Art: A Spectator Sport (Revision)

Maria Gagliano
English 101
Adam Weinstein
19 October 2007
A Spectator Sport

Every college student’s dream comes to life when their professor tells them that they are going to miss a day behind a desk, or at least mine do. One of the greatest English classes of my days was when my class and I got to take a field trip to the art exhibit at Woods hall here at the University of Alabama. The artwork here was strictly made from students who attend the university. This was actually my first trip to an art gallery, and most of the artwork blew me away; some Pieces were absolutely stunning with bold or intriguing patterns, while others were not quite as beautiful and attractive as others. This art exhibit answered the question, what is synaesthetic art? Synaesthetic art is when one can look at artwork and see sounds or hear the colors; it is a very intriguing type of art that I found quite exciting as I observed the art on display. I am one who is hard to please; I like to see through a piece of art how hard the artist worked to accomplish his or her ultimate goal, which is to communicate with the admirer. As I observed this exhibit, there were two pieces by completely different artists that popped out at me the most, and although each had their own first impression, they started to come together and connect to one another through the messages each artist was trying to convey.

James Williams’s piece, “Strangers,” was the first to catch my wandering eye. The quote at the bottom half of his piece read, “Strangers on this road we are on but we are not two, we are one” jumped out at me kept me gazing at his work. I am a sucker for quotes; I like to think deeply about things, as do many people. The black, dull colored words were deep and meaningful with a patriotic vibe behind them. For some reason the thought of people becoming one forced me to think of the nation coming together. Around the words was a solemn, gray spray paint effect that bleeds into the rest of the piece, and helped add to the deepness of the quote. Placed on a square shaped card stock material, James used black and white gray scale throughout his piece, but to add a bit of life and a splash of color there was a red chili pepper design that traveled down the center in a thick strip that stood out nicely. Above the quote lies a very gloomy face of what appears to be an older man. Perhaps James wanted the face of the older man to come across as the speaker of the quote by suggesting one grows wiser with time. The sadness of the face shows through the black shading around the eyes, mouth, and nose, as well as the saggy bags below his eyes. The old man feels pain and discrimination and he wants that feeling to leave his tormented body. The red chili-pepper coloring travels through one of the eyes representing the furry and frustration this old man has experienced in his lifetime. My initial gut feeling as I look at this piece forces me to feel grief and sorrow for the hurt the old man expresses, but as I continue to stare in admiration I grow happier. I have realized that this old man’s face is sincere behind his words of wisdom and he wants everyone to come together and love one another, for he has experienced the opposite. In his past he used to feel loneliness and sadness, and he wants all segregation and discrimination to end and everyone love others from the inside, out. Peace and unity is a beautiful way of life and this man knows it and wants to preach it to the world. James’ piece was not the only one that portrayed the same sadness of a stranger.

Following the same elements of gloom was Jenny Fine’s piece, “Bowed Down.” Her work of art stood out very strongly to me because it was not an everyday painting; it was a photograph that had been transported onto a wet plate. Since this was my first art gallery experience, the way she had created her work of art amazed me, and I could not even begin to imagine the process she had to go through to create such a thing. I was able to simply gaze upon her piece and see all the time, effort, and hard work she had put into creating “Bowed Down.” The actual piece itself was quite small and in a perfect little square. This work was fully black and white and not a quite a perfect picture from the process of transporting it to the wet plate; it was a little rough around the edges where it was missing a few little pieces. This piece also pursued a very vintage detail that I admired. There is a girl in the middle of the piece hunched over with an arched back. The girl’s legs are completely straight as her arms dangle freely in front of her, almost touching her toes. The girl’s black as night, curly hair hangs loosely in front of her face covering the sad expression in her eyes. Despite her awkward position, she appears very relaxed with herself. The contour of her face expresses extreme loneliness, as she stands there by herself. She wears a white dress that appears to be a hand-me-down due to the jagged edges, but the white tends to offer a bit of fresh air because the grass below her stands strongly black, as well as all of the shading around her. Behind her stretches a solid cement wall appearing to keep her closed in. The young girl makes me feel very sad, almost enough for me to wish I could crawl into the picture and help put a smile on her face. She feels very alone and trapped; she wants to escape that blockade of a prison-like wall, break free, and begin a new life of happiness and friendships. Jenny’s work, as well as all other artists, carries the ability to connect on many different levels to other pieces created from other artist such as James.

Both “Bowed Down” and “Strangers” began to come together the longer I observed each piece. Despite being created by two completely different artists, I truly felt that Jenny and James shared a common thought process while creating their masterpieces. Through the moving mood of each piece, both artists tried to get the point across to their viewers that no one deserves to be alone and suffer discrimination. The dominating color black used in both pieces helped to better depict the gloom of the old man and young girl. All of the shading possessed an intensity signifying the anger each person is experiencing. Although black stood boldly out to the eye, the whites used in each added a sigh of relief. The white areas delivered life to each face, as well as hope of breaking free of their loneliness. Through the faces of sadness, both James and Jenny wanted their spectators to feel how strongly discrimination affects all kinds of people of all ages. As the young girl hunched over in Jenny’s piece looks into the camera, I almost feel her pain. She feels left out from the rest of the world, and she feels like nobody accepts her and that is why she is all alone in this piece “Bowed Down.” These two pieces tell me that no one deserves a life alone and everyone should learn how to accept others into their lives. “Strangers” and “Bowed Down” connected on many levels, but at the same time still found a way to contradict one another.

Since this was my first experience in an art exhibit, the way two pieces could connect and contradict one another at the same time drew me into a state of confusion and awe. The longer and harder that I observed, the clearer the aspects of each piece became. The age and burning eyes of the old man in “Strangers” represented experience from his past, and how one grows wiser with time. He has been through his share of life struggles, of pulls back and forth, and has suffered the abusing affects of discrimination. Through his anger and frustration, he tries to voice his concern through his quote as well as let young people know what is wrong and what is right. He wants people to become one and end segregation. In contrast to the anger of the old man, the young woman in Jenny’s piece expresses severe sadness and frustration. She feels trapped in a world she knows she does not belong as she stands before the cement, prison-like wall. Breaking free from this lifestyle is her only hope. As opposed to the old man speaking his mind, she screams for help on the inside. Help to guide her to a loving and colorful environment. The way that James’ piece mainly focused on the quote at the bottom of his piece and the way Jenny’s piece focused on the girl was interesting. This caused me to look at the two pieces in a different way, one through words as opposed to just a picture. It was a challenge, but one I was willing to think about.Through the similarities and differences of James’ and Jenny’s world, each piece had an impact on me as I observed for my first time.

Jenny Fine’s “Bowed Down” and James Williams’ “Strangers” found a way to communicate to me through expression. Each piece had an impact on me that forced me to keep staring in admiration. As I was looking at each piece, I felt an urge to go help someone right that second. They both made me realize that any individual beholds the ability to change the world. This art exhibit set up in Woods Hall was more than a day of missing class; it was an exhilarating first experience. If someone has never been to an exhibit or beautiful art, like me, I strongly advise visiting this gallery to break the virginity. All art is different as well as all people and critics; everyone has their own moving interpretation of art, go see if yours will be different from mine.