Draft 1 for Artist Statement and Bio
Artist Statement
My work would focus on using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to explore the deconstruction of masculinity that men aren’t gods and the struggles with autism. When it comes to my work “Men are not Gods” it was based on the many YouTube videos I have learnt about the increasing loneliness of men, the manosphere becoming prominent after the Me Too movement, birth decline, rising prices, and the ever changing society thanks to the success of women able to make strides worldwide for many years and has many institutions dedicated to helping them deal with the sexism of women and are still fighting today. They have achieved so much and I admire that. Now we are at the point that men must find their own awakening and learn how to embrace femininity as part of being human. After that we can finally remove the barriers of masculinity and femininity entirely as labels. I often want to bring awareness for men’s double standards and feel seen as trying too hard to be the best of the best ascending to godhood. Now for my other works “Soul Rising” and “Spatial Immergence” they are based on my autism and my struggles with it, being stuck inside my own world is a common theme here. For “Soul Rising” this is based on my experiences of being in another world being stuck in my own thoughts. For “Spatial Immergence” it’s based on my struggles to be in the present world and back to reality without daydreaming in my own world. It helps for learning how to navigate the difficulties of autism which is daydreaming. Overall a broad theme is the gender double standards and mental health struggles I focus on. My audience is for men who don’t fit the labels of traditional masculinity and looking for a sense of belonging. For my 3 art words for the broad theme
I focus on working on the theme of Gender Double standards and Mental Health struggles because I wanted not only to bring awareness of them but also find solutions in this ever-changing modern world as a way to fight for a better future rather than just use it as a lampshade that people would forget after seeing my works. My message conveys the importance of vulnerability and allows men to be human instead of being treated as gods or pedestals to be admired for symbols. A problem I noticed is how young men are turning to the manosphere for help when dealing with problems. The manosphere is a varied collection of websites, blogs, and online forms promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism overlapping with far-right and alt-right groups. This has caused indoctrination and radicalization to not only hate women but also worsen their conditions towards hate speech and violence, destroying communities. The target is often lonely, isolated, and disenfranchised men and boys exploiting their insecurities for financial gain and promoting misogynistic, anti-feminist, ideologies.
When it comes to making my work I often use Adobe Illustration and Photoshop for my artworks. I often rely on mostly cool colors but sometimes add warm colors if it conveys something important. My artworks seek to solve this issue of the manosphere problem by giving men a space for their vulnerabilities to be seen and understood of what they are going through and the expectations they are placed into through Patriarchy.
Bio:
Ricky Ochoa is a student at NJCU majoring in Graphic Design. He is often a writer more than an artist, but he is learning how to be one himself. He was born on May 16 2005 with autism and grew up in a middle-class home with a stay at home mom and a dad who owns a jewelry business. He had a great imagination and back then he would make games and do a lot of storytelling on the spot with his best friend Adel. He then moved to New Jersey in the Summer of 2018. There he became more fascinated with watching tv shows, movies, and made up imaginary stories with Adel through text. This is the hint that he is more of a writer than an artist. He liked writing more after he tried 3d animation and drawing. He didn’t like them and was aimless until he met Jaden who showed him his drawings and then realized he was more of a writer due to focusing more on the story, worldbuilding, and characters. Ricky uses Illustrator and Photoshop as his medium for artworks and uses a mix of photography, drawing, and borrowing images from the internet as his techniques for making them. One of his most notable works where he feels confident that involves themes are “Men are not Gods” from Intro to Graphic Design, “Soul Rising”, and “Spatial Immergence” from Self-Image Class. “Men are not Gods” is a memorable piece of his since he is exposing the double standards of masculinity as he knows there is not a lot of attention to it, “Soul Rising” and “Spatial Immergence” focuses more on autism and the feeling of being stuck in one’s own world.
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