Artifact IV: Adornment
Artifact: Adornment
Objectives:
- Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty.
- Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging.
- Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations.
Reflection:
The adornment assignment was a great opportunity to revisit the values discussion that we started in week two (Unit 2). The task of observing strangers allowed for the opportunity to make connections between physical appearance and personal value systems. We used our past experience to speculate the value system that the stranger we were observing. In the life values assessment we performed in Unit 2, we began to understand that there are internal and external forces that influence the development of our value system, which in turn influences every major decision that we make. Clothing and adornment are conscious decision we make every day, so it is a great way get a glimpse into the value system of those people.
The speculation of stranger’s value systems provided a platform for us to take an introspective look at our own value systems. The assumptions we made were based on our past experiences; those internal and external forces that shape and mold our value systems. By determining what a stranger’s outfit and adornment said about their values and feeling of identity and belonging, we ultimately put a mirror up to our own value system.
Moving Forward
In the future, I want to learn about how cultural difference influence clothing and adornment, which is a reflection of values. The best way to experience new and different cultures is to immerse myself in those cultures. I plan on traveling in the next five years, to different countries to become a more well rounded global citizen.