Al-Mutanabbi Street: justice and injustice
Roseann Cazares, USA
| Al-Mutanabbi Street:
justice and injustice; Roseann Cazares,
Pasadena, USA, 2013 Being an artist is part of my second life. My regular life revolves around being a principal of a small high school, in LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District), called the “Social Justice Leadership Academy”. I do not have a lot of extra time in my schedule, but when I first heard about this project, An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street, I knew I had to be involved. And since it was a project closely connected with books, creating books to call global attention to censoring and ultimately, destroying existing books in Iraq, I knew I had found a larger voice and audience regarding the work I have been doing for the last ten years. I am an English major and I taught English for 18 years before I became an administrator. The artwork I created was based on the themes of injustice and justice. Many of the images I used for my artwork are of minorities, particularly people of color and women. I used a very small format for each of the three books I created: the books are 5 x 3 inches. Because of the size, there is absolutely no room for anything extra; the message and images have to jump out at you! Consequently, the imagery really catches the viewer's attention. That was my intent. I want my books' messages and images to really resonant with each viewer. Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the al-Mutanabbi Street Book Artists project. I am deeply honoured and humbled. http://roseannc.blogspot.com rcazar2@lausd.net |