Iconic Imagery: do you get me now?

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My project involves both defining a set of symbols as well as creating a set of symbols for words that we usually don't associate with particular icons. These are worked on by various participants.

 

The premise for this project began with a discussion on symbols and icons.  I drew the ampersat symbol (@), which all my students understood, which I thought that was intriguing, considering that I thought the house symbol(equilateral triangle on a square) was universal and learned from childhood. I soon began to realize that we are inundated on a daily basis with information containing glyphs, icons and imagery that we barely understand or misinterpret.

 

 

Picking up the Pieces: a suicide prevention project

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Picking up the Pieces was developed in November 2011 when I was volunteering at Harbor View House – a resident facility supporting individuals with mental illness located in San Pedro.

 

The image of a multi-part jigsaw puzzle first came to my mind because jigsaw puzzles are used as a device to test forms of concentration at mental health facilities. The large-scale of this work makes it highly visible. I envisioned a wall-mounted puzzle with a few missing pieces as a metaphor for aspects of mental states. The interconnectedness of the puzzle pieces highlights the fact that suicide prevention involves multiple individuals reaching out to someone’s aide.

 PROJECTS and INSTALLATIONS

Student work

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A selection of student work from courses taught at Los Angeles City College and Mt. San Jacinto College.