ear

face

Artist: Julianne Swartz
Title: Close
Year: 2010
Dimensions: ranging from 43.2 x 40.6 cm to 52.1 x 40.6 cm

tiny hand

Close, is a collection of images that are a close up of a finger with a water drop coming off of it. Each image is a photo that

two arms

 is mounted and framed in white washed wood under a UV-Pexiglas. These photos are typically set in warm colors. Which gives off a feeling of spring right after it rains. Swartz has been able to capture an upside down image within the water droplet. Such as the top left image is which is titled ear has a very little image of an ear. This is the same way in every one of Swartz's pieces are in Close. I find the background being blurry as pleasing to the eye. It makes what is found within the water drop that much more interesting. The out of focus background forces the eye to look deeper within the water droplet to try and get a seance of what we are missing out on that is fuzzy. Standing back the viewer only sees a tip of a finger with a water on it. There really isn't anything impressive about that. It isn't until you get closer and really focus do you see the whole picture. To me, I feel like the artist is asking you to come closer.She is welcoming you to come into her world. I feel at peace when I look at her images. I can't help looking at how she wants the viewer to see her world.

blue sky

dark sunset

I find it particularly interesting how Swartz does not put any of the water drops in the center of the frame they are more to the sides. Which is important when it comes to photography and films. It makes the images more settling. Swartz has placed each water drop in an atmosphere that has a pleasing scene. The viewer only gets a limited view of the area. Which creates a hunger for wanting to see more but not to much. It is not made clear why a finger is seen within the images. But I feel that it has been added in, as a way to say that our world is helpless to the human hands. That without us caring our world will fall. Much like the water drop will eventually fall from the finger. The water droplet has been used to say our world is delicate and we need to take care of it.

Artist: Steve Lambert
Title: Tell the Truth 
Year: 2012
Dimensions: 76.2 x 149.9 x 18.4 cm

In Tell the Truth, Lambert has put light on something that our society has forgotten how to do it seems. Not only our society but our politicians as well. Lambert has created huge aluminum, neon sign that has lights spelling out "Tell the Truth". Individually each word flashes once and then the light moves to the next word. the fact that this sign is in the warm colors of red, white, and blue gives it a political feel. Like it is telling our leaders to tell the truth. Putting the words in front these primary colors and then have the words flashing forces the eyes to read them. Something that is specific to neon signs is that they are bright and the light can be seen from miles away.

The neon sign was a huge thing for earlier generations. They evoked excitement and were pleasing to the youthful generations eyes. Anything in lights becomes that much more important. So putting these words in lights makes them that much more important. To me the color choice is very significant to what the piece is saying and who it is meant for. Everyone should learn the importance to telling the truth but this sign makes it all that much more important.    

Artist: Bhakti Baxter
Title: Imploded Ball Barf (scooby doo)
Date: 2011
Dimensions: 72.4 x 23.5 x 27.3 cm

In Imploded Ball Barf Baxter took a ball and painted it white while cutting it in half and placing it onto a wood box that is painted green. In this piece there is a mixture of concrete, epoxy, and enamel. In addition to the objects already stated earlier. The white ball contains the cartoon figures of Scooby Doo and his life long friend Shaggy. The ball has been placed onto a ribbon egg blue box. The box has colors that have babbled down the sides. The white ball has colors barfing out of it as the title has stated. Bubbling up out of the is an explosion of colors.

To me this piece being non transparent and in its 3D form looks like an old school water fountain. None of the colors that are running down the sides are reflected in the 2D cartoon images shown within the ball. The white pigment that has been used on the ball creates an innocent feel to it. Only breaking the ball has made it more about broken innocence. The two notches placed on either half of the white ball look as nipples so this piece could very easily be about a girl losing her virginity. The classic cartoon show Scooby Doo is about unveiling monsters and figuring out mysteries. This could also be related to the loss of innocence. The child who was full of mystery is now broken and transformed.The different colors in this piece such as the blacks and other muddy colors to me makes me feel like the young person was broken against their will. The person then became dirty and incomplete.  

