Photoshop Project

The meaning that I hoped to create with this image is “strength” or “strength of women.” There are several examples of how just with a photo these women portray their strength and how throughout the years women have been a strong backbone in family, society, and media.

Once the title of the image is given, it helps viewers understand the meaning behind each photo. Starting from left to right, bottom to the top, the first photo is of Lady Liberty. A gift from France, most Americans know she stands for liberty and justice. For immigrants she is a symbol of a free world and was one of the first structures they would see coming across the Atlantic Ocean on boat. To me, it is very complimenting as a woman to have such a strong symbol be represented by a woman. The next photo to the left is Joan of Arc. Back in a time when women had little to no say on issues especially when it came to representation of the church, it was a huge risk for her to stand up to what she thought was right. In my opinion, she is one of history’s strongest documented women. She was not afraid of death, and died still showing her strength and determination. The photo of the lady holding the grain is representation of women in slavery. It was almost mind-blowing to me that this woman is smiling because not only was it a bad time in history for black people, she is clearly working in the fields under white supervision. It was a symbol of strength because she was proving to me that no job or circumstance can break a person’s spirit if they stay strong. As for the two black and white immigrants, one holding a child and one also holding a child that can’t be seen this shows they have strength for themselves as well as another mouth to feed. They also portray a fearless attitude. The colorful well dressed woman with the big hat (big hats represent power) is a poster model for a proud strong woman. The grouped women on the top are presenting women’s rights and that is self explanatory. I am rocking a peace sign as well. The main eye grabber is the actress on the far left who is posing in a very “stand up” way. To me, she represented strength with her pose and I used red coloring for her lips, jewelry and nails because red is a strong, bold color.

To intensify the meaning of the collage I used red coloring and immediately draw attention with the text. The clever quote helps the viewer understand what these women represent. The bold colors of the actress’s lips also tie in with the text and I believe where the text is placed (in the break between the photos) helps guide the viewer’s attention all over the collage helping emphasize the meaning.

Women are often overlapped by the documented men’s attributes to history and everyday life. By reading into this collage, a person can get a taste of how women have represented themselves and strength throughout the years.