Today, I am sharing a part of myself that has felt so taboo. Original piece by Caroline A. Loftus, Survivable. Stopping the stigma of mental health once and for all. Here's to all people leading healthier and happier lives. Project Semicolon: "PROJECT SEMICOLON IS A GLOBAL NON-PROFIT MOVEMENT DEDICATED TO PRESENTING HOPE AND LOVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, SUICIDE, ADDICTION AND SELF-INJURY. PROJECT SEMICOLON EXISTS TO ENCOURAGE, LOVE AND INSPIRE. STAY STRONG; LOVE ENDLESSLY; CHANGE LIVES" I, myself, have struggled with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. I decided to read into this project when I was researching what to do for my 20 x 30 project. I was looking through Pinterest, unimpressed. I kept on seeing all of these semicolons on the pictures under the category "Mental Illnesses". I knew a little bit about the project, and then decided to look into it a little bit more. I knew that I needed to find something meaningful for my poster, as all art should have meaning. While fiddling around with my poster, moving from a 3D triangle poster about the Anatomy and Physiology of mental illness to the music portion of mental illness, I found that I was over looking something so meaningful and simple, the semicolon. I looked into it a little more and found my inspiration. I already knew that I wanted to use the outline of a face and have everything be black, other than the empty holes that made up the faces structure. I put mental health words inside of the face in bright colors, and then made everything else black and white. Looking at what I had made so far made me realize that the simplicity of just a face with such powerful words inside told a story all in itself. The face signifies the light in the dark. No matter what we are labeled, we will get through it, and it is all survivable. One of my classmates who did a poster also talked about how just one sentence isn't enough to tell a story or get a point across. Obviously I wasn't going to tell him that I disagreed, but I did. I have one apparent word on my poster, Survivable. I believe that this one word tells the point of my poster perfectly. Its simple, straight to the point, and flexible. People can look at my poster and think of it how they want. They can make up their own story and apply it. They can interpret it as they like. They can crush the mental health stigma but using their own thoughts and creating a story of their own out of looking into my poster. They can make it personal. It was so important to me to have the concept of my poster open. I want people to have to go up and look at it. I want them to have to think about it. I wanted to have it be personal to people for their own reasons. I want people to think of a time that reminds them of mental health when they look at my poster, apply it to their own life, and then be able to say, "you know what? It is survivable". Personal. Relatable. Thoughtful. I have always appreciated minimalism and simplicity. As an important part of my life, I put it in my poster. I made it simple and easy to judge so people can think about it and figure out what they think it means on their own. Its up to interpretation. I am proud of this certain piece. Even if it is dark and not as artistic as others I have seen, I know that it relays such an important message. Throughout my time in Electronic Design, I have been able to make pieces of art that have important meaning behind them. I am proud to say that this piece is one of my favorites, and has helped me realize that what we go through is survivable, not a death sentence. Lets stop the mental health stigma, and create a safer environment for the ones behind us. Carving paths for future generations.
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Caroline Loftus "Our shoes are tattered and torn, but our feet are dry. As for our places in history, we will run naked through your streets before we sit decorated in your halls." Archives
January 2017
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