"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?