My Collage: The Essence of a Woman

I think I've mentioned good ol' Yuri Temirkanov at some point in a previous blog post, but just in case, here's the gist: He's a prominent Russian orchestral conductor who does not believe that his profession should be open to females.  He is quoted as saying, "The essence of a conductor is strength, and the essence of a woman is weakness."  This quote obviously offends me and makes me angry, but I also find it humorous because Temirkanov is just so wrong on so many levels.  Not only are women strong; I would argue that strength is, in fact, the essence of a woman.  It is necessary to be strong and brave and independent in order to survive as a female in this world.  So my collage is a rebuttal against the chauvinistic attitude that seems to infect so many males in the music industry.  It's called "The Essence of a Woman," and it is meant to directly contradict Temirkanov's words by associating images of strength with pictures of female conductors.

I began by choosing a piece of music that I associate with empowerment: "Snow Angels" by Sarah Walker.  I printed copies of the sheet music, cut up the pages, and plastered the pieces on a piece of notation paper to create the base for my collage.  The most prominently displayed scrap of sheet music has the powerful lyrics "There's not a wind can stop my music."  I traced my own hand onto the page to show that I am part of the fight against sexism, and so that I could be part of the artwork.  The silhouette of the girl conducting, meant to represent the next generation of female musicians, is being led by Marin Alsop, who was the first woman in the U.S. to be appointed conductor of a major symphony orchestra.  At the bottom of the page, the hands that have just broken free from the chains are positioned like those of a conductor giving a cutoff, symbolizing the fact that women have the power to stop oppression if they simply step up and refuse to let it carry on.

My collage did not come out exactly the way I thought it would.  I am too much of a literalist for this type of art.  In my attempts to make sure that all of my symbols made sense, I ruined any and all subtleties that I could've hoped to have in my collage.  Color-wise, I'm not sure I like the way it came out; each of the colors definitely meant something as I was working, but now that the piece is done, it just kind of looks like an explosion of Skittles.  But, although I may not be totally happy with the outcome, I enjoyed making this collage.  I got to challenge my brain and my heart to be expressive through a different kind of art than what I'm used to.  And I think I'm kind of starting to understand the art of the collage now.  It's about letting go, taking images that evoke certain feelings and compiling them to create something meaningful.  As I made my collage, I definitely felt that I was channeling my emotions into the work, which I never expected to happen.  A lot of thought and soul went into this collage, and whether or not the outcome has an impact on others or is even aesthetically pleasing, I can honestly say that I am proud of the work I did.