We are our Parents we are Ourselves,
is a hybrid media piece which involves both photography and sculptural aspects
of art; the piece is displayed on a wall with two chairs hanging above the
photo. Within the photo itself is a portrait of the artist with a stern face
along with a double exposed figure of herself sitting within the portrait, as
branches spread out of the figure. The background of the photo is dark giving
the piece an eerie feel and forcing the viewer to bring their attention to the
figure in the foreground. Its static composition gives it a formal appeal as a
portrait as if just capturing the person’s picture simply for documentation,
though with the added branches and the double exposure the viewer is able to
read the figure’s internal expression rather than just what’s on the outside;
transcending the traditional portrait.
At first glance at this piece I was in a state
of perplexity, wondering what the connection between the chairs and the photo
itself could be. Through the composition of the presentation of the photo and
the chairs I was able to make my own understanding of the piece: with the
chairs above the photo and the figure in the middle of the chairs it resembles
the composition of a family tree which made complete sense to me considering
the title. On the other hand I would find it somewhat hard to view the piece as
having the composition of a family tree if I were not of an artistic background,
simply because the sculptural element didn’t quite visually connect with the
photo as much as I personally wanted it to. The placing of the chairs seemed
very last minute due to the lack of connectivity, though I suggest that it
could have been more intertwined within the photo itself to make the connection
between the two clearer; possibly by having the branches touch more with the
chairs visually. Though to be absolutely clear, I do enjoy the chairs as part
of the piece because of how it completes the piece conceptually. The fact that
the chairs are a complete and a known everyday object is what really gets me to
think about why there are branches coming out of the figure, personally it
leads me to believe that this figure is still deciding what form to take while
the chairs have already chosen.
As
I read the artist statement I noted that the piece was more about our existence
and how it’s influenced by our parents and how they gave us a starting point in
life in how they taught us how to behave and interact with others as well as
how to view life. As time goes by we enter a state in which we question life
for ourselves and try to find who we are individually, but even through that
time we are still influenced by how we've been brought up. As well as touching
on those subjects we also get a sense of struggle within the piece due to the
double exposure, as if the figure is showing a façade of strength and hiding
what’s really going on inside.
Taking
into consideration that the initial task for this piece was to create a hybrid
art piece I would say that it was quite successful. Both the photo and the
sculptural aspect of the piece worked well to portray the concept, though personally
it seems as though they were speaking for the piece individually which is why I
would have liked to see them co-exist in a symbiotic motion rather than simply
co-existing. As for the photo itself, it was well done because of how the
lighting put the focus on the figure and branches rather than displaying busy
negative space allowing the viewer to focus more on the conceptual aspect
rather than what’s hiding in the background.
