Creative Drawing On 3m H-700 Series Unvented Hard Hats - Design 05

US $38

Toronto, ON, Canada
Jun 9th

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Artist Statement - Neba Ali - June 2015 When it came to the theme of construction, the first thought that came to mind was the stereotypical, strong and tall; male construction worker. This concerned me as a 21st century young female, since neither my peers nor I initially thought of the idea of female construction workers during the brainstorming process of this project. Therefore, I decided to use the theme of feminism. In order to incorporate this theme, I used strong female figures such as Rosie the Riveter, who is a symbol of the women of WWI and II who manufactured weapons, planes, and so forth. After further research, I discovered the architectural alpha, Jeanne Gang, who was notorious for her creation of the Aqua Tower. Later on, I learned about the work of Tabitha Babbit, the inventor of the circular saw, who placed a huge impact in the skills trade. I also incorporated the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which played an important role with the feminist movement, since it involved many women who worked in a sweatshop factory with terrible working conditions, and were locked in during the same time a fire broke out, facing severe injuries. As a result, I wanted to showcase the significant female involvement within the skills trade. For the composition of my helmet, I decided to use colours that represent construction which are the primary colours. By painting Rosie the Riveter on one side of the hard hat and Jeanne Gang on the other, my work displayed the female involvement of the skills trade during the past and present. I cut out circular saws using silver tape and adding them to the parts of the hard hat that stick out, as well as using the top of the hard hat to show case the style and texture in which the Aqua Tower displays. All in all, I made sure each side of the hard hat complimented the other with each form of media that was used. When it came to adding media to the hard hat, in order to incorporate paint, I had to sand the entire hat until I had a soft matte finish to prevent paint from scratching off. I added texture to the hat by applying paint with a sponge and using a stippling technique to form a gradient effect. By adding different forms of media such as silver tape, cardboard, and so forth, I was able to transform my plain, white helmet to a colourful art piece that represented the feminist movement. Feminism is a concept that stands for the equality of both sexes for the economic, political, and social aspects of life. This idea relates to me since, as a woman, by creating this concept I am able to display my beliefs of feminism with the rest of the world for a positive organization. I feel as though by showcasing the past and present power of feminism, my finished work is very successful through my eyes and hopefully others will feel the same. Next year, I hope to attend the University of Guelph for the Arts and Science Dual program.