*IN PROGRESS*
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Senior Capstone ExhibitionStudent Work
An 8 month long exploration of perfectionism. I researched and wrote a 20-page paper on the different types of perfection, possible solutions, and various perspectives on perfection. I then implemented it visually, shown below.
My exhibition addressed the idea of perfectionism and how it inhibits the process of growth and learning. I designed 5 tapestries to show the process from perfection to reality. Due to COVID-19, I made my show available to view via technology. Welcome to my virtual BFA Senior Capstone Exhibition!
It's a journey, not a °perfect° destination.
If you’ve ever been to a job interview and mentioned perfectionism as a strength and then re-framed it as a weakness, you’re not alone.
Perfectionism sets high unrealistic standards of performance combined with overly critical evaluations of self and/or others. Perfectionism doesn’t respect the process of growth when it is hyper-focused on an end goal in an effort to avoid failure.
When you understand the motivation or intention behind an action, it makes it easier to see if an individual is trying to be perfect. Common motivators in a perfectionist include people seeking to do something to look good, get approval, or avoid negative reactions from others. Understanding motivations is one of the antidotes to perfectionism.
Instead, our motivation should be rooted in an interest to grow, learn, be curious, or improve. By shifting one’s focus from the fear of failure to the hope of success, a deeper perspective can be created. A perspective that helps us accept where we are at, in any moment, and understand that we are a work *in progress* too.
Please take the time to observe each of these tapestries with curiosity. They are meant to show the process from perfection to reality. Life isn’t a perfect grid, it is messy, fun, colorful, and bright. May we all celebrate every progress, victory, and failure to help end the stigma of trying to achieve perfection.
I interviewed 56 people with a variety of backgrounds, asking them to define perfectionism. With this, I made a feedback list and used “black out poetry” to highlight certain simple phrases. By blacking out different sections of those phrases it showed and defined not only perfection, but the humanistic reality of life.
These are process postcards representing all the iterations I went through to achieve the current design. Similar to how we make decisions and learn from our mistakes, it’s important and interesting to see how an idea evolves into its final form.
Maybe one day I can have a party and you can come get some of these postcards & pins! I am also planning to repurpose my tapestries into tote bags in the future!
