I drew this piece for a project in our Advanced Studio Arts class. Inspired by the artist Kehinde Wiley, who is famous for creating art pieces that shift the center of power in a painting and gives it to a different group of people that are not often celebrated. The main parts of his drawing, such as the pose, are similar to many famous old paintings that are very well known. He then changes the subject of power, such as the person, and usually gives the power to African Americans, drawing attention to the lack of representation people of color have in the art world. Instead of the powerful Napolean riding on a horse, he changed the person into an African American, creating a historic image of young African American men. 

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In this painting, I decided to use one of my favorite art pieces from Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, "Portrait of a Young Woman." This painting is an image of stereotypical beauty or what was commonly the standard for what was considered beautiful. Her clothes and, specifically, hairpieces such as the feathers, pearls, and braids depict intricacy and wealth, representing her noble heritage. She was the "image" of what the beauty standard was, from her wealth to her hair, which was blonde, the shade considered most beautiful by women in the Renaissance period.  

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In this painting, I wanted to challenge that standard of beauty. There should not be a stereotypical image of what beauty should look like; instead, regardless of wealth or ethnicity, everyone is beautiful and has the right to be represented in that light. I decided to give power to the Asian community by changing the women's features into one that may not have followed the "beauty standard." Asians should be represented and acknowledged for their beauty and held in a light where they are respected. Not only beauty but culture and the Asian community as a whole should be recognized for their "beauty," not always feeding into the so-called "beauty standards."

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