Nathalie Dagmang 2010-24702 BFA Sculpture

Rebus: To kill a mockingbird A rebus is composed of pictographs, or images with an assumed meaning. Each word is represented by an image or images that can imitate its sound. The meanings of these images are assigned by the viewer, based on his/her preconceived notions on the subject, of which are dictated by the society where the viewer is a part of. When making a rebus, a phrase is communicated through images and the sounds that they represent. This mechanism relies on the system of signifiers and signified meanings, or of how concrete objects are associated with abstract concepts. Hence, it is only appropriate to use the rebus system as a means of expressing the phrase, to kill a mockingbird. To kill a mockingbird, is a phrase that was used as the title of a widely-known novel. To Kill a Mockingbird dwells on the themes of innocence, growing up, stereotyping, gender roles and discrimination. It portrays a child who undergoes learning in school, at home, and their neighborhood. Here she learned about reading, writing, associating the blacks with criminals, using curse words, etc., through copying adults. In this novel, the mockingbird is mentioned repeatedly throughout the plot. It is referred to as an innocent bird, which doesn't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us and hence, should not be shoot when hunting birds. The mockingbird does not usually make its own tune, but echoes what it hears from others. It symbolizes the innocents, those who have done nothing wrong, but are seemed to be punished for the wrongs of the people who they copy, or solely for sharing the same culture/physical characteristics as theirs. For this work, the mockingbird is separated into two words, mocking and bird, with the first word simply drawn as a copy of the latter. The first three words are easy to decode, but the last word will only be decoded if the viewer is familiar of the classic novel. I made use of the process of copying from photographs, drawing on yellow pad paper (usually used in school), and using the method of rebus and the metaphor, to kill a mockingbird to echo how the process of learning relies on the same mechanisms, or how our constant copying of the societys collective judgments and stereotypes influence, or even dictate, how we see things.