Final Intervention post -Eric U.

Project Summary: "One More Day"

My performance piece is titled “One More Day,” a comic that focuses on men’s mental health and how it can be overcome. It follows a character as he struggles with internal pressure, emotional isolation, and the expectation to appear strong at all times. Through a series of moments, the comic shows how these feelings build up, but also highlights small steps toward healing, such as reflecting, self-motivation and choosing to keep going despite the major pressures put on. The title represents the idea of taking life one day at a time, emphasizing that progress doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to continue.

When coming up with my performance piece, one of the main ideas that inspired me was a quote from The Art of Activism, “Many activists and artists operate under this premise, that the biggest problem we face is that most people don’t understand The Problem. And, since most people don’t understand what’s wrong, it is our job to tell them or to show them.” This quote was a foundation that helped shape my project as I wanted to showcase how art can be used as a way to communicate issues that are often ignored or misunderstood. In this instance I wanted to focus my message on men’s mental health and how many people don’t realize how serious or common these struggles can be, while also displaying how this “depression” can be portrayed and felt. 

Unfortunately, I did not have much of an audience as I work full time, the few people I did show were my friends and a couple of coworkers. Originally, when viewing the first draft titled “Reflection,” the overall feedback was positive. People liked that the idea felt personal and meaningful. They also suggested focusing more specifically on men’s mental health, since it is something relatable for many people and can help spread awareness. They liked the idea of the comic taking place in a bathroom mirror, since it represents a private and personal space where someone is alone with their thoughts. When designing the character, I chose not to base it on any recognizable figure or famous person. Instead, I used one of my older projects as inspiration for the silhouette figure in the comic. Its jagged, uneven edges represent how mentally overwhelmed and disconnected the character feels, symbolizing the chaos and messiness of his inner state.

I chose to create a comic because I wanted a form that is expressive and relatable. My goal was for the audience to connect with the character and understand their emotions on a deeper level. Comics can also serve as a way to improve mental health by offering an escape from reality and providing a moment of peace. They are powerful for inspiring and motivating people while also sharing positive messages across different age groups. This is part of the reason why iconic comics like Spider-Man and Superman are so widely admired and continue to resonate with audiences, as they often reflect real human struggles and growth in an engaging visual form. Music was also another source of inspiration for creating my comic, as its rhythm, tone, and impactful lyrics helped shape the early drafts of my ideas. Artists like Kendrick Lamar influenced me because songs such as “PRIDE.”, “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” and “Count Me Out” explore inner dialogue, struggle, and mental health in a very honest and emotional way. At the same time, performance artists like Shaun Leonardo and his work Self Portrait (2010) also resonated with me, as he uses the physical body to represent struggle, tension, and violence. Together, these influences helped me think more deeply about how to visually and emotionally express internal conflict in my own comic. 

In conclusion, I believe my performative piece was somewhat successful. It allowed me to express important ideas about men’s mental health in a creative and personal way while also connecting with influences from music, performance art, and comics. Although there are areas I could continue to improve and develop further such as extend the comic further and add more dialogue as well as add more detail and composition. I do feel that the piece effectively communicates its main message and encourages awareness and reflection.

Quotes Inspiration:

• “Many activists and artists operate under this premise: that the biggest problem we face is that most people don’t understand The Problem. And, since most people don’t understand what’s wrong, it is our job to tell them or to show them.” - The Art of Activism

• “I was offering a spectacle of violence and that identity of hyper-masculinity and aggression that is so often anticipated from a black body, and this notion that, as a black and brown body we move through the world and serve as a mirror for white peoples' projections.” - Shaun Leonardo

• “By being able to really exist in your own body and understand that you do not need to be defined by an experience in this case, arrest and incarceration it allows you to move forward with a little more sense of joy.” - Shaun Leonardo

• "Am I worth it? Did I put enough work in? Promise that you will sing about me" - Kendrick Lamar

Artist Inspiration

• Kendrick Lamar - “Sing about me”, “Pride”, “Count Me Out”

• Shaun Leonardo- Self Portrait (2010)

• The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #34 

• My Hero Acidemia

• Silhouette man- Joji

Sources

1. Why Do So Many Men Experience Loneliness? | Charlie Health 

2. Depression Doesn’t Always Look Like Sadness: Men's Mental Health 

3. Male depression: Understanding the issues - Mayo Clinic 

4. Improve Your Mental Health with Positive Affirmations | University of Utah Health 

5. Reading Comics Supports Mental Health

 Final intervention presentation: https://canva.link/eexnd2rxlhdhuzt