1 minute read
Senior Exhibit Familiarity
from Spring Newsletter #2
by pittstateart
April 10 - May 12, 2023
Reception: Saturday, April 22, 3 - 6 pm
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Brianna Carranza
Brianna Carranza was raised in Lomita, California. Growing up, she spent almost every summer and winter vacation in her family’s hometown of Angamacutiro in Michoacan, Mexico. Carranza has had work in 3 exhibitions in SE Kansas. She has also done illustration work for a coloring book for Explore Crawford County, which won first prize in the “Small Budget Print” category of the 2022 Kansas Tourism Conference. Carranza will graduate with a BA in illustration and visual storytelling from Pittsburg State University in 2023.
I have been on a journey of self-discovery, which has included a religious deconstruction and research into my family lineage based on geography and DNA testing. These findings have brought me closer to my culture, and have left me longing to learn more about my family’s history before colonization. Thus began my latest series that features subjects of a pre-hispanic world.
Dislike for “indigeneity” has been pushed for centuries, but I stand for indigenous representation. I portray my subjects with tan and brown skin as well as with prominent indigenous features; all things that people in my culture should embrace instead of loathe. Some of my paintings also portray ancient practices that are still practiced and loved today, but they offer one the chance to think deeper about the meaning. Representation of such features or practices is an important step towards breaking the cycle of anti-brown rhetoric as well as bring awareness to the many cultures of Mexico that were almost lost.
In this series, I use acrylic paints as well as some metallic paints to really capture the importance of seeing these subjects. I chose to use acrylic paints because they are bright and vibrant, much like the culture and traditional clothing. My decision for using metallic paints is so that it catches the viewer’s eye and makes them stop to look at the subjects. They also symbolize the rich history and traditions that run through the veins of indigenous and indigenous-mixed peoples.
