Thesis

**A project exploring Mental Health & Masculinity in Black Men.**

(Click Here to View Blasculinity Online Exhibition)

Thesis Statement

Masculinity and Mental Health in Black men (are topics that are disregarded) not only in the black community but also in society. Contrary to these stereotypes, black men are delicate beings like any other flower that exist in the world and these stereotypes cause harm to the mental health of black men. Therefore, my project explores aspects of black masculinity and mental health including historical contexts, psychology, what’s being done to address issues in this space and what work needs to be done, through a series of portraits that exemplify the delicacy and complexity of black men.

Focuses: Digital Image-Making, Studio Photography, Black & White Photography, Photography editing, Photoshoot planning and design, Collaging, Story-telling through Portraits, Portrait Design, Magazine Design, Magazine Layouts, Design Research, Social Media Marketing, Marketing, Public Relations

Lessons & Outcomes: The biggest thing I learned from this project is the power of taking risks. Taking risks was a huge reason why this project was such a success. I combined my passion of design and advocacy for the Black community, and created something meaningful and beautiful. There were many different iterations of the portraits (shown below). I went through 6 rounds of formal critiques with the Visual Arts & Technology Department including professors and students. A combination of collaborating, patience, design researching, seeking help/insight and taking risks were all things that I value as a result of completing this project.

The Effects of COVID-19

Originally I was set to produce 10 portraits. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic I was only able to complete 5 portraits. The exhibition was also supposed to be held at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ. While these were huge setbacks for the project. I was still eager to complete the project and make the online experience as powerful as the in person exhibition would’ve been.

The Process

Over the course of the year long project. I met with my Advisor every week where’d we discuss all things capstone. One of the things I did was making something every week. This included taking risks to develop a language for the story I wanted to tell through the portraits. The pictures below show the many different iterations that I went through to figure out which technique would be used for the final version.

Photography

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.08.04 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.08.13 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.08.23 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.08.36 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.08.53 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.09.15 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.09.34 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.09.48 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.10.00 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.10.16 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.10.32 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.10.54 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.11.05 PM.png

Image-Making

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.52.53 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.53.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.53.22 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.53.52 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.54.14 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.54.34 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.54.52 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.55.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.55.22 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.55.37 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.56.03 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.56.18 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.56.39 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.57.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.57.26 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.58.21 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.58.35 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.59.07 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 2.59.26 PM.png

Mid-Semester Critique

The mid semester critique was a chance for me to give a sneak peak of what the actual exhibition would look like. I created a mock up via Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, went shopping and installed the piece. All of which went well. The biggest things that I got from this critique was to have something to guide visitors through the exhibit; or a cheat sheet to understand the visual language. This is how the “Blasculinity Magazine” came about. Additionally, I played music that described the models mental health. I later decided to include audio from interviews in their song choices to help tell their story.

The Meaning of Everything (Exhibition Design and Portrait Design)

The important thing to highlight is that I wanted to make sure everything had meaning. The use of the forest green paint and ivy leaves, symbolize Black Men’s Mental Health & Masculinity being a lonely beautiful forgotten forest. Within this forest contains portraits that highlight masculinity through the use of glitter, describes mental health in the language of floriography, societal and community influences represented by facial fragmentations by hands, tears of any element of unexplainable words, thoughts, feelings and emotions in regards to the topic.

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 3.00.31 PM.png

Self Reflection

This project means a lot to me because of how close to home the topic is to my personal values. I have and still struggle with Mental Health and Masculinity. Therefore, this project was a learning experience for me to understand how the two effect other Black men who live different lives than me. As a result of the self reflection, I began keeping a journal that I write in everyday and has become a mechanism for how I deal with Mental Health and Masculinity. I also created a blog called “blasculinity” via instagram to share photos, words, news etc in regards to Black Mens Mental Health and Masculinity. Overall, I learned that I am not alone in my struggles and the conversation of Black Mens Mental Health is meaningful one the deserves more attention.

Visual Designer & Photographer