Edna Norman

Art 21 Project

Michael Ray Charles “(Forever free-)” “serving with a smile” (1994)

When I first saw his work, I thought that the faces were all black. However, that’s not the case. I think that it’s very easy for us to relate things to race as opposed to looking at things from another perspective. I saw a black chef. In Michael Ray Charles’ mind it’s not a black or white person. It’s an image that portrays the socialhistory of America in terms of race. We have created stereotypes of what black and white should look like or do.

Edna Norman “Beauty is skin deep”

In this piece, I wanted to convey the stereotype of what some conceive beauty to be. The girl on the left is of African American decent and the one on the right is of Hispanic decent. For a long time beauty was a white women with blonde hair and blue eyes. We try to cover up who we are as opposed to accepting who we are in terms of our race and embracing it as something beautiful.

Kerry James Marshall, Many Mansions, 1994

Edna Norman Acrylic and Collage on unstreched canvas , 114*135 in.I think that Michael Ray Charles and Kerry James Marshall both show the stereotypes. This picture is of three young black males wearing suits planting aflower garden. It’s showing the false image created of the African American male. The same way that Michael Ray Charles creates contradiction in his pieces.

Mark Bradford, “Merchant Potraits” 2005

Mark Bradford is an artist that employs and decollage to create his art work. He employs Abstractin and modernism. He tries to depict what is going on at that particular time. I like the abovePiece because it depicts a community. These are different signs you would see around a particular Street whether it’s on the shop window or simply people holding up signs. We’ve all seen them andcan easily relate to them.

Edna Norman , “Is it Spring yet”

I like the way that Mark Bradford depicts things that are going on in the community. That’s what inspired me to take this picture. It’s currentlySnowing outside and there are people walking home and others having to walk their dogs. It’s extremely cold and everyone is just wondering whenIt’s going to get warmer and can it happen now.

Richard Mirasch, Untitled (New Orleans and the Gulf Coast ). 2005

Edna Norman, Inkjet print, ed. #3/5, Printed 2010. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of the artistThese two artists are similar in the way they create art by depicting the particular conditions that are going on in the community at the time.The picture seen here was taken after Hurricane Katrina was made landfall in August of 2005. It caused many deaths and extensive damage.The sign destroy this memory is symbolizes the fact that the people of New Orleans would like to forget that day forever.

Maya Lin “Vietnam Veterans Memorial” (1982)

Maya Lin is an artist that uses contemporary art to create some form of identity. Her idea is really to create a place where people can come withinA landscape. She draws her inspiration from different cultures. The above piece is the Vietnam veteran memorial that has the names of war heroesFrom Vietnam. It was a tragedy in and of itself and people here can connect with it whether or not they’re Vietnamese.

Edna Norman “Martin Luther King Jr, Memorial

While, I’ve never tried to claim that I’m an artist, I drew a picture of the wall on the monument of the memorial of Martin Luther King, Jr. There is a Large sized statue of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a place where people can come and take a lesson in History of one of the greatest Civil Rights Leaders .The Statue of Dr. King makes you feel like a sense of joy in almost meeting this great man. It gives you a sense of identity and culture.

Olafur Eliassion, (b. 1967). The weather Project, Installation view at the Tate Modern, London 16 October 2003-21March 2004.

Edna Norman. Monofrequency lights, projection foil, haze machine, mirror, oil, aluminum and scarfolding.The two artists are similar in that they create a place where people can come. This project was installed in London in the winter of 2005.If you’re not familiar with the winter in London, it is cold and dark. In American, it typically gets dark around five in the evening. As much as we complain, it can’t compare to London where it gets dark at three in the afternoon. It’s no wonder this attracted so many People. It gave them some sense of light out of the darkness. The feeling of the sun even if it wasn’t the real sun.