Valerie Moore, Final Project

The skeleton in your closet

For my piece from class to examine in relation to my own project, I chose Betye Saar’s Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail. I saw a connection between her work and my own because at its roots, both of us have created works of art to contest issues that may make people feel uncomfortable.

(Saar's Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail)

Saar’s work may feel violent, as it is presented in the form of an unlit molotov cocktail. But what lies beneath it is the reclamation that’s being made. Saar is taking back the Mammy figure that was once used to perpetuate hateful stereotypes. On the opposite side of the bottle, as pictured, is a black power fist. This links her piece to the black power movement, in an effort to help people understand the motivation of her piece. It also goes without saying that the choice to include these images in the creation of a molotov cocktail shows the anger felt by those oppressed by this figure; as well as the lengths they may be willing to go to distance hurtful stereotypes. Saar’s piece is very important, socially as well as culturally, as it confronts the historic elements of racism and reclaims the elements that were very hateful towards African Americans.

Politically, I am a rather liberal democrat. I feel as though people should work towards the good of everyone and make their own equitable and fair contributions. I also favor the idea that one should be able to make their own decisions, as long as they do not impact the life of another negatively.
Professionally, I wish to be either a biology teacher, or a speech therapist in a school system. I want to be able to help others succeed in life and I think these areas would suit me well.

History and development of anti vax movement:

How recently do you think anti vaccination sentiment came? Where do you think it originated? What types of claims do you think people made (at first) to justify their irrational fears? If we were to vote democratically, is it in our interest to vaccinate everyone, or leave it up to chance?

The anti-vaccination “anti vax” movement began in the 1800’s, concerning the smallpox vaccine were the origin of the anti vax opposition. Predominantly, the dissent originated in England and the United States; carried out by their respective “anti-vaccination leagues; as well as more recent vaccination controversies such as those surrounding the safety and efficacy of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) immunization, the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine”.

(1902 Anti-Vaccination Society of America advertisement)

The issue seen with vaccination was that it had been claimed to be, ““unchristian” because it came from an animal”. Others had held a general “distrust in medicine and in Jenner’s ideas about disease spread... skeptics alleged that smallpox resulted from decaying matter in the atmosphere. Many people objected to vaccination because they believed it violated their personal liberty, a tension that worsened as the government developed mandatory vaccine policies.” As a result of the mandatory vaccination, as any law that is seen as problematic by a group, rallies were held. The largest being the, “Leicester Demonstration March of 1885... There, 80,000-100,000 anti-vaccinators led an elaborate march, complete with banners, a child’s coffin, and an effigy of Jenner”

(Image of Dr. Jenner administering the first smallpox vaccine, this image inspired me to create an image to convey my sentiment just as this work does)

Sadly, as a result of this movement, the “Vaccination Act of 1898 removed penalties” that had previously made vaccinations compulsory. The act “included a “conscientious objector” clause, so that parents who did not believe in vaccinations safety or efficacy could obtain an exemption certificate”

(An example of a modern immunization exemption form)

There were more than simply one Anti Vaccination Society. The “Anti Vaccination Society of America was founded in 1879, following a visit to America by leading British anti-vaccinationist William Tebb. Two other leagues, the New England Anti Compulsory Vaccination League (1882) and the Anti-vaccination League of New York City (1885) followed. The American anti-vaccinationists waged court battles to repeal vaccination laws in several states including California, Illinois, and Wisconsin.” As a result, Anti vax sentiment was widespread as soon as vaccinations had been made available.

Influence of the Supreme Court in the matter of Anti vax sentiment:

In “1902, following a smallpox outbreak, the board of health of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, mandated all city residents to be vaccinated against smallpox. City resident Henning Jacobson refused vaccination... In turn, the city filed criminal charges against him. After losing his court battle locally, Jacobson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1905 the Court found in the state’s favor, ruling that the state could enact compulsory laws to protect the public in the event of a communicable disease. This was the first U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the power of states in public health law.”

(Piece created in response to the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts)

Proof of proliferation of false information to encite fear of vaccination:

“1998, British doctor Andrew Wakefield recommended further investigation of a possible relationship between bowel disease, autism, and the MMR vaccine. A few years later, Wakefield alleged the vaccine was not properly tested before being put into use. The media seized these stories, igniting public fear and confusion over the safety of the vaccine. The Lancet, the journal that originally published Wakefield’s work, stated in 2004 that it should not have published the paper. The General Medical Council, an independent regulator for doctors in the UK, found that Wakefield had a “fatal conflict of interest.” He had been paid by a law board to find out if there was evidence to support a litigation case by parents who believed that the vaccine had harmed their children. In 2010, the Lancet formally retracted the paper after the British General Medical Council ruled against Wakefield in several areas. Wakefield was struck from the medical register in Great Britain and may no longer practice medicine there. In January 2011, the BMJ published a series of reports by journalist Brian Deer outlining evidence that Wakefield had committed scientific fraud by falsifying data and also that Wakefield hoped to financially profit from his investigations in several ways.”- History of Anti-vaccination Movement.

Friction within my topic is held between the government and scientists trying to help society, as well as people wanting a right to choose for themselves or outright refuse.

