Final Project Research Proposal
- isa occhionero
- Apr 5, 2021
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 21, 2021
RESEARCH INQUIRY
What problem, issue, or phenomenon do you want to explore through the final project?
The problem I will be solving in my final arts-based project will be the cultural, social, and mental effects that idealized images of women in media have on their audiences' notion of identity. Going a bit further I want to focus on an audience of women from 18-29 since this age range is the most exposed to curated social media and other media sources. The problem specifically I want to tackle is that impressionable people are being overly exposed to images in the media that are not realistic and could be damaging to self-worth.
What will be the sub-questions (categories) you want to explore or discuss this inquiry?
The sub-questions I would like to ask in my project art how specifically have these idealized portrayals of female beauty affected my own expression and how do they continue to affect my life to this current day. I also want to explore the specific effects that these images have, (do they cause more anxiousness and depression in this age range?) Also in what ways are these images shifting and are more realistic standards being portrayed with time? (cellulite and stretch marks being highlighted in advertisements, normal size models being used rather than ultra-skinny).
Autoethnographic study: In what ways is there pressure for me to feel I need to look a certain way? Bringing in certain artifacts that have come with me in my experience of finding confidence and feeling comfortable in my own skin. In high school and middle school, the very thin ideal was very popular think Keira Knightly, Paris Hilton. While these body types are just fine, all other body types shouldn't be held to the same standard. In my own autoethnographic study, I think I'd like to revisit some of the magazines I read in middle school like Seventeen and Teen Vogue that were my first remembered exposure to a certain beauty ideal. I specifically remember absolutely loving one up-and-coming model, Karli Kloss who's first-ever discovery article was in Teen Vogue. I think these images of her stuck in my mind because as a middle schooler I looked up to these images and admired her style and her vibrance. This specific article painted her as the fun-loving fashionista who happened to hang out with a bunch of football players; the popular girl. Being probably only 11 at the time I actually struggled with disordered eating. Disordered eating isn't parallel to having an eating disorder but means that I was restricting calories and would even skip meals to lose weight. This was a very personal thing and I do think it was partially due to viewing images like these in young teen magazines. I also have had anxiety since middle school and recall this was around the time when I started to become more self-conscious and aware of how I was presenting myself. (Realistically though, what middle schooler isn't self-conscious!) Even throughout the years, my struggle with anxious feelings has been a hurdle I am able to use tactics like meditation, yoga, and regular exercise to combat these emotions. Anxiety is something that has characterized my experience growing up but I don't necessarily want to bring it into my autoethnographic study in a negative light. Even though I have struggled with these things, they have made me the stronger person I am today and this is the element of hope I want people to get from my final project. Even if we are exposed to these images that doesn't mean that they control us; instead we can monitor and limit the amount of exposure we get to them and from there can invent new ideas of beauty and strength that aren't just skin-deep.
How will arts or your secondary field knowledge be integrated into your research?
My secondary field will come into play as I've been doing much visual research in magazines and have used found images from the popular media to create my collages. This means that I can bring in my knowledge from media studies and I can use the interpretative tools I've learned from this field to critically analyze these images and get to the root of their underlying ideologies. Arts will be integrated into my research as my art-making is a very intuitive process and moving toward the final I can use my image finding skills to create more aimed collages for my topic and audience. Taking images from popular culture allows for a connection between the visual expression and the ideologies that are held within the culture images. I want people to question how these images may be reflective into their own lives and also how they are attached to or not attached to these media ideals.
PURPOSE STATEMENT
Describe the final project and how it can help you to explore your research inquiry.
For my final project, I'd like to create an arts-based book that features writings from my own journal entries as well as the written essay integrated within the pages of the book. After talking to my design instructor about my book I think this would make a good piece for my portfolio while still integrating collage, the writing portion, and the overall exploration of my research inquiry. The book could include visual pieces from my research process, interviews with women in my age range, and photos and drawings of different artifacts from my own autoethnographic experience with beauty. The book would act as a progression of my inquiry and the design might also maybe go from being a bit fuzzy muddled to clear and definite which would mimic my own process of answering this inquiry question.
How will you apply the integrated knowledge from art, the secondary areas, and your findings of the midterm project to this final project?
