Ejercito 1 Jamie Ejercito Prof. Nicole Warwick English 098 15 May 2009 Rhetoric through Art Art is one of the most creative methods that people use to illustrate their different ideas, reflections, thoughts and imaginations. It is created through paintings, drawings, pictures, symbols, letters, words, and other forms of expressing one’s self. Although many people sometimes create art masterpieces that have confusing representations, it is still a form of rhetoric. As I think about my own rhetorical text, I chose to reflect on a painting that I made when I was a senior in high school. The theme is about women’s roles in society from different backgrounds and cultures. Not only had I explored their jobs as women, but I also thought about how they lived their lives in the past. I’ve combined colors, names, images, experiences and research to demonstrate my subject, logos, pathos, ethos, and purpose of the artwork. My task is to show the audience what the painting is about using a form of an artistic rhetoric. Before I began to draw thumbnails, or small sketches of what I had pictured in my mind, I researched carefully the subject that I should incorporate in my drawing. Looking back at the history of women’s rights movement, many famous names who were the brave African American women leaders, and who were fighters for the freedom and equality of the community, have caught my attention. I thought to myself that if these names such as “Rosa Parks”, “Coretta Scott King”, “Melba Patillo”, “Harriet Tubman”, “Sojourner Truth”, have caught my eye, therefore, fitting them in a special space in my artwork will also grab my audience’s interest. These names serve as the logos in my artwork because of the history of slavery being compared to the unending issue of men and women’s attempt in having equal rights today. Also, the names help recall history because if not for these inspiring leaders, both men and women today wouldn’t have the will and determination to balance each other’s roles in society. They were the foundation of great leadership that resulted to the establishment of the equal rights amendment, women’s rights movement, and the bill of rights in the United States. The heroes’ names symbolize the logos because of the history of those women who fought for women’s rights and freedom of slaves. In my painting is an African woman looking towards the horizon line of the open space field in the background, filled with the silhouette of some names of well known African American women heroes. Her left arm is supporting a basket on top of her head, and under her right arm she is carrying a container, her fist tightly gripped, and her neck and wrist securely trapped in a dark metal chain. When the audience looks at the painting, they will see the literal picture of my description. The basket signifies the chores or responsibility that a woman does at home. The dark chain symbolizes pain and agony. Even though I purposely didn’t show her face and its expression, the objects and body gesture says it all. The tightness of the woman’s grip shows another side that tells of her trying to fight and escape from slavery. Describing my painting through words even shows suffering and desperation because of its tone and image. These images clearly indicate pathos because of how audience feels as they see the suffering ofEjercito 2 the woman in the picture. As the issue of gender discrimination still surfaces today, women audiences might understand the issue of women’s struggles to fight against the rules of society. Men, on the other hand, feel the same way because they, too, are victims of these societal standards. Combining these images which show logos and pathos is equal to ethos. The body gestures and colors of the African woman’s clothes, objects, and surrounding show ethos. In the painting, the woman is multi-tasking when she’s carrying the basket and container, when she’s looking out on the horizon line, and being trapped in the chain. This multi-tasking gesture symbolizes overworked women, whether it’s taking care of children and chores at home, or still working outside the home to provide for her family. I used warm red and noticeable purple, yellow, green colors for her clothes, and bright details to show the culture’s richness. Women are usually the ones who are known in the family to preserve inner cultural traditions since in general, they are the ones who stay at home and do the work. I purposely used the original dark grey color for the chain to point out suffering. Lastly, the silhouette of the names such as “Rosa Parks” and “Harriet Tubman” in the background shows hope and inspiration for women. The subject of women’s roles, culture, and history is revealed as I explore and research about the theme of this project. Putting details in the painting using artistic tools help explain the purpose of why I incorporated only a few things. The fewer choices of detailing, the better audience will analyze the picture and figure out the in-depth meaning because they will only focus on one picture that relates to every aspect of the theme illustrated. The audience participates in figuring out the context of this work through visual thinking. My technique in this project is the use of rhetoric tools such as subject, logos, pathos, and ethos. My purpose is to show the culture, history, and women’s roles in different societies, and to show inspiration for people who don’t have the will and rights to escape challenges in