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Brooke

Consumption


All four of these artists represented the act of consumption in very different ways. I felt that Michael Ray Charles tried to show the world how we consume ideas about beauty through the images we see. He used the old, stereotypical image of a black person to show that the information we consume can be perceived incorrectly. Mathew Barney also used images to relate to consumption but his media of choice was film. I think that Mathew was tying to explain how much we consume living things. His point was that sometimes we don’t even realize how much we consume or even that we are consuming anything at all. Mel Chin reworked different acts of consumption into something that provided a new use or a new service. He used ground that was fertilized because of arson to bread night crawlers. Mel showed us how to turn something negative and wasteful into something that was positive and productive.

Andrea Zitt was most like Mel Chin in that she attempted to lower our amount of consumption. I believe her most interesting project was the living space that she designed. This space decreased the amount of unnecessary consumption. The living center that Andrea made was completely efficient. It was made mostly out of wood and housed all of the things needed to function for an entire day. The sink was even made large enough so that it could also act as a bathtub to increase its functionality. Andrea made this piece so that she could create a personal feeling of independence and self-reliance. The less she was able to consume the more independent and proud she felt. Eventually she became disappointed with some of her projects because such independence leads a person to be very much alone. The living center astounds me because I just can’t image being in such a small area for so long. It’s so efficient that I wouldn’t even have an excuse to leave; maybe this was her goal, to force people to be more efficient and consume less. I don’t think that many people would agree to live in the center Andrea created because now one wants to be alone all of the time. Those who are always alone will eventually become depressed because pride in independence doesn’t mean anything if no one else cares.




Word-Word


When you read the first word, apricot, you think of the red and yellow fruit. You imagine something generally small and edible. The word bridge makes you think of a useful structure used to join two elevated areas. When apricot is paired with the word bridge, it creates an entirely different mental image. I tend to picture a grand bridge made of millions of apricots. You could also pretend that adorable little pieces of fruit were running across a bridge. It's all up to your creative interpretation.


Image-Image


The picture of the sun generally makes you think of it's functions. We all know that it warms the earth and helps plants grow, but when a man sending up praise is positioned beneath it, it seems to become even more important. Normally a picture of a man sending up praise would seem obviously religious, but not necessarily. He could be worshiping the sun by tanning daily or he could be asking the sun for its power. Then again he could just be worshiping the Son of God.


Word-Image


Teddy bears are usually associtated with children. The word medicine across its face could mean that it's used as medicine to make someone feel better. Although the bears tatered apperance makes it seem as if its medicine has worn off and therefore it wouldn't be very effective. If the word medicine was seen as it normally is, something prescribed by a doctor, then the interpretation of the image would be entirly different. Medicine is usually not very enjoyable, but a teddy bear is always a good thing!

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