Assignment/ Activity Title --- Poetry Landscape Art

Year --- Junior

Portfolio Competency --- Social Awareness
Skill --- Painting, Analysis

To further discover the role of marginalized voices throughout modern history, the
Manchu women poetry project had us choose a poem from a well known Manchu woman, and
paint our interpretation of the landscape described in the poem. This assignment deepened my
understanding of perspective, and how important it is to acknowledge a variety of perspectives
when establishing a full landscape or narrative. Painting this was extremely fun. It was the
perfect opportunity for us to learn about history while being creative. But while painting, I tried
to remain as true to what was described in the poem as possible. It became important to do this as
I came to think about how my painting was but an interpretation of what the author had herself
interpreted. And if I began to diverge from the poem adding my own perspective and creative
elements, it would lose its roots. At the same time, I acknowledged that regardless, my painting
would always be my own perspective and incorporate hints and elements of my identity and who
I was. While later reflecting on the balance of trying to keep the author's tone in my painting
while making it my own, I realized the importance of having these marginalized voices to learn
from. While there is only one reality of what something looked like or the sequence of events
that took place, the perspective of each group/person has its own unique truth. So while the poem
at first did not seem as significant to me, I came to wonder how others during this time may have
described the scene differently, and how their tone and details may have changed. And this is
true to society today, aswell. If the perspective of all groups is not taken into account, you may
be able to extrapolate key points, but not the whole story. After completing this project, I have a
new perspective when looking at art and means of self expression. It is important to both
separate and put together the work and the creator to fully contextualize a piece. And this is true
now more than ever with the state of our society, and how we choose to be empathetic towards
others.