Outside and In, or Inside Out

"Growing up, my mother taught me that I was a king. She explained

to me that because of this fact, I was born to take the world by storm

and have the ability to write my own destiny."

-Me

     During the planning stages of the final project, I knew what topic I wanted to choose, but not how to go about it. "Outside and In, or Inside Out: How do others perceive me? How do I perceive myself?"
     I've never really thought about how I percieve myself...or at least I didn't really have the know-how to write it in essay form, and every thing I thought of myself to this point has always been in free form in my notebooks or on songs that I have recorded. I kept questioning myself, "What in the world would my make believe exhibit even look like?" and "I really wish we can do this from the MoMA instead of the boring Met". But after going to the musuem, I realized that there are other ways in which I can express to the world my inner self.

Get Your Theme Together Kid (Harrison Ford): My exhibit consisted of three themes: Religion & Power, State of Mind and finally Setting & Comfort.

The Kings & Their Mantle: The major works I have included in this section of my exhibit are as follows: "Julius Caesar",  "The Death of Socrates" and "Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)". All works are represntative of the quote I have written above: I feel that deep down I am a king. These men that are represented below were all kings at one point, only to be beheaded by the very men that they ruled over. That thought has driven me to make my own decisions growing up, and that is one aspect not many know about me. The artworks can be viewed below, along with religious garmets to add to the religion aspect of this theme of my exhibit. Each artwork has been fully equipped with artist's name, artworks name in quotations, year completed and the section of the Met you can find it at for your viewing pleasure:

                                                     Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci

                                                                   "Julius Caesar"

1512-1514

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

 

Jacques-Louis David

"The Death of Socrates"

1787

European Paintings

 

Salvador Dalí

"Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)"

1945

Modern and Contemporary Art

Some Italian guy.

"Stole"

mid-15th Century 

Robert Lehman Collection

 Some less Italian guy from New Zealand

"Cloak"

19th Century

Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

Some Italian guy again. Ayyy *thumbs up* 

"Chasuble"

Late 16th Century

Costume Institute

State of Mind: Though very self explanatory, these artworks deal with the theme of what goes through my mind. The standout piece here is Lee Krasner's "Untitled" which I think incorporates the organized craziness that goes on in my mind. That along with the Colombian gold that is a metaphor for my inner desire for success (even with the furnerary mask, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" reference).

 

Lee Krasner

"Untitled"

1948

Modern and Contemporary Art

 Some Colombian guy

"Funerary Mask"

5th–1st century BCE

Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas 

Is the Italian/Colombian schtick getting old? Its Colombian though

"Necklace"

10th–16th century

Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas 

Setting & Comfort: This final theme for my exhibit incorporates the places where I would find myself. These two artworks are very on the contrary from what some of my peers might percieve. In retrospect, I can understand why. Though I portray a very outgoing personality, the places I have chosen to include in this section of the exhibit are both Edward J. Steichen's "Balzac, The Silhouette—4 A.M." and Eugene Schoen's "Photograph", which are both illustrations of very "off grid" looking places. These two photos, along with the comfort of Conrad Henninger's "Side Chair" make up for a very lonely but comforting place to live in for myself.

Edward J. Steichen

 "Balzac, The Silhouette—4 A.M."

1908

Photographs

 Eugene Schoen

"Photograph"

1940

Modern and Contemporary Art

 

Conrad Henninger

"Side Chair"

1887

American Decorative Arts

"In conclusion, what people see on the outside ultimately does

not equate to what is truly going on in the inside. When taking a look at the

artwork included in my hypothetical exhibit, this can be proven true. On the

outside, I am a very outgoing, friendly person. I chose to exhibit this by

artwork that simply seemed nice and royal to me. But on the inside lies a

success hungry recluse, exemplified by the more depressing and thought

provoking art in my exhibit."

"F the police"? But whats stopping you from killing me?

