2-2 PROJECT PROPOSAL 1
2-2 Project Proposal
Ryan E. Hunt
Southern New Hampshire University
PROJECT PROPOSAL 2
The cultural work I have chosen for my project is Barbara Kruger’s “You Are Not
Yourself” photograph. The first thing that stood out to me in this piece of artwork is the look on
the face of the women in the photo. She looks very broken and distraught as she peers into a
broken mirror. The look on her face suggests more than a broken mirror is causing her distress,
which makes me think deeper into what hidden meaning the mirror represents. The first thing I
feel is empathy because clearly them women is upset, and I can’t help but think she is probably
feeling very alone in this moment.
The words “You Are Not Yourself” also bring up a deeper meaning to me when it comes
to a woman looking into a mirror. It makes me think about the societal standards woman are
expected to uphold when it comes to their body image. 3Women are expected to dress and act a
certain way and if they don’t, they are considered an outcast and written off from society. Many
women end up starving themselves to maintain a weight that may not be attainable to them but is
expected of them. Many women dress and do their makeup and hair in a way that doesn’t suit
them, but that they society tells them is appropriate. At some point as a woman, you have fit
yourself into a small box of what is expected and not what you like and by the time you realize,
you are not yourself. I do believe this is part of the message Barbara Kruger was trying to convey
and I picked up on it right away.
PROJECT PROPOSAL 3
PROJECT PROPOSAL 4
The cultural work I have chosen that is unfamiliar to me is “The Scream” by Edvard
Munch. I chose this artwork because I am very unfamiliar with this type of art and learning about
it is very interesting to me. When looking at this picture my first thought is that the person
depicted is scared but it’s hard to tell what has frightened them. When I researched further it was
mentioned that he painted this picture as a reflection of himself, being scared after being left out
in nature alone when his friends kept going without him. I think it is important to research other
cultures because everything has different meanings and without doing further research, we would
never get to know each other or other cultures.
PROJECT PROPOSAL 5
References
The Scream, 1893 by Edvard Munch (no date) The scream, 1893 by Edvard Munch. Available at:
https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp (Accessed: April 20, 2023).
You are not yourself: Barbara Kruger's influence on feminist art (2022) TheCollector. Available
at: https://www.thecollector.com/you-are-not-yourself-barbara-kruger/ (Accessed: April
20, 2023).
