My Senior Thesis Exhibition theme and topic, was something that I have be thinking about since it was first explained to me in my Freshman year at Caldwell University. As I started my classes, I considered what kind of skills I could push forward with, and how can I challenge myself with them. Over the course of the next three years I knew that I was going to find a way to incorporate cut-paper (using an x-acto knife) into my exhibition work. The struggle of this, however, was trying to merge it with my major in graphic design. During my junior year when I started to take photography courses, it all came together. Not only was this the start of my fascination with shadow, and the manipulation of light; it was also the moment that I realized how to connect all of my interests together. Cut paper in the form of lettering could yield shadow and light shapes that could be photographed, as they are cast on a desired area. This was the branch that I needed to bring my interest of cut-paper and light into graphic design.
As I developed the theme of my show, I knew from the start that I wanted to work with the theme of anxiety. Contrary to this interest, at first I tried to find a different theme, because I was concerned that I shouldn’t address mental health unless I was an Art Therapy Major. After a series of research, I learned that promotional campaigns like the “Truth Campaign” utilized advertising elements, posters, brochures, and other print works and graphic arts to bring awareness to an issue. This was the connection, and the reasoning to defend and link my motivation to work with the topic of Anxiety. Anxiety is a very personal topic for myself and within my family history. It was a battle I found myself fighting more as my college career ran its course. After reaching my turning point Junior year, a time which I reached both my lowest point emotionally, and found a solution that significantly helped my mental health, I knew that I wanted others to more than just accept, but truly have a sense of understanding about anxiety.
The exhibition received more positive feedback than I could have anticipated. Many of the viewers had told me that they were personally able to connect with one of the elements or pieces within my show. There was a social anxiety area, posters with strong images and visuals, informational brochures and a booklet, and elements to subconsciously evoke responses similar to that of someone with anxiety. Examples such as posters being off kilter to address OCD, cut paper on the floor to bring hesitant reactions, glass plates to create loud abrupt noises, and interactive booklets to suggest repeated motion and analyzing. I was happy to know that people who entered the space where able to learn both factually, and through experiencing some of the feelings and emotions of anxiety. I thought that the most interesting feedback I received was how others who suffer from anxiety found comfort in the space, because they felt understood, and that they were given a voice into a silent and abstract emotion.