For the past third trimester, I was able to freely experiment and discover the subjects that I have been interested in using for my art. Among many of the subjects, I painted an image that I personally took in New York City, an image of Rihanna, and a photograph by Aaron Huey.
Over Spring break, I was walking down 11th street on 2nd avenue on a rainy, foggy day. I was waiting for the walking sign at the cross walk as many other people usually do every single day. When I was looking at the other side, however, there was an image that suddenly struck my head with emotions and an indecipherable urge to capture that image. A handicapped man with crutches was standing in the rain with a tiny Chihuahua next to him. I don’t know if it was because he was wearing sunglasses on a dark rainy afternoon, or because he had a cute dog next to him, but something certainly made me pull out my iphone to stealthily take a picture of this 4’ 8” tall man in the rain.
It was more than what I could describe. His posture and stature that I captured with my eyes and phone was just a valuable image for me to paint. The even more interesting part is that I saw him a couple of more times after that rainy day, and he did not carry the same aura he had that rainy day.
This painting of Rihanna is not simply created out of my affection as her fan. In fact, I can say that I would not call myself as her fan. However, one night when my roommate Abby Walker had her itunes on, and the song No Love Allowed played, I could not ignore the lyrics. My roommate told me that it was a song about Chris Brown. As many people know, the incident between Chris Brown and Rihanna was a great shock and surprise at the time. I had heard the news back then, but never was deeply interested enough to know the details. So I searched the incident on Google and found this image of her immediately after she got violated. I was so shocked and sad to see her swollen face with bruises and scratches. However, the major part that affected me the most was her facial expression that, for me at least, seemed to be more complicated than just a normal sad, angry face.
Huey is an amazing photographer who captures the images of worldly issues and the people who go through those issues. His images aren’t mere snapshots. The images hold emotions and hidden stories that can be unfolded, if the viewers are willing to pay attention. From his photography, I really became interested in the Pine Ridge Native American reservation and I became aware of the destitution and despondency the Native Americans live in. I have selected a couple of images from Huey’s Pine Ridge photography to paint and one of them was completed. Huey is not only fascinating for his work, but also for his love for the Native Americans. In his appearance at TedTalks, he introduces the Lakota tribe and as he is talking about them, his eyes started to water and voice started to crack. I highly recommend his lecture on the internet at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tEuaj4h8dw and his website at http://www.aaronhuey.com/ .