THE POWER OF VISION THROUGH ART
My gallery response essay is based on two astonishing art work pieces that got my attention at the Lemmerman Gallery. The reason why I choose to write about this gallery is because the format of the gallery is quite interesting. The gallery is divided into two sides, the left and the right. As soon as you walk into the gallery, you can tell the difference between each side of the room. The left side is full of artistic work that portrays happiness, memories, journeys, and that overall side is a positive message. The right side is full of artworks which are portraying the dark side of history/world such as explosions, massive waste, darkness, etc. I do believe that the curator stated that all the artwork in the gallery are based on locations in the state of New Jersey, meaning all the artwork in the gallery were inspired by a specific place or event from New Jersey.
The curator who provided information on each artistic work piece was Ms. Ushi Motor. While she spoke about each individual piece, I became interested in finding out the underlying meaning for two major artworks. The first art piece is someone taking a photo of a crab, but the fascinating aspect of this specific artwork which makes it so mind-blowing is that there is no crab. This artwork was made by Kerry Kolenut in 2017 and the artist called the piece Taking pictures at the beach. I believe the theme being addressed in this artwork is identity. The use of technology, more specifically phones has now provided people with means of creating several identities for themselves. For example, the identities in which we have created for ourselves on social media platforms are not the same as our true physical identities. Most people are more focused on portraying their very best side on social media rather than making that unrealistic trend on social media realistic. As we discussed in class about when people post photos of themselves living their best lives, but in reality, they are probably depressed. People tend to believe what is not real, just like the person in the artwork was taking a picture of a crab who was not actually there. I, later on, went back to the gallery to read the artist statement to figure out why he made this artwork.
Kerry stated in his artwork statement that he called this piece Taking pictures because of the idea of capturing memories. People take several pictures and each individual picture means many different things to them, but the one meaning we can all agree upon is photos capture memories in our lives. As we discussed in class, we can learn about history and someone's life by just looking at their photos. This artwork is part of activism because it portrays the power of photography. The reason we have a visual image of what occurred in the past such as slavery, segregation, wars is because photographers took pictures as proof of what is happening. Pictures show us how far in life we have come and not to give up. Pictures are not just regular objects, they are a means for us to connect with our past.
The curator who provided information on each artistic work piece was Ms. Ushi Motor. While she spoke about each individual piece, I became interested in finding out the underlying meaning for two major artworks. The first art piece is someone taking a photo of a crab, but the fascinating aspect of this specific artwork which makes it so mind-blowing is that there is no crab. This artwork was made by Kerry Kolenut in 2017 and the artist called the piece Taking pictures at the beach. I believe the theme being addressed in this artwork is identity. The use of technology, more specifically phones has now provided people with means of creating several identities for themselves. For example, the identities in which we have created for ourselves on social media platforms are not the same as our true physical identities. Most people are more focused on portraying their very best side on social media rather than making that unrealistic trend on social media realistic. As we discussed in class about when people post photos of themselves living their best lives, but in reality, they are probably depressed. People tend to believe what is not real, just like the person in the artwork was taking a picture of a crab who was not actually there. I, later on, went back to the gallery to read the artist statement to figure out why he made this artwork.
Kerry stated in his artwork statement that he called this piece Taking pictures because of the idea of capturing memories. People take several pictures and each individual picture means many different things to them, but the one meaning we can all agree upon is photos capture memories in our lives. As we discussed in class, we can learn about history and someone's life by just looking at their photos. This artwork is part of activism because it portrays the power of photography. The reason we have a visual image of what occurred in the past such as slavery, segregation, wars is because photographers took pictures as proof of what is happening. Pictures show us how far in life we have come and not to give up. Pictures are not just regular objects, they are a means for us to connect with our past.
The second astonishing artwork that caught my attention as soon as I walked into the gallery was the artwork made by Joel Simpson in 2013 called Chaos Cubed. It is the transformation of metal objects into cubed shaped artistic pieces, this idea of turning nothing into something. In class, we watched a Ted talk video about a clay maker artist who turns nothing into something extremely beautiful such broken, old houses in the neighborhood. The idea of being able to transformed waste into an iconic artwork piece is a theme that is addressed in this photo. I do not think anything is actually ugly because it can always be transformed into one of the most astonishing artwork. This artwork actually looks like fishes up close but it is actually metalled objects all joined together in a cubed shaped. This is a work of activism because the artist is trying to make an awareness of the amount of waste being produced in our environment.
Joel Simpson stated in his artist statement that this artwork illustrated the related phenomena of chaos, turbulence, and profusion. Although there is chaos, there is still a way for chaos and disfunction to be fixed. Instead of throwing all the garbage and waste into the ocean or water system, we can find a way to reuse them or put them someplace safe. I believe Joel also address the theme of space. This idea that earth is our home, our space and it is up to us to define our we keep that space of ours guarded against harm's way. Other artists such as Francesca related to Joel message on finding ways to protect our space, earth. She talks about the importance of the triple R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) as well as the effects of waste in our environment. People need to start doing the little they can to keep the environment as safe as possible such as recycling, no littering, and using recyclable ways to prevent the earth from being full of harmful things.
My overall experience at the gallery was amazing and even better when I learned about how so many pieces of information can be brought out from just a single image. Joel Simpson and Kerry Kolenut are both incredible artists with an amazing sense of capturing art and make awareness through it.
Work Cited Page:
Lemmerman Gallery
Susan Sontag article on photography
Rosenblum, Aaron, et al. "Behind the Scenes of Segregation in Louisville." The Filson Historical Society, 26 Feb. 2015
Ted Talk we watched in class about the male clay artist who transforms houses
Francesca. "Reducing Waste: The Effects of Worm Compost on the Environment." - Free Monthly Tips, Tricks, & How-Tos to Teach You How to Become a Worm Farming Expert, 2 Aug. 2019
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