Week 8 Artist Presentations

The artist that I want to write about this week is Isis Rodriguez. When I first saw the art by her, I did not like it at all. The overall colors and composition I was not drawn to. Something about the whole aesthetic of her work did not appeal to me. However, although I didn't care too much for the presentation of the prints, I think that the concepts and subject matter were important. I think the fact that she is comfortable with talking about her life and career as a stripper is significant because women in this kind of work are marginalized and not seen as intelligent or anything other than their occupations. I chose to write about her series Little Miss Attitude because it was one of the images that I was actually somewhat repelled by in terms of the appearance, but after realizing the subject matter, I thought it was significant. This image talks about how something as simple as eating a banana or lollipop becomes sexualized. The idea that this action done by a child draws the attention of older men is absolutely disgusting to me. The infatuation with phallic objects in society strips even the youngest of humans from their innocence, and makes them into unintentional sexualized bodies. I think this is something that a lot of us are too aware of as we eat lollipops or popsicles, and it is something that should just be done without any fear of it inciting a deeper, sexual meaning.