Photo courtesy Maggie Michella

Advertising student Maggie Michella submitted the following description of her work on view on the second floor of the 950 building at South Campus through June 1, 2019.

Racism compels artists to create social impact with their work. ArtCenter College of Design wants to embrace and support the diversity in our student body. Advertising student Maggie Michella took on an independent study with faculty member Ramone Muñoz exploring experimental communication. The study resulted in the exhibition “Inside the Outside of Culture” that will be on view from April 15 – June 1 on the second floor of the 950 building of the South Campus. The work depicts 25 versions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famed painting of the Mona Lisa. On close inspection, the viewer will note that the eyes of each reproduction have been altered to reflect the eyes of peoples from 5 different regions of 5 different countries in Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. This project refutes the stereotypic notion that  ’all Asians look the same’  while raising questions related to xenophobia, eurocentric art history, and the recognition that we are all part of one humanity, no matter how we look on the outside. Ms. Michella’s project explores these issues in the context of the advertising industry and how advertising mirrors, or should mirror, the multiracial U.S. population.