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Hernandez Jocelyn

English 101

Professor Batty

May 27 2017

The Girl with a Message

Many may recognize the famous painting The Girl with the Pearl Earring, by Johannes

Vermeer, also known as the Mona Lisa of the North or Dutch (See Appendix B). This painting

was part of an art period called the Baroque. It was an instant masterpiece because the lighting

was carefully crafted and the girl was said to be a tronie, which is a Dutch word that translates to

facial expression in English. It brought a lot of attention to the painting, and the mystery of the

girl; Who was she? was something almost everyone wanted to know. In order to be able to

deeply analyze an image and capture its message we must take into account various aspects of

the image. The Girl with the Hoop Earring is a mural on Van Nuys Boulevard in the city of

Arleta painted by Levi Ponce that nearly mimics the original painting of the 17th century by

Vermeer The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Ponce employs visual rhetoric in his mural with his

use of facial expression, the earring change, and the use background to make the popular panting

culturally relevant to Latinos.

Ponces mural showcases a difference in facial expression that portrays a hidden message

different than the original painting. A girl is captured in a moment. An image can be very

impactful sometimes for its pure beauty and sometimes for what it represents A pale face and a

look that makes her seem lost, but the longer one looks one might begin to feel hope. In the

original painting the girls face is very delicate, all of her features are subtle and her complexion

is light, it is very clear that the girl is of Dutch heritage. The look on her face is also very
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innocent something that the society at the time expect and idolize women to be. She does slightly

look like she was caught in a moment and thats what gives the vibe of innocence and how raw it

is captured. However, this can also represent that maybe she is unhappy with the society she's

living in. Her expression is also mysterious and makes the viewer question everything about her.

In the movie, Girl with the Pearl Earring based off the famous painting, the story is based on

Griet (the girl in the pearl earring), who is a maid for the painter. As the story unveils the painter

asks Griet to pierce her ear for the portrait, which at the time was very looked down on by

society and hides sexual context. Therefore, the social context of her innocent face with the ear

pierced speaks for itself. On the other hand, in the mural, her facial expression is not as delicate

as the original painting. In the mural her mouth is a little more open compared to the original

painting, this can be seen as sexual. It makes sense that Ponce would choose to exemplify the

sexual context in this slightly more obvious way because not everyone in Van Nuys knows the

symbolic meaning of a young girl from the 17th century with pierced ears. Thus, making the

paintings original message more culturally relevant to Latinos.

The change of pearl to hoop earring in the mural was a change that was very notable to

Latinos as well. The earring is a simple gold hoop that just looks so out of place. Ponce could

have just painted the exact same painting, but changing the earring makes it culturally relevant to

its location. The area that the mural is located is an area of predominantly Latino culture, by

changing the earring and making it look so out of place it symbolizes the clash of cultures of

America and Latino immigrants. Changing the earring can make it easier to relate to such a

European painting. Analyzing the visual rhetoric of this painting made me wonder why Ponce

did not change more to make this painting even more appealing to the Latino culture? He could

have changed the pigmentation of her skin or swapped the turban for something more in style. It
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would have made more sense, however by choosing not to do that he made the original painting

more accessible. Not many people in the East San Fernando area have the opportunity to see the

actual painting or to fly out to the fancy art gallery it's located in and see it. Art is a universal

concept that can work for any culture. Perhaps the goal of the artist was to taken famous

European art and make it universal by placing it on a wall. On the other hand, that one change

can be seen as how immigrants when moving to America try really hard to adapt to the culture

and sometimes it can be looked down upon to keep your Hispanic roots. Perhaps by only having

the earring and no other change can symbolize how immigrants try to adapt to American culture

but can't help but have the one hoop earring also known as some of the Hispanic traditions.

The hoop earring is another subtle change that makes this painting culturally relevant to Latinos.

Another subtle change that I noticed between the painting and the mural was the

background. I noticed that in the mural, the girl is placed to the far left allowing more space for

the black background, making it the focal point. According to the book, Picture This How

Pictures Work by Molly Bang The center of the page is the most effective center of attention.

It is the point of greatest attraction. Here, Bang is saying that whatever is in the middle of a

picture will draw the most attention from the viewer. Another point the background is making is,

adding more context to the image. In contrast, to the original painting, where there is less black

background, there is less room for thought, because the girl is at the center. Therefore, she is the

focal point. By there being a majority of black background in the mural, it makes the mood of the

overall mural a lot more dark: physically and metaphorically. The black background looks like it

is hiding secrets. This adds to making the painting more culturally relevant because, like

mentioned before, most people in Van Nuys might not know how a 17th century young girl with
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a pierced ear is controversial. This is why Ponce decided to add more black background to allow

the reader to make the black background the focal point and cause them to wonder.

Overall, this mural is one that has a lot to say about Latino culture and can be analyzed

by using visual rhetoric. Everything about the mural has an impact on the message, from the

slight change of facial expression, to the notable earring replacement, and even the use of more

black background, helps make this popular image culturally relevant. Visual rhetoric is

something that is carefully analyzed, and through each observation there are many hidden

meanings. If such subtle changes can speak words and messages to me whats to say what it has

to say to an entire community.

Work Cited

"Girl with a Pearl Earring." Artble. N.p., 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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