Jono Vaughan Presentation

The presentation Examining the Self: Gender Identity, Social Engagement, and Art Production that Professor Vaughan presented was very eye opening to me. I had never really explored what goes in to the life of a transgender individual. Being transgender requires a person to encounter many obstacles and lack of security. These individuals experience a great deal of hate from the general population for being the people they want to be. Jono showed us (the audience) samples of artwork representing masculinity through historical references in her charcoal works. Her artwork contained numerous lithographs with Minotaurs included in them. One quote that I really admired from Jono's presentation was "Sometimes its the simplest things that drive the most successful work". I believe this quote is true in art, it is all about how you build on these ideas. I thought Jono's Project 42 is an extremely cool idea and I hope that she gets more funding to continue with it. It is a project in which a transgender individual who was killed is danced for and appreciated by a volunteering individual who wears an abstracted garment specially designed to represent that person. I was relieved to hear from Jono that the world is changing and that the transgender community is starting to become more supported and understood. The internet is a great avenue for these individuals to connect and share experiences together.