Studio Art / Julio Fine Art Gallery #2

There were a lot of really great pieces at this art event.  Two collections, however, impressed me more than any of the other collections.  One girl created a booklet with half the pages dedicated to pretty scenery with flowers and bees while the other half of the pages focused on the effects of pollution with dying flowers and no bees.  This piece was in response to all the pollution in the environment today and how humans have a duty to save the environment in order to prevent other living beings from dying.  The artist's use of color in this booklet is amazing.  The colors on the living side are very vibrant while the colors on the dying side are dismal and dark.  The only thing I didn't like about this piece was that I couldn't spread the pages out and see the whole thing together because it was contained in a glass box.  Another girl created a series of extremely life-like drawings that were so detailed that it looked like she had just traced photographs but that wasn't the case.  She drew one large head that looked just like Marilyn Monroe with a modern twist, one smaller head that had a scary expression, and then three smaller heads on one page of familiar faces that I have seen around campus.  Her lines were so precise and perfect and I wish I could draw faces like that.  I really liked how many artists were recognized for their work at this event.  I thought it was a really nice event for a department on campus to put together for their students.  A couple other pieces I liked was a drawing of a cat with wings and a bird that was only half colored in.  I was attracted to the images of the wings because it reminds me of springtime.

The secret of theory is that truth does not exist.

The quote I chose for my postmodern project was "The secret of theory is that truth does not exist."  This quote instantly made me think of conspiracy theories and that is why I included a lot of images of popular conspiracy theories that are floating around today.  The composition of my piece could be described as organized chaos.  I created mini collages in the four corner of conspiracy theory images and then one big question mark in the center of the page made up of images that reminded me of theory and truth.  With the clusters of images in the four corners and the question mark in the center, I think that the eye moves in a circular motion and then always lands in the center of the page.  I created a sense of balance within the piece by only using three colors and placing those colors in strategic locations.  Yellow paint surrounds the mini collages in the top left corner and bottom right corner while red paint surrounds the mini collages in the top right corner and bottom left corner.  I used blue to outline the question mark in the center because I think the color blue is associated with the most wonder in the world such as what exists in the ocean and in the sky.  The images in the mini collages are roughly the same size so everything is proportionate within the piece.  I created some contrast by using bold primary colors to outline and enhance the black and white images.  The color scheme of my piece is triad with the primary colors, yellow, blue, and red.  I think the simplicity of this color scheme enhances the meaning of the piece.

The denotative message of the artwork is that there are a lot of questions surrounding the theories that are present in our world today because everyone wants to know the truth.  I can gather this from looking at the artwork because there are distinct pictures of conspiracy theories such as the assassination of JFK, aliens, the Illuminati, and the first landing on the moon.  The big question mark in the center of the page reveals that there are a lot of questions surrounding these topics.  There are words written over some of the images in the mini collages such as "Fake" and "Real," "Who's In Charge?" and "What's Real?" which suggests that people want to know the truth.  The connotative message of the artwork is that we live in a world where everyone wants to know the truth, but noone will ever know the truth because the truth does not exist and this creates a bit of chaos.  Everyone wants to live a life with meaning and direction and the organization of this piece allows the viewer to feel safe and comforted by the mini collages confined in the corners by strips of yellow and red paint.  However, a sense of chaos is created in the background of the artwork by the splatters of red, yellow, and blue paint mixing together and causing confusion.  The words "Theory" and "Truth" are located within the question mark because there is no way to prove that any theory is true.  The black lines symbolize that there are cracks in every story we are told and every rule we are forced to follow in society.  The ideological message of this piece is to never accept anything as truth because no one really knows how we ended up on this earth and where we go when we leave as well as everything in between.  The images in this piece are all black and white and subdued because these are theories or concepts that will never be proven and should not take up a lot of space in our minds.  If we focus too much on figuring out the truth, then we will go crazy and our lives will turn chaotic like the splattered paint in the background.  The solid blue line around the question mark is supposed to make the viewer feel secure in knowing that not every question will be answered and that is okay.