This past week, I printed both the lino and woodcut that I carved. I printed them together to form a composition and separately so that I could cut out the woodcut image.
(3.5 hours)
I researched Carol Jacobsen's work and watched two of her films, Sentenced and A Prison Diary. The films were powerful, enlightening, and sad. They made me think of portraiture in a new way. In Sentenced, the personal narrative is being told by a woman prisoner. Her face takes up almost the entire screen and is softly overlayed with different scenes happening in the prison. In an interview I read, Carol Jacobsen said that she enlarges and focuses on the head because it is what is most important. She isn't concerned with a Hollywood look to the movie, she wants to tell what is important. The second film is a story about the life of a prisoner, but is narrated through audio of letters she has written to Carol Jacobsen. It was beautiful to see the penmanship of the prisoner's letters scrawled across the screen. Hearing a voice, and seeing written letters is a poignant way to humanize them without showing a portrait of their face.
(1.5 hours)
I spent about 15 hours researching social work grad schools and writing grad school applications over break. The essay are not very lengthy (about 5 pages per school), but they ask these huge questions like, "What is the biggest social problem today, and if you had the resources, how would you solve it?" and personal questions like, "What are the personal and professional life events that have led to construct your moral and ethical standpoint, and make you want to pursue social work?" that I know the answer to, I just don't know how to verbalize it. I am trying to not become too sappy or abstract in what I write. Having written my proposal actually helped a lot, because it is a theme that is constantly flowing in what I do and think, and very applicable to the work that I want to do on a large scale in the professional world.
This is an excerpt from part of my application-the first paragraph is focused on why art is important in prisons and hospitals and the second part talks about the areas I want to study in "Interpersonal Practice" (working with people as opposed to research work).
I know that art has the ability to create an open and honest space. The act of creating is intrinsic to self-awareness and growth. In creating something outside of who you are, something that other eyes will see, a person becomes conscious that what they are creating holds a piece of themselves, but will also become a part of the outer world. These disadvantaged populations need a space like this more than most so that they are able to humanize themselves as they travel through dehumanizing environments. The practice method I have chosen, Interpersonal Practice, will allow me to gain the education I need to create better relationships between people and their social environment. This is applicable to my desire to work in the creation of a positive, healing space. It is also important to me to translate this positive relationship between an individual and their space to the individual and their families and social groups. The practice area, Health, would allow me to become educated on the mental rehabilitation of prisoners and patients. I also believe that mental and spiritual health promotion is important inside prisons and hospitals. It is often an area that is overlooked when the main focus in prison’s is punishment and the main focus in hospitals is physical healing
I also cat-sit for Janie on Saturday. Sophie and I chilled.
