Nevertheless We Persist

After working on my Art IB theme for some time, I found myself still coming back to the phrase "History Has Its Eyes On You." In this piece above, there is a poster being held that says those exact words; I first used that poster as inspiration for my first painting, but couldn't stop my mind from going back to it again and again. The same goes for the banner being pulled by the airplane in the sky ("Women of the World Unite"). So, I gathered more images of women's marches from across the decades, spanning back to as far back as 50s/60s. So many of the themes and motifs of previous women's marches are still prevalent and impactful today, so I decided to put these protesters all together in one big march for equality.

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My process for choosing which people to include in the piece was hard to do because there were so many protesters I liked. In the end, I chose the ones that both fit the theme I was intending the best, as well as ones that fit on the page. Some pictures I found I could only fit the poster and not the protester, but I still wanted to get the words that they were uplifting to be included.

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The inclusion of older figures in black and white and newer people in color is meant to show that no matter when equality was/is being fought for, all of us are persisting, marching through time to achieve what is right. 

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(Off comment: I chose the main background photo (the large swathe of protesters, buildings, etc.) when I was still only into my first few months as a second-semester senior in high school. I had only just finish applying to colleges and those acceptance or rejection letters weren't on my mind yet. I was only focused on finishing my art pieces and whatever other homework I had. However, coincidentally, this main background I chose happens to have the big banner saying "GWU Women's Liberation," and in three to four months after finishing this piece, GWU was where I ended up going to college. Unbeknownst to myself, I had included my future in one of the most political cities in the U.S. into the very piece I was making to signify the importance of protesting and fighting for equal rights. )