Self-Portrait: “We the People...No! We the Labels..."

We the Labels

For my final project as my self-portrait I decided to dress an issue that I feel is the greatest in the U.S. My self-portrait is called “We the People...No! We the Labels...” I chose to use the side of my body’s shadow facing towards the right direction as a layout. Surrounding my shadow are words that describe me as a person physically and internally. As for the inside of my shadow, viewers will only notice labels and images. These labels and images are what I feel people see me as, but others are what I feel, what I usually think of, what I fear, and what I want. The entire portrait is black and white and grey. I chose the black background because I feel as if this world is dark with no colors and people look at others as a label rather than an actual person. Many people would probably disagree, but they did not read Joanne Finkelstein “The Art of Self Invention.” In the last couple chapters, it mentions how people usually label others through entertainment. Sooner than later it became a habit and so we chose to act certain ways in front of people because we think it is the “appropriate” way to act. Compared to my mid-term project, which was a game board of my life in the past, present and future, I worried about I wanted others to see, that is a future doctor. But that was because I was blinded to see the real issues that are around me. We became the way we are because of what others say and what others wear. We choose to wear certain types of clothes to give a message. This is where labels come into play.

Through labels, we choose to be who we want to be. Cindy Sherman chooses to be who she wants to be by wearing different outfits and just becoming a different person. The choices are given to us as babies when we choose the toys to play with or when we wear the clothes given to us by our family members. Growing up we have choices. We try Nike, Adidas, Champs, etc. for athletes. When one is trying to “look professional” we wear a suit and tie or a casual dress. Sophie Calle’s idea of using another’s perspective as art inspired me. When we grow older and we look at images from years back we are looking back at another’s perspective. For example, before I thought Jordans were cool, but now I love wearing Aldo shoes and Toms. When I wore Jordans, I was in Spanish Harlem. There was this trend where kids who wore the latest shoes were cool. Now I wear Aldo shoes and Toms to show I am more mature and a young adult. This supports the idea that small labels can easily affect people in a greater way. We become labeled in our communities and societies. This is why I chose to use words that describe me as a layout. To my friends, I am loud, crazy, dramatic, outgoing, mean (sometimes), bold, honest, etc. In my house, I am very very lazy (sometimes, I just like to relax), loud, “munchy”, and just a family person. At my job, I am motivated, devoted to my school work and job, friendly, caring, funny, etc. As to others, I am a short, Mexican female, who is to herself, and is pretty smart. Different environments and social groups come with different labels.

The top of my head are things or issues that are currently in place that I cannot keep out of my head such as deportation, my parent’s citizenship, my career, the pathway towards my goals, responsibilities at home, and children losing their parents because of immigration. This is one of many things that I fear. All these labels and images just play over and over in my head. Throughout my body, there are other issues needed to be address like women degradation, being a female with a perfect slim lean body, having expensive clothes to fit in with others, immigration, and my personal issue would possibly be losing faith in God. With all that is going on, we receive another piece of reality and the real world responsibilities and issues. This is why we became labeled. Since I am Mexican, people would think I crossed the border, not knowing I was actually born in this country doing great in school and with everything else that I can thanks to my immigrant parents. We are labels and will continue to be viewed as labels.