Loyola Art Gallery

I have visited Loyola's art gallery a number of times this semester and each time I go there is something new that sticks out to me. Through my semester in my 2D Design course, my perception of art has changed from what it once was. I now look at art with a different mode of understanding because I understand that there is more that goes into a piece of work than what I can see on the canvas. I also have a new found appreciation for the time that it takes to analyze a piece of art. The part that truly amazes me is that for as long as a person may study a piece, their interpretation of it could be completely different from someone else's. I have learned that there is a unique relationship between art and the viewer and that relationship can be shaped by experiences, mood, age, gender, and a large range of other factors.

The last time I went to the Loyola art gallery I remember seeing a piece that I distinctly remember. The piece was a painting, but the artist used a few different mediums to create the piece. I remember seeing paint, yarn, feathers, fluff, and a money-print wallpaper. All of these objects were put together to create an abstract piece. At first glance, it seemed weird to me and I did not have a real appreciation for it. After looking at it for a few minutes and creating a story in my mind to make sense of what I was seeing, it came alive to me. The connotative and ideological came together and the mix of interpretations made for a beautiful story.

The piece used an untraditional canvas, morphing together two different sized rectangles into one space. The painting itself was not very clean. It was very abstract and dark in certain places. I was not sure what to think of the abstract painting on one half of the piece. Moving to the middle of the piece there is a divide between one canvas and the next. Yarn and feathers were filling the middle of the divide. At the top of the piece, there is an abstract piece covering the top of the entire work and it is bordered by money wallpaper. Inside the piece that covers the top is a fluffy material; almost cloud-like. With all this put together, I was able to put together my best interpretation. Basically, I believe that the piece is trying to get across the message that people can come from different sides of the track and still have things in common. There is a soft or gray area in the middle where we can all meet. The one thing that divides us, but also brings us together is money. Money can be the root of evil and the answer to many problems. But the idea of money, the one that sits in the clouds of our brains, is what causes us to stay divided. We believe that an economic divide must equate to a social divide. I think the piece was trying to say that we can find a neutral ground if we expand and/or change our mentalities.

Meraki - Senior Exhibit

I attended this senior exhibit which was meant to showcase a project where students were asked to put together a display. It would be comprised of many smaller pieces to create a larger composition. Some students used very similar images with minor differences to show the connection of the pieces in the composition. Other students used completely different images that shared a certain theme that was representative of the entire composition. The entire exhibit itself had about 6 different artworks displayed and they all told a different story. I knew a few of the artists that worked on these pieces and it was interesting to think that the inspiration for this artwork on the wall comes from the mind and imagination of people I interact with every day. Seeing an artists artwork is like taking a peek into their minds to discover something that may not be externally displayed.

One piece that I thought was interesting was composed by Kamilia. Her piece was titled, "Vixen: Heavenly Bodies Treacherous Minds". From what I understand the purpose of the piece was to combat the sterotype that women are sending a sexual message with the way that they are dressed. The heavenly bodies part of the title referred to the women which Kamilia took pictures of who were dressed in revealing and promiscuous clothing. The treacherous minds refers to the viewers, particularly men, who may be objectifying and sexualizing these women. To make the message more overt, Kamilia used short phrases on top of each image. For example, on one of the images, she had the words, "not for sale". I think the message of her collection was powerful and it was an innovative way to send a message that has been expressed for years by women everywhere.

Another piece that I found particularly interesting was by another student whose name I did not get a chance to record. The purpose of her display was to depict the personalities of her friends with different colors and amounts of chalk that she threw onto them. As she threw the chalk onto them, a camera captured a still image of them getting hit. Each color was supposed to represent a certain personality type. She used white chalk to represent how easily this personality was able to be identified in a specific person from a first interaction. If they had a lot of white chalk in their picture then that means their personality showed from the time they first met people. If there was less white, then it took people a little while to be able to associate this specific person with a certain personality trait. All of the models were photographed on a black background which really made the colors pop and i thought it was interesting to see how it came together as a sort of large collage.

