Maureen

Consumers Digest

The theme of consumption, presented by PBS’s show, Art 21, gave viewers an opportunity to understand consumption in a whole new way. Mel Chin, Michael Ray Charles, Andrea Zittle, and Matthew Barney gave a new, artistic perspective on such a general idea. Grouped under the consumption umbrella, these four artists exploit the norm. They get the viewer thinking and trying to understand their work and the message they try to portray. Michael Ray Charles specializes in large, circus-like paintings, predominantly featuring black subjects and sometimes also commonly known icons, such as Elvis Presely. He challenges stereotypes with black advertisements and sheds light on the consumption of the stereotype. “I think there's a fine line between perpetuating something and questioning something. And I like to get as close to it as possible,” said Michael during his segment of the video. Matthew Barney is a filmmaker and uses the imagination to send his message. By creating abstract, thought-out films, he capitalizes on violence and how it is so commonly accepted in today’s culture. Mel Chin focuses on the environment and troubled areas. His featured work was about exploiting the ugliness of a burned down home and creating something beautiful out of it. Andrea Zittle challenges consumption with her revolutionary ideas of living. Her “Pocket Property “ property challenged herself and society into evaluating what is really needed for human existence. Together, the artists show how much society actually consumes, from negative stereotypes to excessive amounts of personal items, creating a perfect examination of consumption.

The artists that impacted me more than the others was Andrea Zittle. Her “Living Unit” project really made me think about how many items we, as humans, think we need to survive. Her living unit was tiny, compacted and bare. It held the bare necessities and proved that life is possible with out so many material items. Her “Pocket property” life on her self-created cement island shows that life in today’s terms has gotten outrageous. Described on her page, her artwork is like artful experiments in living. She feels that “We're obsessed with perfection, we're obsessed with innovation and moving forwards. But what we really want is the hope of some sort of a new and improved or better tomorrow.” I feel that her projects really exploit the obsessive consumption of society today.

Image-Image:

I chose to put an image of a winding road next to an image of a winding river. Together, I feel that they both hold similar shapes. However, the road was created by man. The river was formed by nature and together they create the landscape of the earth.

Image-Word:

I placed an image of a water droplet and its ripple in the water with the word 'tsunami.' I chose to do this because I feel like the water droplet could potentially create such an effect and cause a tsunami. I feel like one single person could be a water droplet and have that kind of huge, tsunami size effect on the world.

Word-Word:

I chose the words 'lace' and 'dungeon.' Together, I feel they create a mental image that is captivating. Dungeon is a word which is most commonly thought of as negative. Lace is typically thought of as positive, with a classy, sophisticated vibe. What would a lace dungeon look like?

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IMAGE WORD last edited on 17 September 2008 at 8:19 pm by 148.61.82.74
Consumption last edited on 1 October 2008 at 2:04 am by 148.61.253.188