360°: Mirroring the Self

A Bryn Mawr College 360° Course Cluster Project

May 4, 2017
by Cassie Paul
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I Feel that on a Spiritual Level: Social Media Posts as Identity Performance

Since September 2016, when this 360° course cluster began, I have been posting on social media, as was required by the class and the 360° program. Looking back on these posts, I’ve noticed that they fall into three discrete categories across two social media platforms.

Part One: Instagram

Over the course of this 360° I have been posting on Instagram. These posts are public facing, branded with college and program-specific hashtags, and tend to focus on activities done for class or the themes of the self, mirrors, and masks. With this in mind, my Instagram posts can be seen as a kind of performance of identity, one that taps into a certain type of social media language and remains within specific privacy boundaries.

Screenshot of an Instagram post by user @pengirl55

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May 4, 2017
by Abigail Lua
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Oh, The Places We’ll Go!: A Spatial Self-Reflection

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” – Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

When we first began scrolling through all of the pictures we had posted to our #selfie360bmc hashtag, the first thing that struck me was how far-reaching our pictures were geographically. Surely, a majority of pictures were taken at Bryn Mawr either in the classroom or in the exhibition space, but each of us had also contributed pictures from our home and elsewhere. As a result, I found this photographic trend to be symbolic of two important aspects of our exhibition and ourselves as student-curators: Continue Reading →

May 4, 2017
by Xiaoya Yue
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Curating Myself In Others

“Where is the mirror in the world to reveal who I am?”

–Miriam Schapiro

 

The Construction and Connection of Selves

“The proper object of my confessions is to make known exactly my interior, in all the situations of my life.  It is the history of my soul that I have promised, and to write it faithfully I have no need of other memorials:  it is enough for me, as I have done till now, once more to enter inside myself”

 –T.J. Clark

Coming from China to the United States, I know I have always interested in the fuse of western and eastern art under the influence of my East Asian identity. I was excited to write about my favorite artworks and expected to uncover the masked connection among all subjects in our exhibition, and gradually explored my own embedded identity. Seeing my objects in person and making connections with other artworks in the catalogue or in Bryn Mawr Special Collection was essential; I did not only focus on my identity as a Chinese, but also as a Bryn Mawr student who have access to different groups of people in the community and different genres of artworks in our rich Special Collection. Continue Reading →

An Exhibition of Mirrors, Masks and Me: Zixin’s Final Reflection

May 3, 2017 by Zixin Zeng

“Mirrors and Masks: Reflections and Constructions of the Self” Exhibition Opening. Outside View. Photo by Bryn Mawr College

An Exhibition of Mirrors, Masks and Me

Introduction

This Bryn Mawr 360 course cluster lets me step into the world of self-exploration through the theme of mirrors and masks. I started from reflecting back on my identity as a Chinese international student in a women’s college and began to learn to work as a group to tuckle new problems. View the pictures →

This gallery contains 39 photos

May 3, 2017
by Alex Wilson
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                                           The Selfie

“Self- portraiture can be a teasing masquerade, concealing more than revealing.”

– Wendy Wick Reaves

Portraiture, as we have learned in this 360 course, is not always about the face. In fact portraits often hold many layers within them. During this process, we learned that the self has many dimensions, so it is almost impossible to create a portrait (or a selfie for that matter) that does not reveal more than whats on the surface. Continue Reading →

May 3, 2017
by Alexa Chabora
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Mirrors, Masks, and Selfies: A Final “Self Reflection”

Introduction

Selfie of our class from our trip to the NPG

“@pengirl55: Amazing visit to the @smithsoniannpg with #bmc360 #selfie360bmc : @alpacasandy” October 2016

“@alexa_chabs: A little belated, but thanks to everyone who came out to support the opening of “Mirrors & Masks”!! It’s exciting to look around and see the tangible results of all our work and how we’ve come since last fall!! The whole process, from writing our entries to installing the exhibition, was full of wonderful challenges that have made me a better, stronger student and curator. Honestly so proud to be part of this class!! This has been a ~self reflection~” March 27, 2017.

Screen shot of our class hashtag from Instagram

Screenshot of our hashtag on Instagram, #Selfie360bmc. May 1, 2017

After eight months of work we produced a successful exhibition and a professional catalog filled with thoughtful entries. We’ve been to D.C., we’ve met alumnae in the field, museum professionals, scholars, artists, PR and development people, and so many others who have helped shape our exhibition and catalog. And we’ve also taken some great selfies. Continue Reading →

May 2, 2017
by Maya Berrol-Young
Comments Off on Reflecting and Constructing Identity

It is time to explain myself — let us stand up.

What is known I strip away,
I launch all men and women forward with me into the Unknown.

Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” 

Introduction 

In my time at Bryn Mawr, I have preferred (and have

been able to practice) a style of exhibition that contains the following components:

-short wall text (not more than 100 words, favoring closer to 50 words)

-an academic, impersonal voice

-thematic groups and organization of objects

-favoring including more objects than less

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A Journey Through Selves

May 2, 2017 by Sarah O'Connell

Introduction

Throughout this past year, our class has spent nearly every week discussing “the self.” What is selfhood? What does a journey through selfhood look like? How do we define ourselves in relation to others? As with many things in life, there is no one set or definitive answer. Thus our thoughts and responses, much like our initial plans for the exhibition, were constantly changing. View the pictures →

This gallery contains 53 photos

March 27, 2017
by Lizhu Duanmu
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Self-reflection

Self-reflection: Mirroring/Exhibiting the Self

By the end to April 2017, our 360° Mirroring/Exhibiting the Self has come to an end. Having seen our on-campus exhibition A century of Self-expression three years ago, I wanted to take an exhibition seminar and curate my own exhibition since my freshman year. My dream was realized in my senior year, with the completion our successful exhibition Mirrors and Masks: Reflections and Constructions of the Self  and its professional exhibition catalogue. This two-component seminar, with the first semester focusing on writing the catalogue and the second semester curating the actual exhibition, was a challenging yet rewarding experience for me. The theoretical discussion conceptualized my understanding of our art objects by writing concise, thoughtful catalogue entries, and practicing curatorial strategies and practical skills (such as advertising, communicating and website design). Continue Reading →