Alyssa Grant and Professor Daniel Barney, Department of Visual Arts
I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities opened to me through the funding of this ORCA grant. With my grant I was able to travel to Germany to gather source material and experience relevant to my artistic investigation of personal identity and notions of coming of age.
My original intention was to focus on a German coming of age ritual called Jugendweihe or Jugendfeier. Jugendweihe is a non-Christian, humanist ceremony of confirmation wherein youth (ages 13-14) celebrate graduation from grade school and assume new responsibilities of adulthood. I desired to interview as many young adults as possible to hear their experiences of Jugendweihe and transitions into adulthood.
The ultimate goal of this project was to incite viewers to think of their own coming of age stories and how culture has informed individual identity. My methods of investigation included informal interviews, photography, video, sketches, journaling, and subsequent art production. I allowed myself latitude to interpret the responses of interviewers.
Before arriving in Germany, I traveled with the art history spring study abroad program, which was in and of itself an incredible experience. It too will inform my artwork. I traveled to Italy, England, and France beholding some of the greatest works of Western art history. Fortunately, studying abroad with an organized program helped me feel comfortable navigating foreign countries on my own. My ORCA grant allowed me to stay after the program ended to travel to Spain and Germany in order to absorb even more art, revisit my childhood home, and further my artistic investigations.
In order for this project to run smoothly, a lot of logistical pre-planning was required. I spent several hours researching hostels, modes of transportation, mapping cities, and making itineraries. I also reconnected with old family acquaintances in Germany that served as my hosts for a week.
First, I arrived in Berlin mid June. Berlin offered a rich historical experience. I attend some of the nation’s greatest art museums: Old Museum, New Museum, Old National Gallery, and the Pergamon. I also beheld significant sites of WWII and the Berlin Wall. Learning more about the history and culture of Germany allowed me to relate and sympathize more with the German people. Unfortunately, due to my initial shyness I was unable to gather any personal stories of Jugendweihe.
However, on my way to Munich, I slept on a crammed overnight train with a few other women. Though none of them had experienced this graduation ceremony, I was able to glean some source material (namely conversation and a book). I then decided to broaden my study to the process of “growing up” and coming of age in general as experienced by individuals rather than focusing solely on one rite of passage.
Munich was a springboard to additional German history where I visited art museums, Dachau (the first Nazi concentration camp), and the famous Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein. These day trips brought back memories from my childhood when I had visited these same places. I could not help but compare and contrast my perceptions as a child to my perspectives as an adult. These evolving vantage points fascinate me as I study the formation of identity.
Next, I visited a rural community called Usingen outside of Frankfurt. Here, I stayed with the wonderful Wiborny family who are also Latter-day Saints. Staying with the Wibornys proved to be the greatest source of research material and one of highlights of my trip. They connected me with several young adults in the area who I interviewed for this project. I was rather surprised by their open, honesty in talking about their childhood and transition to adulthood sharing several experiences and feelings I could also relate too.
One of my goals for this project was to understand the similarities and differences between American and German youths’ perceptions on emerging adulthood; and I believe I came to understand more by talking with this group of people. I hope that my subsequent art and lectures expose a greater audience to the similarities and differences of how people around the world solidify identity.
Lastly, I returned to my childhood village of Schaafheim. Of course, this was an incredibly, personal gratifying experience. I stayed with my old landlord’s daughter/playmate and was able to interview her and another friend. This short, sentimental visit taught me a lot about myself and the meaning of place. Throughout my travels I had a lot of time for introspection and evaluating what I find most important in life. These reflections will undoubtedly be made manifest in my art.
Once back in the United States, the art production process came rather slowly. I experimented with different ways of representing the individuals I interviewed. I tried uniform, mixed media paintings on paper, but the formatting seemed to lack real connection with concept. My mentor suggested that I work with books, because books tell stories just as people’s lives are a culmination of stories. So, I collected books written in German and painted the interviewees and their responses within. Each book is glued open to a proportionate page according the age of the person interviewed. Just as I spent only a brief time with these people, the viewer will only be able to see a glimpse of the books. I was also conscious of choosing the relative size, content, and color of each book to match my initial perceptions of the subjects. The page spread is layered with several layers of paint and text. Each layer contains a response to the questions I asked.
To share my experience with others, I exhibited these book works with a text panel explaining the project in the Michael Day Memorial Gallery in the Jesse Knight Building. I also applied to present my research of coming of age in connection with art education at the Utah Art Education Conference 2012, St. George and the National Art Education Conference 2012, in New York City. My presentations will focus on adolescents’ transition into adulthood and the need for curriculum designed to promote personal growth and self-acceptance.