I’ve been to many different
exhibits at the MOA since being here at BYU, but “We Could Be Heroes” is
probably the most diverse and unique. There were many different concepts with
all sorts of mediums to show creativity: paintings, murals, scultptures, video,
and a life-sized living room.
I knew I’d enjoy it when the first
thing that caught my eye saw was the enlarged “scratch paper with the TIE
fighter,” (my inner nerd got real excited). I remember being in 3rd
grade and that’s exactly the kinds of things I’d draw. I thought this one was
very creative. I’d like to think that the artist was thinking as a child, and
what they would likely draw, then take that and make it large, so maybe people
like me, would recognize it and relate to it.
I also thought the photograph of
the older people playing cards and all in costumes was also very well done. I’d
like to think the artist used the idea that we all like to pretend or think we
can all be just as “cool” or “brave” as the superheroes we look up to. It also
reflects the notion that we’re never too old to have people (real or fictional)
that we look up to. Also the fact that they’re all playing cards makes me think
that looking towards these diverse characters brings out so much joy and
“funness” to our lives.
After seeing this and several other
pieces, it got me thinking of how much our society and media pays attention to
super heroes. There’s at least a half dozen super hero movies produced these
days, thanks to technology and special effects. It’s such a huge conglomerate
and money-making business (Look at Disney, which bought Marvel for 4 billion
dollars). It’s amazing how much effort is taken into hero production and seeing
how they can influence our lives.
It’s hard
to pick on which ones were my favorites because they were all very creative,
but there was one that stuck out to me that had an “ad” feel to it. There was a
piece in the back of two young girls in a very “traditional, landscape”
painting. It was very well done and looked like something you’d see in a nice
calendar. In the middle the artist painted a very block-ish bright pink robot.
This caught my attention, and the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. The
juxtaposition of traditionalism and modernism is so well met in that painting,
and I feel that that is a way that advertising is going these days, meaning
showing something classic and throwing a relatable modern twist into it. For
some reason that one really stood out to me.
I liked your comment about the painting of the old people. It's not something I normally think of, but old people still have heroes and people they look up to as well.
ReplyDeletei liked the tie fighter sketch as well. what made it so cool in my opinion is that is really looked like a sketch a kid made in math class when he should have been listening. the parts are all labeled and what not. it reminded me of what it was probably like for the first person to come up with the idea of the tie fighter, what it would look like and how it would work, but it kept that childhood quality as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought the pieces on the enlarged scratch/notebook paper were interesting as well. Though, I did find myself struggling to accept the simplicity and child-like nature of the drawings. I think after looking at them for a couple minutes I was able to get over that initial skepticism and appreciate the unique idea and creativity of the pieces. They definitely bring you back to childhood days of sketching during recess..
ReplyDeleteI agree about that painting of the elderly people in superhero outfits. I thought that was a very interesting way to depict who our true heroes really are.
ReplyDeleteI like everyone's comments about the old people painting. When I saw it, my first thought was that these were the actual superheroes, just aged. Maybe it was a message that even our biggest heroes are just normal people at the end of the day—people that do regular things like play cards and eventually get old and have to be taken care of.
ReplyDeleteRight on about the TIE fighter and ninja drawings! as soon as i saw those i knew this one was gonna be good. it just brought back a flood of memories of me doodling on all my homework back in elementary school. loved it!
ReplyDeleteAll I want to know is were did that homie get that size of notebook paper? If I could get that size of a spiral and put it on my wall as a white board life would just be a little more awesome. Totes props to that guys notebook paper and ninjas.
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