Feb 12, 2010
The Work of Shannon Wilson
> The work is constructed by the placement of ink on Paper. The paper, a dark cream, slightly larger than a piece of office paper and has two torn edges as well as well as two deckled edges. The top third of this sheet is clean and unprinted, while the bottom two-thirds is layered with four layers of ink, each of these layers is done in a different tone. The lightest tone is dramatically lighter than the color of the paper. It has been used to formulate a ground comprised of bubbles. These bubbles hold tight, together, unwavering until the form reaches the bottom third of the work where they hesitantly release, floating upward. The second lightest tone creates the form of a retro television. This tone is slightly lighter than that of the paper color. The televisions, collectively 7 in all, cannot be seen from a distance of more than 4 feet. Each television looks relatively the same, but upon further investigation they differ slightly. The darkest tone used in this work is black. The tone is dark and cold as it lays amongst the earthly tones, creating the form of 7 adolescent females in bathing suits. These young female forms seem engaged not by playing in bubbles, but posing for a break in the moment.align="LEFT"> This work creates a narrative for me. One that describes a past happening or experience. It seems that each individual in this works has a seperate reaction. Although the face and the body are emulating the same emotion there has been a specific choice to frame the face of the seven figures with a vintage television. As I delve further into this work I would like to state that as an individual I am force to argue nothing more than that of my perspective. That being said it is hard to overlook the forethought of the faces being framed by a vintage television. Care was taken to draw the figures and the other forms of the work, but it the framing of the face was done with an acute attention to detail. The lines of the figure break as they intersect with the lines that form the televisions something that is not immediately noticable in interaction between the dark lines of the figures and they white of the buddles a their feet. The vintage television leads me almost immediately to the past, but only once I put together the clues that are left. The televisions have knobs and aentenas on them, a feature that is harldy relvent in todays society. I assume that this link suggest something that has happened in the past. The scene of children playing in the bubbles is a common scene for many parents and family members to capture via film and video. The framing of seven different experessions with vintage televisions makes me believe that there is attempt to broadcast these emotions to the view, whomever that may be. Television broadcasting put everything in front of the viewer. Things that were previously overlooked are now upfront and in your face whether you want them to be or not. The head is disjoined from the body in all seven figures by the frame of the television. Signals travel from satelite to televison over vast distances and I think that this piece is eluding to a moment where a body is present, but a mind in not. It is interesting how a television can elude to being close and or far at the same time. I believe it works well in this piece.
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The work I presented depicts seven young girls in bathing suits standing in a row. This image was taken from a magazine photo of a beauty pageant and translated into a simple line drawing. The girls are standing in a pool of soap bubbles and they have television sets over their heads. The television sets are printed in a light transparent white color with a gold ink over top. The color ends up being very close in value to the color of the paper, making it slightly more difficult to view than the rest of the image.
ReplyDeleteI have used outdated technological devices, such as radios and televisions, in my past work to express ideas about the obsolescence of communication or rather, miscommunication. Charlie stated in his critique that, “Television broadcasting put everything in front of the viewer. Things that were previously overlooked are now upfront and in your face.” I disagree with this statement, but find it interesting considering the context in which I am using the imagery of a television. I think television, and communication technologies in general, give the illusion of increased connectivity with the world. As technology advances I see an increased feeling of connectivity coupled with an ironically increased sense of isolation. With facebook, twitter and text messaging we can know where people are, what they are eating, and how they are feeling at any given moment. But these forms of communication are completely controlled and limited by the communicator. Body language, voice inflection and energy are a large part of communication and all are excluded from this new technological communication, allowing an even greater level of misinterpretation. I don’t believe that technology is to blame for miscommunication. I believe humans are incapable of true communication as we each live with a different history, different genetic codes and different social contexts. We have only tools of interpretation, such as speech, to attempt communication with one another. I do however; feel that technology, in an effort to advance communication, further misconstrues our efforts to interpret communication. So with Charlie’s comment about television I would say, since television presents its viewers with lots of information they may be inclined to feel they are getting all the information, but the reality is that the information is carefully chosen and edited, leaving the viewer with a highly limited sense of “reality.”
Another type of imagery I tend to use is traced line drawings from found images, as in the case of the seven girls. I like doing this because when I trace an image I am erasing a large amount of its original information. It is being translated, much like speech is a translation of thought. I can then transfer the image into a new context where it takes on a new meaning. I feel like a similar process happens with verbal language. A thought is composed of many different elements. When we communicate thoughts with one another we often rely on speech, which cannot relay the full meaning of the thought. We desire to communicate the full thought, but due to difficulties with translation we are only able to communicate part of the thought, which is interpreted as the whole, leaving it a miscommunicated idea on some level.
The soap bubbles are supposed to be about commodity. I think there is something really excessive about a giant mound of soap bubbles. Soap is a utilitarian item. It is used to clean something. When it’s found in such large quantities it is clear that its use has become frivolous. There’s also something really sexy about soap bubbles. Images of women in bikinis covered in soap suds are often considered sexy images. I think the soap bubbles seemed a natural addition to the image of the girls in swimsuits. These girls however, are too young to be viewed as sexy in any socially acceptable way. Sexuality, female sexuality in particular, is highly commoditized and I think applying this to young girls highlights the obscenity of commoditization.
ReplyDeleteWhen I bring these ideas together I get a piece that is speaking about the commoditization of even the most basic aspects of our existence. Even communication now requires, and is informed by, the latest technology. The televisions are printed in gold and are meant to be reminiscent of crowns. These girls, in the original context of the photo from which they are taken, are standing awkwardly before an audience. They have presumably been entered into this contest at the discretion of their parents and not by their own wishes. The televisions are bestowed upon them much like a crown in a beauty pageant. The television sets encompassing their heads are not meant, as Charlie assumed, to broadcast the feelings of the girls to the viewers, but to broadcast a set of ideals to the girls. They represent the further deterioration of an already flawed understanding of communication. Communication informs how we view the world, each other and ourselves. With that level of importance I often find myself wondering, if the only communication is miscommunication, at what point do we then call miscommunication, communication.