Week 8 - Monica Kim Garcia artist

One of the artist presentations I enjoyed from my classmate was the painter Monica Kim Garcia. I thought it was cool that she was mixed race- part Mexican and part Korean-- and I felt that her various cultural identities were reflected in her imagery. One thing I appreciated is that she is redefining beauty through self portraits and representations of women who are nude and of larger size. I thought this is important because in our society women are often body shamed and media/ TV/ movies imprint this idea into minds of young girls by always objectifying the tall, skinny, female figure. I think her art is very vibrant and celebratory of mixed race women which I loved. The three images depict real life activities that people engage in, like with the images of women dancing, swimming, singing, etc.
I really liked the vibrant colors and style of how the water was painted. I feel like often times artists feel pressured into creating a certain aesthetic that conforms to this idea of perfection but I love how Monica Kim does her own thing. Her technique made these images relatable and realistic. Her art works also reflect different influences. As the presenter mentioned, Monica Kim got inspiration from the Renaissance and its portrayal of nude women but she also included elements in the background of her Mexican and Korean culture that were significant to her.
Side Note: I also really liked the artist of the very first presenter but I forgot their name. The images were of issues relating to immigration, and border violence. One of the memorable elements was the border officer standing over a body with flowers springing out from the ground, as in recognition f a death/ burial. The flowers had vibrant colors so it stood out in comparison to the black and white/ gray scaled rest of the image. I thought their imagery was very powerful and a relevant critique to the social and political issues occurring right now.