As previously mentioned, opposition of vaccination has been met with several different tactics, including the retraction of papers, court cases, as well as new scientific literature produced with updated information. However, due to complications from previous mandatory vaccination laws, as well as the potential to impact issues such as government control of the body, we cannot simply make vaccination mandatory once again. Instead, we must make efforts to educate others on the issue, and guide them towards the more equitable decision.

My project, and how it fits into the issue:

There is a lot out there that we don’t address openly. The reasoning behind this, is mainly because these are topics that frighten us. Subjects such as mortality are dubbed as “The macabre” because we have a hard time facing them. My issue is one largely concerning mortality, as my painting highlights the risks one runs without providing vaccination for their children. Killing not only their own child, but potentially others as well, from diseases that have been almost eradicated from areas that exercise less opposition to vaccination. There is an inherent issue when parents run this risk, that they will hurt others, as not all vaccinated children actually develop an immunity to the disease.“Depending on the vaccine, about 1% to 5% of children who are vaccinated fail to develop immunity. If these children are exposed to that disease, they could get sick.” - Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So the most efficient and sensible way to keep almost all children safe from early childhood diseases that could end their lives, is to vaccinate all children; reducing the margin that may be at risk to an exponentially smaller number.
Today is a tough time to try reaching out to people through conventional methods. Writing a paper that highlights the merits of vaccination is no help in an age where we barely want to watch our friend’s snapchat stories. While resources exist that merit the importance of vaccination, those that disagree or are uninformed are more likely to base their ideas off what is easier to understand, such as comments or ideas of family and friends. However, unless your family and friends are medical professionals, one should look into both sides of the issue before choosing one to stick with.
I was honestly inspired to undergo this topic due to my interests in makeup and science. As unrelated as it sounds, it does correlate. I have always been interested in scientific topics, findings and so on. I like the idea that we can impact the world around us while gaining an understanding of it simultaneously. I have also developed an interest in makeup over time, through being in the same room as my younger sister as she watched beauty youtubers and learned new ways to apply her own makeup. One beauty brand that I enjoyed the most was Kat Von D. I grew up watching her tattoo on television from time to time (I really appreciated the artwork she was able to make), and seeing she had gone on to create not only a makeup brand, but one that is centered around black and hard rock design, as opposed to the pink and girly vibe of other makeup companies that I did not enjoy aesthetically, as I tried to distance myself from being girly growing up, really excited me.

(Kat Von D's Logo)

Subsequently, I went on to follow not only her company’s instagram page, but also her own, as well as her new husband’s. However, my excitement towards them came to a halt when I had read her June 7th instagram post, in which Kat stated she would be raising her son “drug-free”, or unvaccinated. As a person with scientific interests at heart, who understands the risks run by anti vaxers, I was very upset that this idol I had grown up knowing would do something like this.

(Instagram post from Kat Von D in which she declares she will not be vaccinating her baby)

I wished to create a piece of art that could make it easy for anyone to understand why vaccinations are important. It may be seen as morbid, but if it wasn't, there would likely be no impression left upon its audience. I wanted to make something like this because it would certainly leave a mark upon those that had seen it. My canvas painting that I had created was of a skeletal baby, lying in a cradle. The baby is reaching up towards a mobile above their head; the mobile is comprised of needles for vaccination (I created them from real needles we had left over from the brief stint my cat had diabetes). With the actual needles removed, I mixed water with different dyes for food coloring to create the “vaccinations”, attached them to strings, and then to a piece of cardboard at the top of the canvas. Reaching over the side of the cradle is a larger skeleton, presumably the parent of this child. In their hand is a scissor, cutting off the vaccines from the mobile. In turn, symbolically cutting off the child’s access to vaccination.

As I am not an artist, but I am rather talented at copying drawings of others just from looking at an image, I thought about works I would be able to use as a reference in order to accurately and nicely draw a few skeletons. My first Idea was rather obvious. I am quite a fan of the work of Tim Burton, I enjoy The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, and The Corpse Bride extensively. I began to think about what works of his I may be able to reference in order to get the look I wanted. In the end, I decided on using different skeletons from The Corpse Bride. For the baby, I used the sailor boy skeleton, and for the adult, I used the skeleton known in the movie as Bonejangles (the skeleton that sings with a bowler hat and one eye). The process of me copying the skeletons was relatively simple, I just pulled up images online and drew them on paper to test if I liked the way they looked when redrawn for my own context. After that, I resized them to fit my canvas. Once they were sketched in place, I began painting.

(Bonejangles from The Corpse Bride)

(Skeleton boy and girl from The Corpse Bride)

While this project required a lot of planning and thinking, as well as reaching out to NJCU to look into where I could display the painting, ultimately it was a very rewarding experience, as it was largely centered around things I enjoy, and hopefully it will make a contribution to others understanding of the importance of vaccination.

(My finished painting)

Works Cited:

“Bill Gates Commissions Pro-Vaccine Artworks to Remind Us Why Immunization Is Important.” ZME Science, 27 Feb. 2015, ww.zmescience.com/medicine/bill-gates-vaccine-artwork-042423/.

“CDC Features.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Aug. 2018, www.cdc.gov/features/reasonstovaccinate/index.html.

“For Parents: Vaccines for Your Children.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Sept. 2016, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/tools/parents-guide/parents-guide-part4.html.

“History of Anti-Vaccination Movements.” History of Vaccines, www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movements.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child.” Vaccines.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 11 Oct. 2006, ww.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons/index.html.