 Artist: David Smith
 Title: Song of the Landscape
 Year: 1950
  Dimensions: 48.3 x 81.3 x 49.5 cm

Song of the Landscape is an abstract expressionist sculpture made out of bronze and iron. This sculpture is very loosely welded together with lots of negative space found throughout it. The wires have been shaped to look like the outer body of a fish that is swimming up to the surface. I am not sure if the artist intended for this piece to look like a fish. On the far right of the sculpture where the found objects such as boxes and cones are placed. The mouth is open and has several holes drilled into it making it so the wire can be easily attached. This part then flows down and is connected to several other thin wires which are twisted and arched among each other. This piece creates many different emotions. The very complex structure of this sculpture creates an agitated feeling. The back, towards the tail appears to look like a spine. This sculpture has been created to be non representational. Only i feel that it has been created to represent different elements of nature. This piece is meant to be displayed outside. So, depending upon where it is displayed will affect the meaning of this piece. The natural colors that are found within this sculpture reflects on colors found in nature. When looking at this sculpture I think about what this piece would look during different season. How will it look when it gets an outer skin of spider webs? When rain freezes what will the ice sickles look like coming off? I want to return this piece back to nature!      

Artist: Robert Gober
Title: Untitled leg
Year: 1989-1990
Dimensions: 28.9 x 19.7 x 50.8 cm
Untitled Leg by    Robert Gober is made out of bee's wax,  human hair, wood, leather, and cotton. This 3D, realistic sculpture is of a leg coming out of the wall. The leg is fashioned in an older style with leather shoes (that have some miles on them) to the tan perfectly pressed, tan, rolled up pant leg. 
This leg is so realistic and life like that it is almost as if a man is really stuck in the wall. After taking a close up view of the leg and comparing it to my own. I had to take a personal moment and shave my own legs. The messy arrange of leg hairs that this person had made my skimpy amount of leg hairs look that much worse. I think this has to do with not liking hair. This instillation makes the viewer get a closer look at something that is seen in most peoples every day life. This leg is laid out as if it is there to be dissected or judged. 

  Artist: Jana Sterbak
  Art work: Chair Apollinaire
  Made in 1996

Jana Sterbak created Chair Apollinaire, out of steak which is threaded onto a polyester chair. The dimensions of the chair are 110x117x147 cm. This piece was meant to include the viewer in many different ways. Not only is it something that would make any normal person sick at the sight of it, but as the meat starts to decay it attacks the viewers noses with the repulsive smell. In Chair Apollinaire, Sterkbak is displaying decay. We see decay everywhere such as chairs slowly falling apart and books falling off their spines, both of which are slow processes of decay. In the way that Sterkbak has attached fresh meat to the chair, the viewer can see the meat decay and smell it as well at a faster pace.
A chair is a form of relaxation and comfort. Meat is typically looked at as a food source. When the tummy is full the body is comforted and full. By combining the two Sterbak has made it so the viewer has to think about what they consider as comfort. She has changed the meaning of these two objects. This is not a chair you would want to sit in! And it clearly is not meat that you want to stick a knife in and start chewing away.
What I find is interesting is that as the meat dries up and ages the prized marbling that butchers price a good steak for disappears. The value of meat is changed.  

Artist: Sol Lewitt
Artwork: Incomplete Open Cubes
Materials: Painted aluminum

Incomplete Open Cubes by Sol Lewitt is a collection of different incomplete cubes which are approximately 3'6" in height as well as its width. Each cube in this collection has different segments missing from it. But to be able to see that you have to take a double glance at it due to the fact that the minds eye fills in all of the missing pieces. This very simple sculpture has been created to manipulate the eye. The space that has been left open on the sides of the cube create a unique form. A form, that when focused on seems to shift and play with the brain. It becomes hard to distinguish if the right angle is coming towards you are receding. This 3D figure creates an awkward feeling. Even the area around the figure seems to be altered creating shadows onto areas behind it that aren't there. The white hue that has been applied to the aluminum cube figure creates the feeling of the cube being clean. Which creates two different feelings. White, typically meaning something is innocent or clean is completely ignored. This cube is incomplete and not something that I would assimilate to either. Lewitt's unique mockery of cubes is very interesting. The reason to why he created Incomplete Open Cubes is because he wanted to know what incomplete cubes would look like. So, he formed many different ways that a cube could be incomplete.

 

Title: Bunny Plunking
Artist: Megan Sterling
Bunny Plunking is a mixed medium of graphite and watercolor. It is approximately 15x19" in size. The red in the umbrella and shovel catches the viewers eye first. But the implied line pulls the eye into the art work. The eye then looks deeper into the image. It sees the almost life like sculpted drapery shown on the woman's dress. Going down to the shovel and moving over to what appears to be a dead bunny.
The dead bunny could possibly be why the shovel is red. Megan takes light of death. The light background with the bright red creates a settling almost pleasant feeling, in a place where there should be a feeling of sadness and disgust.
Megan Sterling was an art student who got her BA at Boise State and later on went to the Art Institute of Chicago.