Rhianna Shaheen Fine Arts Senior Thesis Project

Date
2014
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Haverford College. Department of Fine Arts
Type
Thesis
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Award
Language
eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Visual storytelling composes stories through the sequencing of images. Motion pictures do this especially well. In the storyboarding process, movies are first conceived as several juxtaposed hand-drawn images. Although the end result is seemingly a reality flickering before our eyes, film is really just a series of still images. Yet, these images have the power to leave a lasting impression on us as viewers. From childhood to adulthood our relationship to the movies is one of constant influence in which each story has the power to shape our perception of the world. Images of women have left the greatest impact on me. Dorothy Gale, Matilda Wormwood, and Clarice Starling were among my favorite heroines. They were accessible characters who had their own adventures and embodied the hero I wanted to be. At a young age, their representation instilled within me a sense of possibility and identity. Storytelling holds great potential for envisioning these new narratives and empowering women. Images have the power to inspire and to reshape ideological frameworks. I use the vocabulary of visual storytelling to such ends in my own body of work as I explore the hero’s journey of a young runaway girl in the rural Midwest. Canvas and prints of various sizes serve as my storyboard to explore the pattern of the hero’s journey with a character and story of my own creation. Each painting acts as a snapshot of a moment in her journey. Placed in sequential order, they have a call and response interaction. Although titles are important to its meaning, my work does not collectively rely on text for its power and effect. I channel many of my dreams, fears, and longings into these images. It is a means for me to share and process many of my own youthful experiences, which I hope will resonate with others and create a self-reflective space. I want my work to provide viewers with a lens through which to understand, relate, engage and see.
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