar" her house was a mess and she just wanted a break. However, your collage also added a much calmer state of motherhood one that represented the positive aspects of motherhood. I like the contrast here too.
Tarah said
at 11:04 pm on Jul 16, 2006
Kaylene:I think that you did a really good job in your collage with representing some common literary analogies with women. When looking at your collage I felt like, yes people use these images,etc; but in your collage the women are birds. To me birds have the ability to just get up and fly away, and I think it is really unique because usually the women isn't looked at as someone who can jsut get up and go when she desires. In reality though, it is true, we can just get up and "fly away" if we should evrer desire.
Jim Holmes said
at 1:43 am on Jul 17, 2006
Tracee: I really like the layout and use of color in your collage. I honestly would have never thought of the portrayal of women as invisible. It never would have dawned on me and that disturbs me. Maybe the attempts and female invisiblity are affective.
Jim Holmes said
at 1:51 am on Jul 17, 2006
Megan: I like your use of layout to show the calm/chaotic life of a mother/wife. It's easy sometimes to forget how much work it is to raise a child. I guess all the work in the times of chaos are paid off by the breaks of peace and the joys that can come from children.
Jim Holmes said
at 2:00 am on Jul 17, 2006
Vanessa: The act of shopping and the joy that it can bring is something I can completely relate too. I myself am prone to by myself presents even when I really don't need them. The question is, when is this a good thin, and when is it bad. In "Silk Stockings" she still takes care of her responsibilities. Her children aren't starving are walking around in rags--they could have had better things, but was it completely wrong for her to treat herself? I think we all deserve that sometimes.
Stefanie said
at 12:50 am on Jul 19, 2006
Jim- I thought your collage was very artistic and interesting to look at. I never realized how much strong women were portrayed as villians, that is really interesting to me. At the same time, I think there seems to be a shift away from that today with movies like "Legally Blonde" and "Miss Congeniality" (things of that sort). But I agree- strong women being portrayed as evil is everywhere! And nice collage!
Stefanie said
at 12:55 am on Jul 19, 2006
Tarah- I thought it was a very interesting concept, women being watched. So many of these collages make me realize things that are going on around me that I don't naturally think of or necessarily see myself. It's true that women are watched all the time. I suppose the nature and comments by those watching can make the difference in how a woman feels when being watched. If someone watches you and often compliments you on being pretty and poised or something, you might feel good. If they give you dirty looks or talk bad about you, one might feel bad. I think you make a good point that different people view being watched with different emotions. Good job on the collage.
Stefanie said
at 12:58 am on Jul 19, 2006
Vanessa- I thougt it was interesting how you turned the womans desires in "A Pair of Silk Stockings" into something that can go to far. ...almost like it can become addicting. I won't deny that treating oneself can become addicting, but I think the woman in the story thought of her children enough to know that they would still be fine without the extras she was going to give them. So in that case, I think she was justified in treating herself. However, I agree with you that in everyday life, a lost of people may get so used to treating themselves that they lose track and ONLY treat themselves. Interesting concept, nice work!
brandy said
at 9:59 am on Jul 19, 2006
Vannessa- Your collage was very nice and had a great use of pictures and simple words that provoked a true and deep meaning. Like your choice of background color it tied in well with the overall idea. It made me really sit and think about the text while looking at the images.
brandy said
at 10:01 am on Jul 19, 2006
Tracee- Your collage was great and really cool with the eye and pictures placed on it. You seem very creative and I liked the detail a lot. As a woman I could definitely understand the invisibility factor of your collage.
brandy said
at 10:04 am on Jul 19, 2006
Aint I a Woman Collage- You used great images to dipict the meaning of women. Hard working etc. Then to contradict using "the manly attitude" was genius. The pictures and quotes of the way men view us is sometimes sadly true. I really liked it because it made me mad that two famous men could actually say something like that about women. Incredible.
Vanessa Weitlich said
at 10:36 am on Jul 19, 2006
Jenny's Collage I really like how you took the passage from the book and really expanded on it into how women can be imprisoned in many different ways. I think it's important to recognize that women aren't just imprisoned because of mental reason as addressed in The Yellow Wallpaper, but also by the other ways you mentioned. I just really enjoyed the intensity that your collage brought and I think it focuses on a very important issue for women.
Vanessa Weitlich said
at 10:36 am on Jul 19, 2006
Kaylene's Collage I really love your comparison of women to birds. When you talked about it in class before, I couldn't really imagine how you were going to do it, but I really like your collage. It gives me a picture of the beauty and grace of a woman. I really like the line about women being so rare and beautiful. It just really ties the whole collage together.
Vanessa Weitlich said
at 11:24 am on Jul 19, 2006
Jim's Collage: From that time in class when we were in a group together discussing our collages, I knew yours was going to be very interesting. I was excited to see where you went with your ideas. I am very impressed with your collage. I love how you took the approach to the darker side of women as opposed to them being soft and sweet and flowery. You bring about a good point how throughout the entertainment industry, specifically in the Disney cartoons, women are portrayed as the dark villians and are viewed as beautiful but also have an ugly side. This makes me think of the beauty of women, but also of the strength and power that sometimes comes through in women, that is sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly. Your illustrations in the collage couldn't be more perfect. They just really show beauty and strength and ugliness that you were trying to portray.
caylen said
at 10:58 am on Jul 21, 2006
Tracee- I really liked how your collage was set up. Using the background of the eye really put an interesting twist on the theme of invisibility. It made me think of when you look at something really close up, like the eye in your collage, and everything becomes blurry and you cant see at all. I don't know if you did that on purpose or not, but it was a cool effect.
caylen said
at 11:01 am on Jul 21, 2006
Meegan-
I love your collage because I think about the roles and images of mothers like you do too. Its so funny to look at the "June Cleaver" era of women and compare them to mothers today. I cant imagine my mom waking up every morning and perfectly doing her hair and wearing a dress and cooking a full breakfast. Life has become far too busy and complicated. It makes me wonder though- in fifty years will mothers have yet another image?
megan said
at 11:03 am on Jul 21, 2006
Jim- I liked your collage a lot - it raised a good issue. Disney started it, but it isn't only in cartoons that a woman is a villain. If a woman today is strong and a CEO of a company or something like that, she's seen as a ball-busting bitch set out to get her way. It seems that's the only way a woman is in a position of power - if she's super tough; masculine.
caylen said
at 11:05 am on Jul 21, 2006
Jim- Being a huge 'Wicked' fan myself, I really liked your collage. I liked how you commented on the fact that Disney female villians are often beautifully evil. I think that this is true in Wicked as well... beauty was no indication of who was evil and who was not and those lines were definitly blurred into a darker interpretation of good and evil. I loved the quote from "Ain't I a Woman", because it takes the concept of Eve in the bible really messing things up for the world, and turns it into an act of power. Good job, I really liked your collage!
megan said
at 11:08 am on Jul 21, 2006
Quetta- your collage is very powerful and I commend you on that. Women of color aren't the only women who have a hard time keeping up with expectations, though. Brandy's collage also brings out what white women have to keep up with, too. The beauty norm for us is long legs, flawless skin, blue eyes and shiny blonde hair. I think women in general are just expected too much of.
You don't have permission to comment on this page.