Cherished No More

                        
                                        Cherished No More

Every year 3.3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States. In 2010, Wisconsin had 26,452 investigated abuse reports. Minnesota reports show that of the 4,742 actual abuse cases in 2009, 70% suffered from neglect. The U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey averages 207,754 victims, ages 12 and older, of rape and sexual assault each year. One in four women will experience domestic violence in a lifetime, while 15% of domestic violence victims are male.

My interest in the issue of abuse started with volunteer work with children in the Minnesota social system, as a camp counselor. Repeatedly, the tragedy, the injustice and damage inflicted on humans by other humans staggers me. This issue awakens within me an instinct to protect, help and care for the unwanted in our society.  

The goal of this work is to meld portraiture with a psychological representation of the effects of abuse upon men and women, young and old, to create a visual experience of what abuse does to mankind. This is represented in the posture, expression, negative space and the emphasis on certain lines. This pictorial collage is one way to channel my passion and heart for the mistreated and unwanted. In a very minor way, it is my resistance to abuse and the complacent acceptance of it in our society.

The 16 figures used for this project are models only and not actual abuse victims. A special thanks to all of them for their collaboration and assistance.

Shaina Sieh
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Department of Art & Design Fall 2012 ©Shaina Sieh 2012

Statistic Resources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Child Welfare League of America; Prevent Child Abuse, Minnesota; Domestic Violence Resource Center.

 Redefining the Missing

Ann Romney was attacked for being a homemaker. Hillary Clinton is often made fun of for wearing pantsuits. Models are blasted for being anorexic and the average woman criticized for being obese. Girls are told to be princesses, but scolded for being divas. Adolescent girls are pushed to grow up, and then society wonder why innocents does not last. Are these things connected? Do they stem from the same thing?

I believe women are once again in the midst of an unacknowledged revolution, a counter-feminism, if you will. All women agree on ownership, voting, individual rights, equal employment opportunity, salary, work competition, etc. But for young women, the rest has become secondary and is defined by each female as she grows and forms opinions. I think subconsciously, many women are finding it is no longer mandatory to be feminists, nor do they necessarily want the title with a rather heavy history attached. This generation wants the basic ideals and victories feminism won without the hard exterior, the anti-man attitude and pressure to be the ultimate power-woman. The power of a woman is known and acknowledged and it is time for something different. Perhaps the Ann Romney situation shows us that women are still too sensitive to gender roles, but also it is a sign we have more changing to do.

These images show the dress - the shell or shroud of a female. It is a symbol of “woman”, of her emotions, spirit, potential, future, and her identity or lack thereof.  It waits or lives in all sorts of places, a mere reflection, a symbol, of what we could be or of what we are now. Hopefully, the dress connects with women, relatable or representational of something in their lives. The light is very strong, often dramatic and placed to inspire stories or ideas of what comes next. The lighting either acts as a spotlight or as a contender for the dress and its fate. The light is almost the opposite of the dress, but also reveals what one needs to see about this image and about the dress.

The “missing” women will redefine the “dress”, someday. I believe it will be a change we all want and that it will be the definition of “woman” and “feminism” we want and have been looking for all along.

"Growing Up" - Part of Independent Study

Growing Up

These images represent the things I hang on to as ways or reasons to remain a child. All these things, and more, have caused me to behave immaturely or have given people reason to question my sanity.  The superheroes, the cartoons, the dolls, the toys, extraterrestrials, the imagination and fascination with magic are some of my favorite things in life. One cannot leave those supremely important elements behind. One may leave childhood, but the land of imagination must never be lost.

    Here the heroes, colliding with the worlds of literature that I have devoured since a child and beyond. The humor and dream-like qualities make one question the image. One wants to challenge the absurdity, but also join in the odd adventure unfolding. Soldiers advance over the spines of old novels, as comic book characters become models of vanity, melodramatics, and fear. These iconic figures of the cinema are now laughable, but one would still join in the game for the fun of it. The light here is very dramatic and spooky, arranged to simulate the look when one turns on a single light while others are asleep. The toys enjoy their revelry while humans are unaware. The light is used to produce deep shadows, highlight the edges of the toys, and create a surreal mood.

Perhaps the process of playing with the toys and creating these scenes made me more of a child than these images declare childishness. Regardless, they are reminders of what we use to enjoy and what we miss as sleeping adults.

"Never Alone" video art class

A video influenced by the soundtrack - and loosely associated with the verse Job. 7:19. The idea is that we - humans - are never truly alone as the spirit world is constantly moving and battling around us. We just rarely see or hear it for the business and noise of our lives. I apologize for the poor quality required to upload on a PC.
Copyright Shaina Sieh 2012

The Sky Is An Abstract Wall

 

This project was a challenge to not use human or natural forms and still find personal interest in each photograph. The end result was that these images taught me to “see” differently.

A small town, rural Minnesota girl, I have always disliked big cities and have never wanted to live in town or take architectural photographs. The idea of creating viable work despite my personal preference struck me as a good discipline within my medium. Could I take urban, industrial, or architectural photographs that still held beauty or interest to me?

I could. These photos of solid, man-made structures hold my attention and interest. On one hand, the shadows, the concept of windows as eyes into these structures, the oddities and the differences in every image, intrigue me. The questioning of “what are these buildings to me” or what they represent, all retain my eyes and imagination.

On the other hand, my brain learned to process differently while viewing these images. I can now see them as shapes, as lines, as forms, positive and negative. The angles become flat objects, the space becomes abstract and the ideas do not necessarily matter. It is merely a composition of wonderful, shapes installed in the space around us.

These photographs show a variety of structures and places, without context and excess objects. What is literally there, is visually obvious. The content beyond that, though intentional, is not more important than the simplest forms.

Shaina Sieh

Joy. Peace. Contentment.

               For this project, I challenged myself to capture that which cannot be expressed in words or often explained in life, to depict the feeling of “joy”. The moments when we experience joy, peace, or contentment are few and far between, but can be pivotal points in our personal journeys. This project is intended to share this moment, to hold on to the feeling of joyous delight, to remind us that those times do exist, but also to see if it can be honestly and visually recreated.

                Through use of light, composition, color and content, I challenged myself to show joy, peace, and contentment in these photos. I purposefully included in each photo a specific element of motion or natural movement. There is a child-like quality to the figure and the figures actions contrasting with the woman performing them. Adults often forget how have joy, how to jump, how to relax, and how to dance. The setting has personal connotations since growing up in a rural Minnesota county, nature, bare feet in the grass, and trees possess a great source of peace and joy for me. The only photo differing is the last, the dress in the bathtub, which speaks as a farewell or conclusion in this sequence, its purpose of calm and joy, I leave up to the viewers interpretation.

Shaina Sieh

10-24-2011

Shadow Project for "domesticity" the Foster Gallery

 The Foster Gallery entrance...

 ...for the opening of 'domesticity' show...

For the domesticity show, students in Art 481 worked in groups to create these shadow projects. This was a challenge in finding the right materials (blinds that fit!), how to hang the blinds as unobtrusively as possible and to create as crisp of lettering as possible. Working in groups really made these projects come together, in that they required a different thinking pattern than with lighting for photos. Talking this project through made it come together, rather successfully.