Wangechi Mutu

In class, we watched this video by the collage artist Wangechi Mutu and there were a great many things that she said that stuck with me. As I am white, I had no trouble connecting with the films and media that I saw growing up. But Mutu reminded me of the fact that in other parts of the world this is not the case; she, who grew in Kenya, could not relate as well to the films and media coming from the west because there was next to no representation of who she was, all the actors and models were predominantly white and going through situations that had very little to do with her life. 

    As an artist, she says that the purpose of her works is to represent the body and feelings of people like her, people who are not represented often and when they are, they're misrepresented. That really struck a cord with me, because as of now, I have no purpose in my art besides the fact that I find joy in doing it. It just kind of makes me think, "Can I have a purpose like that, in art, in life?” 
    Another thing that I found meaningful was the fact that in her art, she chooses the most common everyday things to represent common everyday people, who in part not commonly shown every day. That in it of its self is a statement that is challenging the viewer to see the people in front of them and I mean really see them.