P.S. In all seriousness, the proper credit for "Stole", "Cloak", "Chasuble", "Funerary Mask", "Necklace" are unknown, so I will credit them to their cultures. The credit is as follows:

"Stole": Italian culture

"Cloak": Maori culture

"Chasuble": Italian culture

"Funerary Mask": Calima culture

"Necklace": Tairona culture

LES Galleries Reaction

Its crazy how some things can be so different, yet the same simultaneously.

     Are the Chelsea galleries that much different from the Lower East Side galleries? No. Now that answer my surprise some people. Why? Well, the Lower East Side Galleries were made for, what it seems to be, a younger crowd. The three galleries I focused on were Reena Spaulings', Joe Sheftel's and Miguel Abreu's.

     Theres this new term i've personally been working on. I call it "New Religion". Sounds buttery right? What I mean by the term is, we as human's, though faithful to our respective religions and customs, have learned to come up with our own. In specific, American culture has been pushed and grown from our television sets. Sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows, etc. The television set stands as our cross which we pray to for hours upon hours of our day. We are faithful to it. We learn from it, we discover ourselves in it, we unleash our emotions for it. Television has taken a life of its own.

    This is what i find true for all three exhibits. In Reena Spaulding's "As it Lays", we get a glimpse of the religion we follow (which seems to be an Oprah Winfrey styled talk show set). In Joe Sheftel's piece "Deep Space", we see the vessel in which we practice that religion. If actually being in the presence of the set would be church, the television would be a cross (for Christian/Catholic readers at least). In Abreu's piece "After Troy 1", we see where all three pieces come together.

     In "After Troy 1", we get to see Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni work meeting the modern world. His image of God is broken into simple lines, differing in colors. What I perceive this to be an image of is our own memory loss when it comes to what it is that is supposed to drive us. TRUE religion. Not the "gods" we view through light bulbs and glass.

     To reiterate, do I see differences between the  Lower East Side Galleries and Chelsea Galleries? Of course. But the similarities were even better. What I feel is the greatest similarity is both sections account on how they feel certain periods of times and cultures are in a snapshot. The Chelsea galleries are more geared to cultures not familiar with our own (and if they are, time periods that are not of our own) and LES is more geared towards our own time (and if not, pieces that are not inspired by our time have a modern twist).

"As it Lays"

"Deep Space"

                                                                       "After Troy 1"

Make love, not war.

Narrative Digital Collage

My Mind('s) Worry (ies)

   
      Who can dictate how you feel? Your parents? Your siblings? Your ex? That hobo down the block that licks his lips every time you pass him on the street? No one. No one at all (ok, maybe the hobo...unless you're in to that kind of thing). Everyday, we as human beings let things get to us that just shouldn't. So what if your brother took your glasses to school without your permission? So what if there is no ham in the fridge and you so desperately want a ham sandwich? Life goes on.

I swear I wish I actually thought this way.

     The simple truth is, I take many small things to the heart and many big things in stride. This can be sort of described as an "Sure, you can set my house on fire, I won't mind. Just as long as you make sure my goldfish crackers are safe" attitude. The collage above this text is an attempt to look in my own mind and heart and figure out the things thats important in my life, all the while showing my huge transition from my childhood into adult life.
     Personally, I believe that many people go through a transition in their lives where they just do not know where their childhood went. I was blessed to never lose my child-like spark that kept me grounded and curious with the world and its inhabitants. But when given the task to tell a narrative about myself, I did not know how to even start. I mean, who could I? I've been stuck in "wanderer" mode for my whole life. Thats not to say i'm a slacker or anything, but unless I was doing music, I could never look deep into my soul using a different form of art and find some sort of inspiration. Until now that is.
     This collage is broken up into three levels (also described as layers). The first level is the depiction of my outside demeanor: Cool, Effective, Creative and giving off the vibe of an intelligent slacker. This layer features Mordecai and Rigby from Adventure Time mowing the park lawn in their typical lazy but effective demeanor. But, without much examination, this layer is faded to give visual for the next two.
     The second layer is what I like to call the "Adult Layer". Its filled with my own personal desires and faults, fully equipped with a blind and evil girlfriend, two demon guards at her side (also women), two pictures of Kanye West on his way to being beheaded, and an abstract art piece of a man confused/in pain (metaphor anyone?). This is meant to depict my own adult worries, something that I have come to pick up with age.
     The third and last layer is filled with characters that seem fill my head when I am not paying attention to something I should. Delivery Pickle, Finn & Jake from Adventure Time and Twinkie the Kid are all either running or visibly upset from the appearance of a certain monster on the far left. In recent months, i've found myself also losing my childhood like the persons I afore mentioned. The last layer is just what I truly believe is happening inside of me: my childhood (depicted by the characters) is being chased out of my heart, body and soul with Chain-Chomp from Super Mario Bros. leading the way. "Hold on to what made you curious in the first place" is basically what this collage is telling about me and  recent events regarding me. That is just mind blowing. Or, bananas as some would say.


