Essay

Desiree Bathke
Art Education Emphasis

My current work, “That Girl I See,” uses Disney princesses to convey my emotional insecurities related to gender stereotypes. As a child, I developed a certain mentality concerning gender roles by observing media and advertising, especially related to Disney princesses. I do not want to be seen as a girl because media portrays that girls are fragile, weak, and need protecting. I want to be one of the boys. Boys are seen as logical and strong, protecting the weak and saving the day. For this project, I am cutting up Disney Princess coloring pages and rearranging the pieces into a new semi-abstract image. This reconstruction represents that even though I attempt to avoid gender stereotypes constructed by media, they still affect who I am today.

I have been described as an emotionless robot so often that I now use the phrase to describe myself. This idea of a mechanical robot inspired my project, “My Ribcage”. The mechanical reliquary holds and protects a heart. However, it casts a shadow of a heart reconnecting with what is held on the inside. This piece helped me to see that cold and hard qualities can also communicate care and preciousness.

For my self-portrait “Unhappy,” I used one of my bridal photos for reference. At the time that I created this piece, I chose that image because of its high contrast; in hindsight, I see that I was working through the turmoil left by my divorce. The technique of drawing one box at a time within a set grid created a distortion to my facial features, altering the picture of me as a happy bride. Ultimately, the drawing portrayed more than my outside appearance.

My project “Portraits” is a tribute to my family and close friends who encourage, support, and love me. I stalked their Facebook pages and selected reference photos.  I used drawing to immortalize who they are and what they mean to me.

My work as an artist has allowed me to explore private and significant details from my life. Through my art, I have been able to confront life situations in a therapeutic way. My hope as an art educator is to allow youth to have similar self-reflective experiences. Within the BFA Program, I will be able to further explore emotional conversation through art.