My project is called Detroit Girl. It is a digital image that was created using Adobe Illustrator. It was finished on November 2, 2013.

The project is meant to be a printed poster, about the size of a movie poster. The subject of the poster is identity. More specifically it expresses how large a part the city of Detroit plays in my identity. Each different element is something about the city that is meaningful to me. The poster in deconstructive in that it has many layers with no clear hierarchy or movement. All of the little pieces come together to make the whole. 

In the project I tried to convey my love for the city and what a large part it plays in my life. All of the photos in the background were taken in the city. The map outlines the areas of town where I spend most of my time. The road signs are of the streets that I use most frequently. 

My piece seems to be quite different from some of my classmates in that it doesn't show me, or an interpretation of me. I think this may be because I think about myself as more of a sum of all of the things around me than as an individual. I wouldn't know how to describe my identity without talking about my home. It is also different from my classmates' work in that I decided to spend a lot of time on one piece instead of making a spread or other format. I thought that the one large piece would be something interesting that I would like to have at home. 

I think seeing a street art exhibit at the Chicago Cultural center may have influenced my choice to follow the deconstructive paradigm. I saw a lot of overlapping and layered elements there that I really enjoyed. 

My purpose is to show people how important my home is to me. That I am really nothing without or outside of my home. I intend to make the viewer interested in Detroit and think about the positive things that go on there instead of the negative stereotype everyone seems to have.