Teacher Name: Sharon Finley
Grade: Senior
Materials: Bristol paper
Dimensions: 15” × 15”
Artist Statement: I am exploring Liberian/African American culture, its effects on me, how my mother and father’s upbringing and traditions influenced who I am today, and what I love and enjoy about my culture. Through the use of acrylic paint, I have created portraits in bold and vibrant colors, and patterns, to show the beauty in African culture and how my culture is different as you can se in the piece “Vibrant Beauty”. I want to know what makes my culture unique? How can I show that I am proud of my heritage? But also show how lucky I am to know where I come from? In the piece “African Red Carpet”, when someone graduates, we have a tradition called the African red carpet where we put down a lappa cloth and we throw money at the person who graduated as they walk on the lappa. We do this to honor the persons and their accomplishments, and to encourage them to keep on doing big things in life. I wanted to show the evolution of my hair that has been affected by my culture. I used gold to represent how my hair is beautiful and is still beautiful at all points of my life in the pieces “My Hair is Gold” and “The Evolution of My Hair”. I used bold and vibrant acrylic paints because it is associated with African fabrics, clothing, and art. These colors are part of african culture and apart of me.
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