Fanny Garcia, Female Tent, 2020
Fanny Garcia, Female Tent, 2020
Fanny Garcia
Female Tent, 2020
Paper Size: 20x26 in.
Image Size: 18x24 in.
Serigraph, Edition of 66
Female Tent is originally a photograph taken during my time in service and transformed into a screen print using seven different layers to depict each color. The image shows a group of women taking off their gear to rest after a long day of work in the field in Ft. Stewart, GA. This image is special and unique to the female experience because a male soldier would not be allowed to take such a photograph, raising several questions when serving under the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, carrying many assumptions through this lens. However, these topics did not matter when I took this photograph, as I, too, was going back into the tent to rest.
When creating this print, I wanted to show textures of mixed mediums, such as smoothed out spaces of color and real imagery using bit mapping to bring the world of photography and printmaking together. The edges were intentionally misaligned to break the sense of order that the military imposes on its service members. And most importantly, I wanted to depict a scene that presented female bodies to break away from the stereotype of a soldier being a man.
Atelier Statement:
A transition can be an emotional, mental, and or even physical passage from one point or state to another. For this atelier, SHG invited a multigenerational group of military veteran artists whose paths led them to transition from civilians to soldiers to artists. The seven artists will address themes already embedded in their practice or explore new concepts through a Serigraph print. While SHG has always been a home to a community of veterans who sought the arts to manage PTSD or connect to a community of artists, Transitions will be the first veteran-focused suite of serigraphs printed at SHG.
Artists include Joe Devera, Fanny Garcia, Gina Herrera, Leo Limon, Yvette Pino, Pedro Rios Martinez, and Peter Tovar.
Artist Biography:
Fanny Garcia is a first-generation Salvadoran-American artist from Los Angeles, based in Oakland, CA. She is an Army veteran who served in 2010-2013. After leaving the military, she received a BFA in Photography from California College of the Arts in Oakland. Since graduating, she has led various art workshops with combat veterans in her community. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally at the Kala Gallery in Berkeley, CA, the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, IL, and Sun studios in Sydney, Australia.