The decoration of personal space is very important, especially if you’re a teenager and you only get one room or part of a room in which you can express your personal likes and dislikes through art, bedclothes, paint, small totems, or a giant collection of something or other (makeup, art supplies, Nikes, who knows?)
This is true for guys and girls, but culturally & historically girls have been made to stay at home more and so might be expected to create more detailed worlds.
Marian’s recent post about photography stuck with me as I stopped to view some of the images from photographer Rania Matar‘s recent work:A Girl and Her Room. It’s a collection of photos of teenage girls in their own space. Matar succinctly describes it as “an area that is theirs, that they can fully control, decorate, trash and be themselves in.”
No matter if the girl is from Dubai or Massachusetts, the rooms share the same urgent sense of containing a person’s whole life and personality.
click to see Rania Matar's portfolio
What does your room say about you? It could be something to explore in your own photographs.
And don’t forget to explore the library’s collection of photography catalogs. There’s nothing like finding a new artist:
Girl Culture by Lauren Greenfield fearlessly explores the private worlds of girl-ness.
Picture the Girl by Audrey Shehyn Vernick profiles a range of teenage girls, coupled with sharp black and white portraits.
Or, get some decoration inspiration with
Teen Zone: Stylish Living for Teens by Judith Wilson
- Tessa (CLP – East Liberty), whose room growing up had walls that were absolutely collaged without an inch of paint showing.
EDIT: Tavi just blogged about teenage bedrooms on Style Rookie! And provided a link to this tumblr: http://teenagebedroom.tumblr.com/ That’s synchronicity.
Filed under: Art | Tagged: art, bedroom, decoration, photography | 3 Comments »
