Artist Book

For my Artist Book I decided to do something that represents who I am and what I love. I am a Sister of Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority, Inc., meaning that I am very involved in Greek life. I also love photography and love capturing life through the lens of a camera. Above are four pictures of four different Fraternities. What the people in my pictures are doing is something called "stepping" or "strolling". Stepping is a tradition that dates back to the first historically Black Greek organizations. No specific date can be targeted for this tradition however, because some black Greek organizations feel that this tradition can be traced back to Africa and the customary tribal dances. The first three pictures come from the chronological order in which each fraternity was founded; and they are "black" fraternities. The last picture is a Latino Fraternity that also steps and strolls. Strolling functions by having members of a particular Greek organization line up one after another. They begin to move forward through the club in the same dance motions, or many times alternating dance moves. The practice of strolling is an organized event, as members in a line know every step of the choreographed stroll showing unity among the organization's members. I decided that I would do my pictures in black and white, leaving in color the representational colors of each particular organization to add a deeper meaning to what they each stand for and their individuality (all done in Photoshop). The names of the organizations were added on both Photoshop and Illustrator.

I have realized that not many people outside of these Organizations know much about stepping or strolling. To me it is an art form done through body movements that shows unity amongst the members. I hope to have shed light on a subject that is so important for me. I am also very happy that this type of art form has been passed down from black organizations to Latin/Latino organizations as well, unifying us as a minority group.