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Student
artists' piece raises anorexia awareness
By Cynthia Tom
On-line Forty-Niner
A piece for an
art class was displayed on upper campus this week and forced
students to take a good look at themselves -- literally.
The piece, which was a collaborative effort between three
art students for a class, addresses the subject of anorexia
and is comprised of three mirrors juxtaposed to each other,
labeled with the thoughts and effects that plague sufferers
of the disorder, with a scale as the centerpiece.
"The mirrors speak as if they were what someone with
anorexia is going through," said Tara Martinez, a junior
art major and one of the three students responsible for the
piece.
"The one on the left is what you'd think if you were
constantly trying to lose weight and control every calorie
that goes into your body," she said. "The one in
the center, which reads, 'Who's the fattest of them all?'
is a mockery of fairytales where everyone is thin. The one
on the right talks about what happens to the body, and the
final result, which is death."
Martinez's classmate, Minh Nguyen, who also worked on the
piece, felt the dangers of anorexia were important to convey.
"It's important to students because when they see themselves,
they stop their actions and realize that the problem can happen
to them or anyone else," said Nguyen, a senior art major.
Junior art major Marissa Negrete, who was the third student
responsible for the piece, was pleased with the student response.
"The feedback has been very positive," Negrete said.
"Students are getting the message right away and getting
involved by asking questions and commending us on spreading
awareness of anorexia."
Sophomore David Peterson, a double major in mechanical engineering
and physics, was one student who got that message.
"The piece represents how much pressure there is on people
to be thin," Peterson said. "It's about how people
always feel a need to meet society's image of normalcy, and
also the medical problems that result. On college campuses,
especially, there's pressure to fit an image or just to fit
in.
"I think the biggest problem is when people feel they
can't be themselves or express themselves, and when they have
the inability to be happy with themselves. Those effects are
much worse on the mind than they are on the body."
Martinez believes the piece is effective because of the physical
elements of which it is comprised.
"If someone were anorexic, a mirror and a scale would
be their biggest enemy but also who they go to everyday,"
Martinez said. "Everyday they'd give a number that was
too high, or a reflection that looks too big as person strives
for this unattainable image."
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Cynthia
Tom/Daily Forty Niner
Junior art major Tara Martinez speaks with sophomore
David Peterson about her collaborative art piece on anorexia.
The collaborative work of three art students as on display
on upper campus earlier this week.
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