"Aggressive, Criminal, Dangerous"

“Aggressive, Criminal, Dangerous”

By Noel Johnson

Mediums: Digital lenolium block prints on poly-nylon paper

Sam-

Likes: hugs, his dad, sunlight, looking out the window, bananas

Dislikes: the neighbor’s cat, dog sweaters

Brie-

Likes: naps, begging for people food, pet birds, peanut butter

Dislikes: sudden loud noises, cameras, fire

Frodo-

Likes: cuddles, all the attention, food, kissing Sam, eating shoes

Dislikes: baths, the mailman, not being pet constantly

In this piece I wanted to produce a less direct way to address stereotypes through commonly misunderstood animals. Although this project brings rise to the pondering of all  stereotypically misrepresented groups, it does focus more so on the misrepresentation of poverty and those effected by corporate media outlets. Pit bulls and other boxy-headed, muscular breeds of dogs, from my experience and observation, are the only breeds of dog widely associated with poorer classes, aggressiveness, and criminal activity. This is, however, in most cases untrue. To show this falsity I challenge the audience to have a connection with my dogs by seeing their face, knowing their name, and getting to know more about them. My three dogs are no different from any other dogs, and yet are treated differently. This leads to a lingering question: How are impoverished groups negatively represented? 

Taming of the Prude

Back of jacket, front of jacket, opened jacket (from top to bottom)

Title: Taming of the Prude 
Mediums: Citrasolv Image transfer, Acrylic, Spray Paint

This piece highlights the negative stereotypes pushed upon women by media and marketing outlets, particularly the clothing industry. Women suffer scrutiny when they don't live up to the excessive physical and mental standards, many of which contradict one another.This is encapsulated in this piece through the predominant medium being the clothing itself; a representation of the clothing industry's heavy influence on society's expectations of women. On the outer layer we see a leather jacket littered with terms used by media to describe women that do not fit within these preset societal expectations. Some of these terms apply to the way society views rats as well. We can also see a rat on an old TV peeking out beneath the leather jacket, implying these negative phrases are applied to the rat by a media outlet. When interacted with and unzipped the full shirt is then revealed to show a self-portrait surrounded by two flowers. I included a self-portrait since this issue is one that I , myself, often struggle with. I am proud of who I am, despite my flaws. However, I do have moments in which I feel a sense of negativity towards myself due to my lack of conventional beauty. The interactivity of the piece also represents our individual need, as well as an overall societal need, to look past a woman's superficial qualities and value women as a whole.