My Postmodern Piece

For my Postmodern piece, I was working off of a quote that I used to inspire the arr. The quote reads, "There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world." When first reading this quote it seemed strange to me. It was such a bleak look at what is supposed to be a fun-loving holiday. Yes, Halloween has a dark connotation to it, but for the most part it is a fun day for kids everywhere. I took this quote and worked the dark aspect of my art to show the spooky and creepy part of Halloween.

I took the body of fully grown men and put enlarged heads of babies on them. This was just to show how the kids are taking over through the accepted practice of dressing up in a costume or disguise in this case. The babies are dressed and places at the top of the page in a large image to show their dominance. Then I showed strings coming from the bottom of the image in a puppet master fashion. Attached to the bottom of the strings are human figures meant to represent adults who are being controlled by there children. At the very bottom of the page, we see a city setting that is supposed to represent normal life for an adult. We see how the kids are getting revenge on the adults by controlling them in the real world. The adults are usually the ones giving the orders, but on Haloween, the kids get their chance to be whoever they want to be and give out any orders they please.

The colors used in this piece are not necessarily close to one another which helps the images to pop, but there is a pattern of colors used. Black, white, and red are the colors that are repeated constantly throughout the image and it gives it a certain rhythm that keeps you moving throughout the entire piece. There is a mix of different cultures and traditions in a postmodern fashion and I think it represents the quote well.

The Art of Data Visualization

PBS aired an episode talking about the visualization of data. They claimed that "the visualization of data is the history of science". When this was said they were referring to the fact that in the past we have relied on the things that we can see in order to interpret the world around us. In the next section, they claimed that we have evolved to be able to interpret what we see. Without this ability, we would not have been able to survive in nature. The example that they used was that we have to be able to see images and interpret if they are dangerous or not. Surely we would be susceptible to the threat of predators, nature, and other humans with malice intent if not for the skill of using our sight as a weapon. This makes perfect sense to me. From the time that we were babies, we have had to use our sight to interpret and make sense of our surroundings. We have to be visual learners because we cannot understand language at that age so what we know is solely based on what we see and feel. 

Another point that was brought up in the episode is that no visual representation can change the truth of the content. While I do agree that this is fundamentally true, I also believe that images have the power to distract viewers from the truth just as much. Humans sometimes tend to lean towards what is more aesthetically pleasing or easier to digest. We might choose to ignore things that we cannot see that we know may be harmful to us. If you think about it, that is why we are afraid of the dark because we do not know that is out there that could harm us. Visuals are everything. Similarly, if you think of the sense of hearing, you can see why people might be swayed to go with a more pleasant sound. If people hear a threatening sound they may be more hesitant to go in the direction from where it came. Taking things in a different direction, people may choose a partner based on their looks rather than the truth of personality. Sometimes they even convince themselves that the lies are the truth because of the need to have a visual that is more agreeable. So while the initial point is valid, I do think that there is a different aspect to look at when thinking of the issue. 

The last part of the episode focused on how information can be simplified by visualization. I agree with this and often overlook how much visualization simplifies my everyday life. One of the oldest and widely used forms of visualization that has simplified our lives are maps. From the time of the first map, it has been giving people direction and simplifying exploration in a way that was never possible before. Now if we look at what we have today in Google Maps and GPS, it makes our everyday travel 200 times easier. Imagine if we didn't have those images to guide us to our destinations and we had to rely on our memory. Google takes it a step farther with "street view". We take these things for granted but they would have been tools of wizards 100 years ago. Those examples along with others show us how much images mean to us. Think of the business world. With all of the number and different metrics that play into one decision, if it was not for visual charts and graphs, it would be almost impossible to represent data to a group of people who have not been immersed in the research. Visualization allows us to share and interpret information in new and innovative ways and we should all take a minute to count that blessing. What is very exciting to me is to think about how far we came and where we have the potential to go in the future. 

