Project #3 - Tim Wise

Tim Wise, what an interesting man. I must admit, having only his articles as an introduction to him was somewhat unsettling. His word choice and topics of discussion intimidated me. However, within the first few minute of Wise's lecture, I was reassured. He is smart, funny, and to a certain degree, easy to follow. And considering what Wise was discussing, these were all qualities that were much appreciated.

The inspiration for this illustration came from one of Wise's last stories. He shared with the audience and evening when he was at home with his wife and children and they were watching a movie, "Bruce Almighty". His youngest daughter asked if Morgan Freeman was God. Wise explained Morgan Freeman was not God, but an actor simply playing the role of God. Upon explaining this, Wise's eldest daughter piped in claiming that couldn't be God because God is white. He knew that statement was coming, the entire audience knew that statement was coming. But what really impacted me was the fact that he does not condone or support this idea in any way. His home contains no pictures or illustrations of God. Still, racism had managed to creep it's way into him home, and it was poisoning his children. I held onto this idea and decided to run with it for my project.

I chose to create an outline of the U.S., but not the states. I thought this would create a better sense of racism as a national issue. I then places poison beakers throughout the country, with one being tipped over and spreading in the middle. The beakers contain black "R"s which vaguely resemble skulls and crossbones. It was to emphasis the seriousness of the issue, and I also thought it looked pretty cute. I also chose to include the statement "RACISM: is poisoning our children". I went with the American Typewriter font. I wanted to make the point that this issue was and is newsworthy.

My final product looks nothing like my original sketches, but I am extremely happy with and proud of how it turned out in the end.