Rachel West Professor Hicks Art + Society Visual Arts Honors September 14, 2013 Response to Rowe Gallery

y I was impressed with Rowe Gallerys exhibition, Multiplicity, as well as the layout of the gallery itself. The lighting was well-balanced throughout the gallery. It was bright enough to enjoy the artwork, but it allowed shadows to highlight certain crevices of sculptures or frame images, heightening the intensity of certain pieces (such as Lorraine Turis Fieldwork series). The gallerys layout was also well organized. The audience was not overwhelmed by the number of pieces in one area; instead, we were able to explore both upstairs and downstairs with enough space and time to process the meanings and connections between each piece. I thought it was interesting that the less traditional artists and their works were displayed upstairs notably, Daniel Allegruccis series portraying animated explosions and Liliya Zalevskaya & David Scott Sacketts series about living in the 21st century, but missing out on meaningful memories because we are too wrapped up in technology (such as taking pictures and constantly texting). Meanwhile, the more traditional pieces were displayed downstairs, including sculptures by Austin Ballard and images by Lorraine Turi (which were my favorite pieces in the exhibition). The wall color in the gallery was warm enough to invite you in, but neutral enough to point your attention towards the more colorful art pieces. Interestingly, it contrasted with modern kitchens. I realize that the kitchens design is different for every family, but in my familys house, the kitchen is bright red, while knick-knacks of more neutral colors accessorize it. In general, people like to be amazed and surprised by anything bright (such as color), whether we are conscious of it or not. But the art gallery invited us to do something different it invited us not to be impressed with the environment itself (the gallery walls, set up, etc.), but instead, be

captivated by the works that adorn the walls. I think that is a great statement to the gallery itself; it doesnt just want to show off art, but it wants the audience to set aside all distractions (which bright colors on walls represent) and focus on the art instead. Similarly, I appreciated how short and sweet the information provided about each piece was. It was easy to see and very accessible. Although it may not be a part of visual arts, I also really enjoyed the sound rather, lack of it in the gallery. When I was younger, I loved going to the library. Part of the experience was the quiet that, to me, signified that people were learning fascinating things. The quiet in the gallery reminded me of the quiet in a library. Even though the people around me were not reading, they were still learning by viewing and interpreting art. The silence is a gesture of respect and an indication of focus and intent to view more than that, to experience art. The first piece of art that struck me was Industrial Woman by Lorraine Turi. There are two focal points: one is the woods behind the woman, which is defined by the white lighting. The woods represent the more traditional, natural lives women led before the Industrial Revolution. The second focal point is the mechanical device on the womans chest. It is surrounded by the womans black dress, so its color (light brown) creates contrast with black and commands our attention. Interestingly, as the colors get brighter (especially towards the background), the image becomes more blurry. As the colors become darker (especially in the foreground), the image becomes clearer. This signifies women leaving their traditional, more natural lives behind them as signified by the blurry, distant, bright light of the woods and taking up a new, modern, less familiar industrial life, as defined by the darker yet clearer images in the foreground. The image as a whole has a Sepia-like photo filter look about it. The colors have lower value because, in general, they are darker. Women in the Industrial Revolution were

promised a good job in a new environment, but instead, many of them endured long days of hard work with unfair pay. They were promised light, but instead were given darkness loneliness, homesickness, and despair. In the modern world, women feel pushed to compete with men because of the inequalities women face in the workplace. While women are focusing on being the best at work, their personal lives may be negatively impacted. The more they commit their identity and life to their industrial work, the more their personal life slips away, and darkness continues to surround them. In addition, the womans head is missing. This could be interpreted as a form of dehumanization: as each workers individual identity is stripped away, they are seen simply as workers, not as people. In other words, they are seen as the amount of money they can make the company, not people with dreams, fears, and abstract value. Their personality is transformed into the solid instrument that hangs around their neck and masks their heart, as it does on the Industrial Woman. The mechanical instrument could also represent the masking of the womans emotions as she becomes more and more accustomed to the mechanical tasks of hard labor and the frustrations and loneliness that accompany them. When I worked last year, I got a very small taste of this frustration. All Kohls stores have a quota of credit card applications to meet per day. There were days when I got up to four or five credit card applications, and there were days when I did not get any credit card applications, no matter how hard I tried. I discovered that sometimes, the number of applications I successfully solicited changed how some of the managers treated me. When I got a lot of applications, the managers applauded my success and were very happy with me. When I did not get any applications, some of the managers were more stressed and they were a lot more friendly and talkative with the employees that were getting the most applications that day. When you

