** 'This is what a FEMINIST looks like.'... not all of us are angry bra-burning, man-hating, flannel wearing characters (ok, I actually like flannel IF it's cute..but still.) I love my boyfriend, I need my bras to hold what little I have in place, and I love embracing my femininity. As hokey and cheesy as it may sound..we come in all shapes and sizes, ha. ;) **
Last night was the opening reception for "Virgin, Mother, Slut" at UCLA. It was an amazing show produced by my own roommate, Ashley Tucker, who happens to be the President of the Bruin Feminists for Equality. The theme touches upon the three main female stereotypes of women in the media. As a Filipino-American woman, I decided to paint my own take on the
Asian Female stereotypes in America as presented by the media:
The Dragon Lady and
The Lotus Blossom.
So for a quick second, let me just school you on the concept behind these two paintings....
There are two main stereotypes of Asian women in America. One is of the 'Dragon Lady', an Asian woman of exotic beauty, who is scheming, calculating, catty, sneaky, hypersexual, back-stabbing, and untrustworthy. Next you've got 'the Lotus Blossom', the quiet, silent, submissive Asian girl, passive, eager to please, and prudent. Over time this stereotype evolved into that of the 'Model Minority'... the straight A overachiever, obedient to the wishes of her parents...both types are silent in different ways. I used my own face for these paintings because I've been personally subject to both of these stereotypes. And of course, neither stereotype fits who I really am.
Both of these pieces,
Dragon Lady and
Lotus Blossom, will be up for sale at the Revolution show at Mauve in Newport Beach. They are both 16"x20" acrylic on cradled birch wood.
And if you were curious about the process that I took.. Here are some pictures!
I took this janky little Myspace photo as a model guide:
And the way I usually approach the painting process goes like this--I throw around paint and acrylics and other stuff onto the wood/canvas/paper, then leave it overnight to dry. I wake up in the morning and let the random composition inspire a concept/drawing... It's an unpredictable process, but it's a win/win situation because it's as if I'm doing what the paint wants me to do, instead of forcing a concept and getting disappointed if the outcome isn't exactly how I want it to be.
See you on Saturday! There's an afterparty at the show, hEyyyy
Labels: dragon lady, lotus blossom, revolution, women's history month
