Untitled (Mind)
Amalia K. Amaki, Blue Gold Lady, 2005
Blue Gold Lady:
Amalia Amaki’s Blue Gold Lady is a cyanotype photograph of a woman's face. Amaki explores the perceptions of glamour, beauty, and race by manipulating the size and scale of the image. The enlarged and zoomed in face of a woman presents a new representation of beauty and femininity. Because the photo is a cyanotype, only tones of blue are used. This along with the proximity of the camera to the woman’s face only allow for an outline of the woman’s facial features to be seen. This new and unconventional representation of beauty suggests reconstructing initial views of gender and race.
Vanessa German, Delia on the Plane or Cabbage Sliver, 2012
(Front View)
Vanessa German, Delia on the Plane or Cabbage Sliver, 2012
(Back View)
Vanessa German, Delia on the Plane or Cabbage Sliver, 2012
(Close Up)
Delia on the Plane or Cabbage Sliver
Vanessa German’s Delia on the Plane, or Cabbage Sliver details the effects of social assumptions of identity on the mentality of black women. German is able to convey messages of blackness, femininity, and mental health by creating a connection between the mind and body. The connection is displayed through the guillotine with the female figure in place of the head and the keys and nails embedded onto the doll’s body. The central figure of Cabbage Sliver, along with Blue Gold Lady, depict the female body and explore aspects of societal representations of femininity and standards of beauty.