Semester Project

Semester Project

Inspired by Cindy Sherman’s transformations video which consists of film stills, my semester project is a makeup tutorial done on my sister by me. I did three different looks on her including Frida Kahlo, Shirin Neshat, and Rosie the Riveter. The reason why I decided to do this project is because makeup is my hobby and I wanted to show how it can transform anyone into someone else. This is not to suggest that women should do makeup to change who they are, rather I wanted to show how makeup helps women feel confident in themselves and helps them embrace themselves as a canvas. Sometimes stepping into someone else’s shoes can help women feel inspired and motivated. I chose these three women as the focus because I feel they epitomize women empowerment and are feminist icons. The project takes place in the form of a sped up video of the three tutorials. At the end of each tutorial, I included a side by side picture of the icon and of my sister with the completed look. The first side by side picture is of Frida Kahlo and of my sister who is doing a household chore which shows how women were and still are limited to household tasks even when they have a passionate inner desire to become something more, but can’t due to various reasons. The second side by side is Shirin Neshat and my sister. I included the second picture for this one because the first one was more to show the similarity in the looks. The second side by side for this look is a Cindy Sherman film still “Untitled Film Still #15 1978” and my sister recreating the look. The final side by side is Rosie the Riveter and my sister. For background music, I wanted to keep a more modern, upbeat music just because it goes well with a fast tutorial and keeps the viewer interested as opposed to a slow song with words. The video will be posted on YouTube so that it can be easily accessed by everyone. Another reason why I wanted to do this project is that often times, women who wear makeup on average are criticized and people assume they are only wearing it for a guy or for other absurd reasons such as “wanting attention.” But, sometimes women feel better about themselves with makeup on and an underlying goal with this project is to show that it is okay and essentially to say “You can be whoever you want, you can do whatever you want.”

You can find my video HERE