¿Pero eres feliz? But are you happy?
Solo Exhibition
University of Arkansas Design Clinic
This work merges research on happiness with memories of my immigrant grandmother’s personality traits to understand her life from a new lens. But Are You Happy? ¿Pero Eres Feliz? seeks to document the female perspective of a Cuban immigrant. This narrative will highlight our heroine, my grandmother to understand her life, thoughts, and struggles as a woman who left her life behind in pursuit of something uniquely American.
Abuela is a puzzle; thoughtful and complex. She is a vessel who holds a time in history where people, specifically women, had few choices. Abuela existed to be a wife and mother. Like actors auditioning for a play, she was cast in a societal role of which she was not expected to deviate. She came here knowing nothing, refusing to learn the language, doing her best to hold onto her roots. Abuela witnessed Grandpa adapt quickly into America – watching the Bears, eating Chicago Dogs, mastering English – while she continued watching her telenovelas, cooking ropa vieja, and serving her family’s needs. She never questioned her role. This exhibition will explore Abuela’s battle with assimilation.
But are you happy?
Memories are a lot like fiction, especially those long passed or tainted by the fleeting preservation of our minds. While grounded in observation, this work will be supplemented with interviews of Abuela retelling her story. I will investigate narrative through the combination of word and image, studying their relationship as they merge and break apart. Letters as design elements and basic symbols of communication will showcase the significance that typographical forms possess. Color is used to enhance the narrative, to do more than create visual delight, but implemented to instill itself into the minds of the audience establishing a certain mood for each piece. The intensity of certain colors paired with the overwhelming use of just one or a few colors creates a memorable visual link to the work. The color palette used subverts the viewer’s idea of emotion; centering on themes such as loneliness, solitude, and more specifically loss and showcasing these emotions in the bright powerful hues in which we feel them.
