Final Project (fall)

The four pieces included in my final project are tied together both by materials (charcoal, oil pastel, tracing paper, paper collage) but also by their themes of the self and family. I used this project to explore how the self is made through family and traditions (as well as the feelings of gratefulness and responsibility associated with them) but is also separate, and oftentimes different. It grapples with these two ideas and allows them to coexist. I learned a lot about horizontal and vertical identities in my Montserrat class freshman year, in the context of disability when reading Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon. Think of it like a family tree. A vertical identity is one inherited from your family: ethnicity, culture, tradition, genetic disabilities, etc. A horizontal identity is one that branches off from this, not inherited through family. I hope these drawings show gratefulness, responsibility, conflict, confidence, insecurity, and love. 

(I also hope that these feelings are stand-alone. Lately I have not been wanting to explain my art so much because I will not always be there, standing by the piece, to explain it to an audience. I don't feel that art needs to be explained all the time. I don't mind talking about it, sometimes a blurb on specificities is helpful to the viewer but I hope that the same feelings, although less specific, come across without me saying anything.)

Transparency

Gabriella Trznadel

2023

charcoal, glue, tracing paper

22" x 29"

I enjoyed experimenting with tracing paper in this piece, especially how the builidng up of the layers hides what is underneath. That is the basic message of his drawing- that I am allowing you to see only what I want. The taunting message on the scrap paper in between the layers tells the viewer that they shouldn't try to be nosy and see what is underneath. It is about boundaries and forcing the viewer to respect them. An alternate title was going to be "What I Don't Let You See."

Home

Gabriella Trznadel

2023

paper collage, charcoal, oil pastel, tracing paper

22.5" x 29.5"

Home is about home. I used a photo from my family's trip to Poland when my Dad and Ciocia were kids. During that trip, my family was unsure if they were going to move back to Poland or stay in America. Underneath them is my current home, also where my Dad and Ciocia grew up. The tree they planted in the backyard now extends off the page. On the bottom corners are hands "holding up" the house. On the left by the door, above one of the hands, is an oil pastel shadow of a person. This piece is about family and gratefulness, but also grapples with the idea of difference, horizontal and vertical identity, and responsibility.

Wigilia Table

Gabriella Trznadel

2023

paper collage, charcoal, oil pastel

21" x 29"

Every Christmas Eve we have Wigilia, a traditional polish meal. In this meal, we always set an extra table setting in case anyone knocks. I also like to think of the setting as a place where our passed loved ones sit with us. This is especially true after the passing of my Dziadziu. Wigilia Table is about the love and care that comes with setting this extra place mat, tradition, loss, and memory.

Peaces

Gabriella Trznadel

2023

paper collage, charcoal, oil pastel, tracing paper, crayon

14.5" x 18"

Peaces (not a spelling error) is another self portrait with a focus on texture and materiality. The collage underneath and its peeling represent the idea of putting something together out of its individual pieces. The look on mt face is not quite angry, not sad, not happy either. It is neutral and makes eye contact with the viewer, leading to a forced acknowledgement of presence. I like to think of the drawing as making peace with the many parts that make up who you are. In this collage, I used colors as well as materials from the other drawings: blue textured paper, yellow and pink oil pastel, and tracing paper. You often have to look hard to notice some elements- I even dotted some orange crayon here and there to add more texture.