I have to honestly say that when I first walked into the exhibit
I felt really out of my element. Like I was inside the brains of people who
think completely different than me. I was almost uncomfortable just because I
wasn't understanding the thought process of some of the art I was looking at.
But then I thought to myself, "Isn't this kind of the point? To branch out
and think differently than my own sphere of understanding." So I started
to look a bit closer and try to really understand what perhaps the artist was trying
to say with the pieces.
As I started to look closer, I realized there were things
that I related to inside the pieces. I loved one of the first pieces called,
"House Games" by Elzbieta Sablonska, which shows a mother in a
superman suit holding her child. I just loved that piece showing how truly the
biggest hero of a child’s life has got to be their mother, whether they realize
it or not. I am so excited for that role in my life and as I looked at that
photo I contemplated what it truly meant to be a mom and the responsibility
that you take on to be a hero in your child's life.
I also loved the depiction of the American flag in, "In
the Museum's Infinity Goes up on Trial" by John Bell. He took different
celebrities and plastered them up on a canvas with colors that formed a design
similar to the American flag. Their eyes were cut out in the shapes of stars
which made up the actual stars in the flag. Perhaps the artist was trying to
depict how sometimes America is defined by what the rest of the world sees
through the television screen of America. They had a quote by Bob Dylan that I
loved which said, "I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree
of responsibility that comes with his freedom." I love that and I think
this piece was put in the exhibit because many of those celebrities are heroes
to people and, like the mom in the superman suit, take on certain and important
responsibilities in being an icon.
There were many more pieces that I enjoyed and found really fascinating
and I actually walked away feeling more enlighten and, as was perhaps the
purpose of this exercise, more creative.
I was a big fan of "House Games" as well. The picture to me was like a portrait of my own mother.
ReplyDeleteThe American flag piece you are talking about really got me thinking as well. Who do we look to as stars, and do they deserve to be icons of America? I think that many of the social stars and people depicted really don't understand the responsibility that comes with being an 'important' figure. Sure they are heroes to some people, but do the stars realize that and try to be good role models?
ReplyDeleteThe American flag piece seems kind of similar in theme to the one of the basketball player. We idolize and idealize these figures, perhaps a bit too much.
ReplyDeleteI thought the American flag was really interesting as well. I think the exhibit felt like an invasion of privacy because it made us question our own way of thinking. Why do we watch celebrities and athletes so closely? What fascinates us about them? They aren't super humans. Exaggerating that they are heroes brings the point home.
ReplyDeleteDarby's comment about "House Games" reminded me of a drawing in Elementary school I did of my mom titled "My Hero." Not necessarily an *original* idea—a mom being a hero—but true is true.
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