Visual Analysis
After looking through the entire exhibit, the piece that stood out to me the most was the one with the red sandpaper that was put on a large portrait canvas.
Title: Shape Shifter
Artist: Jennifer Allora (b. 1974, United States) and Guillermo Calzadilla (b. 1971, Cuba)
Date:2013
Medium: Used sandpaper on canvas mounted on aluminum
Size: ~14 ft tall x 9ft wide
Stylistic Period/Culture/Context
The "Shape Shifter" art piece is originally from Latin America and it was created in 2013. This was the first exhibit I saw as we went around with our tour guide. It is important to note that the region of Latin America is considered "third world" meaning they don't have a whole lot of resources like North American countries do. The sandpaper reflects the culture of where the piece originates from because most of Latin America's inhabitants are hard workers striving to make a better life for themselves.
Subject/Iconography
The artwork represents the sandpaper as being the center focus of attention to the piece. It shows history, culture, and perspective according to the techniques used by the artists when looking at it up close. According to the curator, the sandpaper came from a variety of construction sites where objects were obviously sanded down continuously. Each piece of sandpaper came from a different place, so each piece has its own unique history which I think is so cool! The idea/concept of the canvas is to show how one object that no one would ever think had any value to it, could be used to create an art form that is beautiful to others.
Style/Technique
I am sure that when the artists sent the piece over to the museum, they specified to the curator that it be put under lights. The lighting in this piece is above, which sort of puts it into the spotlight and really makes the color and texture of the sandpaper show. The form of the piece is set in portrait orientation as if it was a masterpiece painting being shown to the public. The shape, being that it is in portrait form, is rectangular. I also noticed how each piece of sandpaper used was also set in portrait orientation.The color of the piece is overall a sandy red (as is the color of sandpaper), but there are some pieces of sandpaper that are a darker red than others. This depends on how faded the sandpaper was. The texture of the piece is coarse and gritty, for the most part. In some places where the sandpaper was faded, it felt more smooth. I personally think artwork that has different textures is really cool because it makes the work unique. I think that if the art was arranged in landscape format, it wouldn't look as appealing because I would just look at it and say, "Oh, that looks like a brick wall".
Significance/Function/Purpose
The purpose of the artwork is to show that an every day object has a different cultural meaning to some cultures as opposed to ours. I personally think that the sandpaper symbolizes a culture where people work hard to make a living. Another interpretation of the piece can be said that the sandpaper symbolizes the amount of work or quality that has been put in to building or crafting something, wherever the sandpaper was used. The places where it has faded shows that. I also got the feeling that the color of the piece served the purpose of resembling love, in particular, the number of hands that used the sandpaper to create a piece of work as well as the artist's love for recognizing this on a canvas. Politically, I think the piece might reveal ties to Communism because one of the artists' is from there. Red is a color that is most associated to Communism. Socially, it reveals hard work ethic or on the flip side, maybe some kind of controlled labor. I think the title of the work, "Shape Shifter", signifies the rearrangement of the sandpaper in a unique way. The pieces are all mixed up and that adds onto the variety of the the work. Even though the shape of the work is the same, the "shifter" part signifies that the sandpaper is arranged to show different angles of perspective such as: Why are they arranged all over the place? What is the significance of the lighting in reflecting darker shadows on the bottom of the piece? What if the color of the sandpaper was blue?
I loved your analysis on this piece! I too did this piece for my blog post and had similar thoughts. I agree with the idea that the sandpaper symbolizes a culture where people work hard to make a living. To further that idea, I also thing it symbolizes how in life some people work harder than others at the same task (this is shown through the worn out sand papers and less worn out sand papers). I like your idea about the significance of the color of the piece. This is something I did not take into consideration. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteHailey had a similar thought about her piece- what would happen if we changed something about it? Would the meaning still stand?
ReplyDeleteThe amount of variety and detail in each piece of sandpaper is astounding to me. To go off of your last question about the color choice, it's so weird to think about in a different color! I never really thought about that. But, if it was a dark blue, I think it would have more of a darker emotion to it as opposed to the lighter, happier pinkish color. When I was walking around in CAM, I didn't pay very much attention to what colors were used, but they really make a big difference! Thanks for pointing that out! I loved reading your blog!
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