OR as Finn and Jake would say: "Ba-nay-na-nays!".

Carpe diem.

The Influence: No And1

Remember when there were more NBA players in the game? Me too.

Art Comes From the Heart.

  This society seems to question itself a lot when it comes between the difference of good and "bad" art, but we fail to ask what "art" is in the first place. According to Webster, art is "a skill acquired by experience, study, or observation". Interesting...
  When you walk into a McDonalds in Manhattan, what is the first thing you notice? Is it the new green decor? The new beige seats? The obviously over weight lady in front of you still scarfing down fries when she probably should've stopped doing a week ago? Most people would parlay themselves to the first two suggestions because they are the most surprising at this point in time. Why? Because most people, which include my hoodlum friends, still ask why McDonalds would strip away their ever so welcoming yellow and red walls, gritty tiles with grey seats hovering above them, and replace it with a Starbucks-esque environment for pompous jerks. Obese pompous jerks at that. According to Ratna Bhushan of  The Economic Times, this is indeed the idea and image the execs up at McDonalds are looking for. Oh joy.
  Do I miss the old McDonalds? Yes. In fact, heck yes. What I miss the most was its overall gritty/urban feel, as if everyone on my block belonged inside having a Sunday dinner. Not because the food was all that great, but because that was the one place where mom could get me a warm apple pie (cause at the time she couldn't bake), or where I can watch a group of older guys rap battle and, without shame, use "eat you like a Big Mac" as a punch line. Those were only some of the things that were really close to my heart growing up. It really made me want to look beyond the danger and grime of my neighborhood and try to find the beauty of life no matter where I was at. Thats what I call art. To most they call it an eye sore. Guys like me just call those people bad names behind their backs.
  Do I think that there are such things as bad art? I honestly do not know. While watching a popular television show Dexter, titular character Dexter often looks at his serial killings as works of art in his own way. Obviously, any "civilized" person would look at this as both sick and twisted. But what of the uncivilized? Does this make said person any less human (physically and biologically speaking at least)? No, it does not. So I do not feel it is our right to judge art based on what actually makes it, rather its purpose and what emotions it brings to us. Of course, I do feel that some works of art really should not see the light of day (see rapper Ron Brownz whole catalogue), but many very very VERY ill advised people tend to listen to him, so why not? Obviously, there is such a thing as unprofessional and professional art. But either one can make you feel the same about a specific subject, or even totally different. Either way, it makes you feel something. That alone is beautiful.

Aside from the fact that I do not really consider anything to not be bad art, I DO have some favorites. Three of my favorites are Damien Hirst's For the Love of God, Andy Warhol's Rorschach & Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ respectively. 

  All three of these works get my mind working in so many ways that it is very hard to construct and pinpoint my ideas into word. But in a more concise way to put it together, all three works give me a sort of want to look into my view on both religion and human concept.  To conclude, art is basically up for its viewer to decide on. Personally, I believe anyone's guess on what should be accepted as art and what is good and bad art is just as good as mine. Unless you are a Ron Brownz lover. Cause then you are very limited in what you can say.

Don't sweat the technique.