Architectural Theory: SoBe Art Gallery

1.5 weeks

material: Me, Clothes, Grey Backdrop, David Perez (photographer)

I was brainstorming like a madwoman trying to figure out how I wanted to do this project and no matter which way I went, I kept coming back to The Person, to you, to him, to her, to me. The problem was, I was going round in circles with what was what. I thought I’d written down a new idea, only to realize that it was just another twist in the spiraling storm. The idea of a gallery is about display, but there is ambiguity about what is on display and what is being displayed. So all my ‘new’ ideas kept bringing me back to my self-obsessed, self-absorbed eye of the storm.

Why did I keep coming back to myself? I asked.

I asked: What comes first?

The Person : Human Being. I answered.

I answered: The person as gallery, art, artist, audience, and consumer.

I sought to find simplicity and clarity in this project. I fought the simplicity and clarity I kept finding. It’s like when you keep scouring your pantry or fridge or closet for that one thing and then realize that it’s been right in front of your face the whole time. This project is like that. After talking to my mom (or, probably more accurately talking to myself out loud) I can perhaps accept that my thoughts + circumstances + hopes + daydreams …have all been converging and culminating into that ‘aha, there you are!’ moment. That, yes, what I am looking for is right in front of my face.

And that’s not a bad thing. I’ve been defending the blatant simplicity of this project to myself, trying to come up with ways to complicate it because that would somehow make it seem like I put more effort, time, and energy into it which would prove that I am taking this course and these projects seriously. Eventually I shot down every complication. It became a series of exercises that only kept reinforcing my simple answer.
So this project is simply one photo of me. Over and over again. The photo stays the same. The implications, observations, do not (I hope).

PERSON AS GALLERY

A gallery is where things are on display. The body displays fabrics, patterns, skill, technique, jewelry, emotion. It is a place that brings art (these things) to life, illuminating beauty. It is a volume with all sorts of angles, curves, spaces, and surfaces to be exploited and explored. One’s mind and body are places to experience art.

PERSON AS ART

Art is inherently an idea of depth in the sense that something meaningful is conveyed in a creative way. Something is art when we understand it as that. That is human. The human form is provocative, intriguing, beautiful, understood and misunderstood. It’s body bends, folds, creates spaces, and reinvents itself living, breathing, and growing. The shape is always unique and always the same. An artist can position the figure, manipulate it’s form and interpretation to embody their work.

PERSON AS ARTIST

The person as creator who can utilize their mind to realize ideas and unleash potential. The artist creates/ represents/ seeks genius, simplicity, and complexity.

“If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, I will answer you: ‘I am here to live out loud’ “ –Emile Zola

PERSON AS AUDIENCE

The person is observer of this world, of all art. There is an ability to comprehend art in relation to ones’ self and one’s experiences that enhances and reinterprets the work. All art is made for an audience because it is nothing without observation/comprehension/thought.

PERSON AS CONSUMER

The consumer goes beyond mere observation. This person needs the art, spending money, time, energy, actively consuming art. This relationship is symbiotic, the consumer finding a deeper meaning and understanding in themselves and the world in exchange for supporting the structure/system including the artist, art, gallery, canvas, and audience.











What do I see, what do I think, how do I feel, what do I say without opening my mouth? Am I asking about the girl in the photo or author of this blog or 'I' as the reader?