Name: Foster Cheng
Major(s): WGSS, Studio Art
Hometown: Palo Alto, Calif.
Briefly describe your I.S.: I am conducting a photovoice study of LGBTQ+ experience at the College. Photovoice is a form of collaborative research where my participants will create photos about their experiences, then use these photos in a group discussion.
This discussion will act as a critical dialogue about all of our experiences as members of this community, which can potentially bring up recommendations that we will make to administration about changes in policy, etc.
My project will culminate in an exhibition of participants’ photos and my photos as well as a website documenting the project.
What motivated you to choose this project?
I plan to work with the LGBTQ+ community in my career and have been doing so since my first year at Wooster, so choosing this population was easy for me. I also found that photovoice was a perfect mesh of artistic expression and feminist methods, which was ideal for my interdisciplinary project.
Do you have a unique creative process?
For this project, something unique is that my participants and I will be using our camera phones to capture all of our images. Our phones have a lot of really impressive photo-making capabilities, and using such an accessible tool (compared to a DSLR or other expensive photo equipment) is something I’m really excited about.
Which starving artist do you connect most with? (Aka, do you have any favorite artists? Why?)
Cindy Sherman and Ai WeiWei are some of my favorites. Sherman was one of the first artists I took a deep interest in, and I love her ability to completely transform her appearance. Ai is extremely bold in his use of art as activism, which is something I aspire to do as well.
If you had to be any kitchen appliance, which would you be and why?
I would be a KitchenAid stand mixer. They’re so versatile and they look very sleek. I feel like the day I’m able to buy one for myself will be the day I’ve truly made it as an adult.