have a job to do, many adults in todays society believe that the job comes first, not people. But thankfully, I was not chained with the heavy burdens that the Industrial Woman was. The second piece that I was immediately visually attracted to was Last Stand, another piece by Lorraine Turi. The positioning of the figures in the image is very interesting. The businessman takes up more space in the picture, especially with his papers flying around on the right side. The farmer has far less space; he is defending what little he has left, but it looks like the businessman is slowly but surely pushing him off his land, his means of making a living, and his life. The color also adds to this stand-off. The farmer and his surroundings have a light brown hue, reflecting his agriculturally-focused life. The businessmans colors are clear and sharp, from his black suit to his bright red tie. This difference in color represents a stand-off between traditional life (represented by the farmer) and modern life (represented by the businessman). The low saturation of the colors in the background (emphasizing the browns and greens) shows that the land still belongs to the farmer by nature, even though the businessman claims it by papers. The tenseness is unsettling in the image. As much as we would like to hide it - like the businessmans face is hidden by paperwork - innocent people are losing their livelihood to unforgiving and sometimes greedy company executives. The shame is that in society, few people are willing to face conflict, fear, and tension and put the businessman back in his place. The farmer does have several natural advantages in his differences from the businessman. He is fearless and proud, as conveyed by his stance. He is also protective, shown by the fist he makes when facing the businessman. The businessman, however, has his face covered by papers. He is too much of a coward to face the farmer unmasked because he knows the farmer would win by natures point of view.

A few years ago, my dad lost the building he practiced law in. He was a small business owner, the only attorney at his practice. He had been in that office on Main Street since I was a little girl. Even though he had been up-to-date with payments, the executives at the local level of the bank claimed that they could seize the building because of a small clause hidden in the contract that my dad was not aware of. They went to court and the bank won. Worse, the bank executive in charge of the case against my dad was a very rude person. He was hateful to my mom (who helps my dad at his office) for no reason, and was certainly rude to my dad, both in and out of court. It was interesting that later on, after the case had settled, he was actually friendly to my parents. In the context of the case, he was hostile. Last Stand reminds me of this situation because my dad took a last stand of his own against a bank executive, who was cowardly enough to wear a mask of hatefulness and deceit, just as the businessman in Lorraine Turis image has his face covered by paperwork. Unfortunately, there are many executives in corporate America who would love to take property from citizens to gain money and a good reputation in their respective companies. The expense of the people, I would argue, far outweighs this glorious end awaiting the executives. Fortunately, small business owners have their own powerful form of revenge: they hold on to their dreams and loved ones for support and inspiration, while the executives slave away for corporations which would turn their back on them and fire them if necessary, as we recently saw with the recession. Capitalism is an interesting economic government because these standoffs are not uncommon; in fact, they have taken place for hundreds of years. The conflict between mass production and unique, handmade materials has been a long debated issue. If you can make gain more production, and make more profit off of such production, should you do so at the expense

of handmade, more sustainable materials of better quality? This is a question that has plagued American society for decades. As society and the media advertise materialism and the pleasure of getting more of what you want, some individuals are simply trying to survive another day. That is where we find this defiant farmer, standing up to the businessman who is ready to take everything away from him with a few signatures. That is also where we find a woman slipping away from her natural existence, feeling less and less human, but becoming a faster and stronger producer of goods or services in the workforce. It is an interesting struggle which will not end any time soon. It is, however, a great spot to look back and discuss changes in our society. It is where we see that money is not everything, but the human spirit will hopefully triumph over materialism and the worship of consumerism.