My findings from the midterm project were very self-reflective and I learned the extent that people will go to achieve youth and beauty. I also enjoyed exploring the use of humor and kiche in my work as I think it created more interest and humor adds more approachability to work. Learning about some of the actual effects that idealized media has on viewers was also very eye-opening being that these images can in fact cause more anxiety and/or depression in some people.
The significance/value/worth of your research
This research is very important to me as it's been something that I've struggled with my whole life and I have seen the effects on girls and women that I know. There is a notion of comparison that seems so present in women today and we feel the need to compare ourselves to others to find validation when in actuality we NEED to be celebrating our uniqueness and differences as they are what truly makes us beautiful as cliche as that may sound. I'm hoping that my research acts as an eye-opener to my audience that we must be questioning the images fed from the media and realized that they are curated and manipulated to sell products. We should be surrounding ourselves with people and ideas that will strengthen our concept of self-worth. I'd also like for this project to encourage people to take small breaks from social media to really enjoy the day-to-day without constantly checking social media platforms. In my own personal experience when I did use social media in high school I found that it primarily caused feelings of anxiety and made me question the value of my own activities, so that is why I stopped using it and since then have has fewer issues with those things.
EXPECTED RESULTS
What do you expect to learn from this research?
I expect to learn that some other women feel similarly about media images and I am also expecting to find that some people feel empowered from using social media as it is in some ways changing. I do expect to have people on the other side of the questions who say that media is changing to align with a more realistic standard and some people are choosing to be more genuine and relatable on the platforms. These are great changes and I'm hoping that the trends will continue as our society in some ways is becoming more body-positive; however, I do feel that we have a long way to go.
What are your expected outcomes? List them.
A more inquisitive mindset when viewing media
Broadened mind to limiting the use of social media
Open minds to more realistic body/beauty standards for women
Hopefully, viewers will feel more empowered in themselves
INVESTIGATION AND CONCERNS
How will you conduct your research investigation? Identify research methods or art techniques that will be used to explore your research.
As I'll be using arts-based research for my collages, I'll also be using autoethnographic studies as well as some quantitative methods like interviews, surveys, or questionnaires. My research investigation will continue with more planning and I will be creating questions to ask audiences and also putting together an interactive community art activity that involves questioning beauty standards.
Identify potential research, scholars, artists, etc. that will inform your work. Be specific and describe all aspects of your project. (You should review and reference from your annotated bibliographies)
I'll be looking into some feminist artist and other female artists that capture their experience in a visual way. This will be great fuel as I'm looking to narrow my scope on certain collage topics a bit more. I'll also be diving into more of Richard M. Perloff's scholarly work on the effects of social media and the same for Yuko Yamamiya's studies on eating disorders and disordered eating.
References for female artists:
Feminist artists that you need to know
8 Artists Who Explore the Beauty of the Aging Body
6 Artists Exploring Female Beauty
Is there any possible ethical issue you should be aware of and take care of?
An ethical issue I can think of is not including members of the LBGQT+ community in my research for those who are in this community how are they also impacted by images of idea beauty. Since my audience is only women it may be important to extend my audience to include a more broad audience.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
How will you analyze and interpret/report your project results and findings?
I'd like to report my findings in a journal and then from there translate them into a book format that incorporates my visual images and my research essay into one entity. I'll also analyze my findings from interviews etc. but using other sources that discuss how to interpret this data and asking classmates, professors how to do this as well.
How will you know your research is successful or not successful?
I think I will know if my research is successful if it makes even a few people more inquisitive about the media they're fed and if they are able to look at idealized images with a grain of salt rather than accepting them as reality. Even if just one person decides to make an effort to limit their social media intake for even a short period of time, I think that would be a success for me.
PROPOSED TIMELINE
End of week 4/5: have interview questions and participants lined up
Spring Break 4/12: Conduct interviews and record/analyze findings/ Work on visual collages
Week 4/19: Start to compile a digital book that will include findings, collage etc. Work on first two pages of research thesis statement
4/21: Collect all final interview results begin compiling graphs
Week 4/26: Work on half process presentations and compile materials for continuation to final, Work on final presentation and prepare for final presentation time
Week 5/1: FINAL PRESENTATION turn in final materials
CITATION STYLE: Chicago
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