Independent Project: research and writing

“The word "tabloid" itself has several definitions. In 1884 it was trademarked as a name for compressed drugs. The connotation of "tabloid" was soon applied to other small items and to the "compressed" journalism that condensed stories into a simplified, easily-absorbed format.These papers were commonly identified with boisterous, brief news content, an abundance of pictures, some fiction, and often they blatantly appealed to the human interest in crime, sex, and disaster. One definition of tabloid from Webster's College Dictionary describes it as luridly or vulgarly sensational. Tabloid journalism employs sensationalism as a device to capture readers' attention. Sensationalism is the use of material intended to produce a startling or scandalous effect, especially one pertaining to the senses.”

What are the things that we ingest that truly make us who we are? How can we take control of our minds and what we become? How in control are we? Are these messages inescapable while living an average life? Or will those who want avoid these messages have to go into hiding?

How much of what we read becomes a part of us? In our culture we are bombarded with images of imaginary beauty. We are told that we aren’t good enough unless we have whatever it is that is being sold. The idea of perfection has flooded our subconscious and is destroying our perception of reality.

As the highly trainable species that we are, we should remember that the images and ideas that we see have a profound effect on who we become. We learn with our senses and as we walk through this world, we begin to believe the things we see; because we are believing them more than we are even able to admit.

As the line between reality and constructed reality blur, we should be vigilant in preserving our minds. It is not until we take a step back and look in the mirror that we realize how distorted things have and will become.

With incredible privilege comes an incredible responsibility. We live in a culture whose habits revolve around waste and indulgence. As we pollute our world, the media is polluting each and every one of our minds.

We can fight back by feeding our minds with knowledge, education and information that requires our attention and the depths of our brain that cannot be developed without the concentration required to learn new things and grow.

When we neglect our minds, we allow our brains to deteriorate. When we buy into the ideology being sold by the media, we are contributing the never ending cycle of self deprecation, envy, objectification and violence. Tabloids and beauty magazines in particular, infect us and stunt our emotional and spiritual growth; throwing us into a robotic cycle of being concerned with people we will never meet and ideal body types that are created on a computer screen. Set fire to these ideas.

What does success look like?

-The stacks translate as human figures because of their height and the fact that they are placed in the front of a mirror the same ways that we all are every day.

-The contrast between the two stacks is clear and powerful
-The mirrors emphasize the contrast because they are back to back

-The ultimate goal is to make the viewer consider the images they ingest and how they affect their self-image and how they see the world. Many people are numb to how these things affect them and by seeing these stacks in such a contrasted way, they will have no choice but to consider which side they fall on and why.