Many artists have tried to depict things with no real physical form, such as dreams or emotions. Nostalgia is an interesting emotion; when evoked, it can sway decisions and opinions easily. According to Google, nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The theme my piece will revolve around is the concept of nostalgia. This is a very broad thing to try to depict, so I categorized the type of nostalgia I want to showcase into one place and one period of life. I’m trying to bring up childhood memories of growing up in New York City to my viewers. This will be hard due to the city being so diverse, but I want to fill the piece with so much detail that a speck can conjure up a memory.
The way I made this idea into a reality was through the use of digital art mediums. Using an online platform, I created a digital collage. Most of my images came from Pinterest, and I manually cropped and arranged them to make the whole piece. At the bottom of the page, I have a mannequin, and the top of its head is missing. Spilling out from that whole are images related to New York City, be it food, trends, landmarks, and even entertainment. The argument of the images is supposed to act like the figure was hit with a wave of nostalgia, and their mind was blown.
The title of my project is Apple Core. It’s a play on the nickname for the city, the Big Apple. The core of the apple is the place that holds the seeds of the fruit, and with nostalgia, it plants seeds in a person’s head that later bloom into memories. Another fun connection between the tile and the piece is the part referring to the core, because I view every detail as a core memory of growing up in New York.
Completing my project helped me explore the roles art plays in the lives of New Yorkers and their communities by prompting me to reflect on these connections in my own life. For me, this art served as a way to document key moments of my life here in the city while also reflecting on moments other New Yorkers can relate to. Art acts as a universal language for all people in the city, to help them bond and relive moments that make them happy.