Postmodernism

I had mixed feelings reading these articles about Postmodernism. At first, I was happy to see that I live in a time where cultures can be mixed and appreciated by all. I liked that we embrace traditions and practices that we might not even understand, but we try to dive into them nonetheless. I do recognize that in this practice, we may voluntarily or involuntarily misrepresent or disrespect certain cultures, and I believe that in that case there needs to be an amendment. On the other hand, all of these experiences and exposure prep us to be a generation that has an appreciation for learning new cultures, and in the best case scenario, treating them with the respect that they deserve. I know that will not be the case most times, but at least we now have the opportunity and freedom to do so. 

Going deeper into the article, I came across the idea that postmodern artist often misrepresents cultures as they strive to understand them. They were compared to explorers who "simply plunge into the unknown and then try to represent it." I think this goes back to my point above that there may be times that in the process of trying to embrace new and foreign things, we may create a muddy image that may even be offensive to others, but without explorers and bold artists who take these first steps then we would live in cultural isolation. The article referred to global companies like Coca-Cola who try to bridge the gap and use a universal language/understanding to spread their brand. This is another form of unity that can be embraced and represent the appreciation of other cultures. If they only cared to cater to one group then they automatically ostracize another. In an attempt to be inclusive, they show their respect. 

Jean Baudrillard proposed the idea of the death of the real. I agree with his logic. I see so much superficiality in the world today that I cannot tell what is real or fake any more. We know that there are secrets behind every door and finding a genuine corporation or organization is a task. After a while, we start to make our own version of reality and convince ourselves that it is real. That becomes our reality from then on, and some people spend their whole lives living in this altered version of reality. The media and the images on TV and movies feed into this reality and in some cases, help to shape it. What we see on TV is often taken to be a true depiction of what life should be like and then we strive to imitate it. This is dangerous for a number of reasons, but the main one is that most people never achieve the ideal image of what they think happiness or peace looks like. The only thing stopping them from true happiness is their idea of reality is set at a level that may be impossible to reach. We need to come back to the true roots of reality and embrace the life that is right in front of us.

Whitescapes - Odili Donald Odita by PBS Digital Studios

I watched the video on Whitescapes and I will say that the concepts brought up were very interesting. In the first half of the video, Odili explained his process of creating his art, which can be described as abstract. He explained his interaction with color and all the analysis that goes into color, most of which I never would have even thought about. He talked about how he puts colors into a time period and how his past experiences with his mom shaped that view in his head. He also mentioned the difference between time period specific colors and then pop colors. I can understand what he means with the timed colors because I have read and seen with my own eyes that certain colors where more prevalent and widely used in some time periods rather than others. So when we see that color scheme together it can remind us of a certain time or setting. Odili then started getting into how colors change depending on how they are displayed and the lighting in the room and that discussion led us into whitescapes.

When the idea of whitescapes is first introduced I understood the concept, but then found issue when it was put into practice. I can see how a color can change based on the scale and the lighting that it is under. We see things differently when it is displayed differently. However, when Odili led the demonstration with the three different types of whites I found it less amusing. It almost seemed forced in my opinion. He compared the whites and started reassigning with these colors that were totally abstract from what was being shown. I could recognize that there was a difference in the three white pieces, but I did not see a pink and blue when I compared them. He said that the use of the word "white" itself was confusing because there are so many different colors that things really are and we just make ourselves to believe that they are white. To be truly accurate we must identify colors and call them by their true name.

I can appreciate Odili and many artists area of expertise but in my opinion this level of detail is only really useful and relevant to a handful of people. Depending on the context and use, being able to decipher between the different colors of white in a painting or canvas is not a skill or discrepancy that most people care to acknowledge. If my brain has been morphed to believe that all white is created equal then so be it. I don't see how that makes my life or my experience any less meaningful. I think our brains subconsciously does the distinction for us. For example, if I go to buy a car and the salesman shows me two different styles and tells me that both are white. I might be able to tell that the two whites are not the same, and I will pick the white that I prefer. In that case, I can see where the distinction is necessary, but between this piece of paper and the next is less needed in my opinion.

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