Name: Izzy Davila ’16
Major: Art
Hometown: Boston, MA
Could you tell us about the photo exhibit you debuted last week? What was the inspiration behind it?
During the summer of 2014, I traveled to Tokyo in order to study its renowned street fashion. I walked around the giant metropolis looking for people to photograph, fumbled through each interaction with a Japanese introduction I translated online, and gave my blog info to everyone I could: izzyintokyo.tumblr.com
The project itself informs my larger interest in the social implications of fashion as well as performances of identity as a whole. While posting photos and writings to my blog and watching them disperse across the web, I hoped that my representations could complicate the idea of Tokyo street fashion as something beyond “foreign” or “crazy”. Further, maybe my art could shed light on the limited range of fashion this culture cultivates — help understand how, if not why, expectations and morals are expressed differently across cultures depending on what is put on in the morning.
How does your experience abroad relate to the work you do at Williams?
My experience abroad continued in London until the end of 2014. In both places I was faced fending for myself in this world which put a lot into perspective for me. It was a test of skill, but also a test of drive and adaptability.
Would you say studying away in Japan and London, made the vision of what you want to do postgrad more clear?
I’ve known that I want to be a creative director for some time now. Going abroad didn’t make me any more or less sure about what I want to do, but instead gave me a more realistic understanding of the path it takes to get there. After graduation I’ll take a year off to freelance, live, and let things happen. Then, when I feel the time is right I plan on getting an MFA.
What is one piece of advice you would give to students looking to pursue a career in the arts after leaving Williams?
Work hard from the beginning of undergrad until the end. It is exhausting, but the work improves more easily as time goes on. Don’t confine yourself to a medium. TAKE from your classes things that will benefit you and LEAVE the rest. Nobody knows what you are trying to accomplish more than you do. Lastly, be open to different types of learning and ways of thinking and looking. Subjectivity and perspective are the biggest difficulties when considering the reception of artwork.