2016 Discussion:
Cori and I snuck into the poetry room in Sanborn library to have our conversation. The room was devoid of people and filled with old silverware and china. This room is usually kept locked away but we were able to come in because a class that was held in there had just gotten out. We sat down on a sofa and I began to ask her about her experience with Dartmouth. Cori spoke about how difficult it had been to find a community on campus that she felt completely accepted in. She spoke about how membership in a community always felt conditional. Then she began to talk about a place that has become dear to her and offered her the support she has needed during her time here – her sorority. She mentioned how that space was intentional for her – nurturing a home where women of color felt welcomed and seen was important to her, as she had struggled to find this place herself.
Visual Analysis:
In Cori’s portrait, her figure emerges from the shadows in the right side of the photograph and is juxtaposed with the shadow profile that finds itself behind diagonal lines on the left. Light falls on a closed door and serves as a representation of knowledge that is kept behind closed doors. The angle of the viewer is lowered and places Cori above our gaze. She is in power.