How I fulfill the roles of the artist

Giving form to immaterial ideas and feelings

Window of the Capitoline Museum in Rome, 2015

This image shows a warped window on a rainy day. The flags and trees on the other side are distorted, giving the image a feeling of uncertainty. The unclear image of what is on the other side of the window can represent an unclear future. The window is preventing us from seeing the beauty of the landscape outdoors as obstacles can prevent us from seeing our final goals that we are striving for.  


Seeing the world in new or innovative ways

Rome, Italy, 2015

This picture was taken through the window of a bus on a rainy day. The water creates a vision of seeing the world from under water. The car in the bottom left corner can just barely be recognized in the hazy image. It almost looks like you are looking through an aquarium window, but looking at an underwater world, but instead of seeing a marine environment, there are trees, cars and sidewalks.

Artists give form to immaterial ideas and feelings

Didier Fiuza Faustino, Explorers, 2015, print on fine art paper

This installation shows pictures of men with metal cage-like structures on their shoulders. They explored an old abandoned building in Cuba with these over their head. These different structures brought attention to the “prisons” of our society. These can be social or political, but both restrict people of their rights. The unfinished building represented an uncertain future and the scars of the past. These ideas generated from the project fulfill the role of an artist giving form to immaterial ideas and feelings.


Choi Jeong-Hwa, Life Life, 2015, 3000 balloons

This installation, which is comprised of 3,000 balloons, is titled Life Life. This work of art enables people to interact with them and use their imagination to bring them back to life. The artist has brought these regular objects back to life and given them a second chance. He bases it off of the Buddhist principle of rebirth. This principal states that the end of one existence is the preparation of a new one.

Artists make functional objects and structures more meaningful

Capitoline Museum, Rome, 917, Proconnesian Marble

This sarcophagus is decorated with a scene from the Calydonian boar hunts. This scene show Meleager hunting a boar in from the goddess of hunting, Artemis. This scene gave more meaning to the sarcophagus of a certain family member that was being buried. The family member must have been a strong hunter and the decoration of the sarcophagus is honoring that strength. It could also be a record of the last event this family member participated in, which could honor their bravery and courage.

 

 

Capitoline Tensa in the Capitoline Museum, Rome, 325-350 A.D., Bronze

The wagon is decorated in bronze panels, showing episodes from the life of Achilles. The bronze plates resembled ones that decorated a tensa, which was a chariot that carried the gods. This wagon most likely was used for private transport of wealthy citizens. The decorations of Achilles on this wagon showed how much the people of Rome honored their gods. The bronze used for decoration, showed also showed the prestige of the wealthy and separated them from the rest of the normal citizens.

Artists create a visual record of their time and place

Antonio Canova, Paolina Borghese Bonaparte, Roman, marble

This sculpture of Paolina Borghese is an example of an artists recording their time and place. Paolina's husband requested Canova create a sculpture of her. She showed up in the nude for the sculpture, which surprised many people that knew her. This brought about some controversy because nude portraits were unusual at the time. However, that is how Paolina wanted it to be. She also wanted to be depicted as the goddess, Venus. This shows the rebellious side of Paulina at that time in history.

 

 

 

Halil Altindere, Pala the Bard, 2008, wax sculpture

This work of art fulfills the role of the artist recording the world around them. This sculpture is a life-size wax figure of a man that was named Pala. He lived in Istanbul and would be seen wearing weird costumes and thought that he was a symbol of the country. Altindere decided to make the life-size wax figure of Pala because of his pride in making the figures of national heroes and celebrities. This records a normal outfit for Pala that he would wear around the streets of Istanbul.

Artists help us to see the world in new or innovative ways

Choi Jeong-Hwa, Hubble Bubble, 2015, plastic colanders

This picture shows how an artist fulfilled the role of the artist helping us see the world in new or innovative ways. In this installation, the artist creates a green forest using plastic baskets. Visitors are allowed to walk in between the string of baskets, giving them a feeling that they are walking through a forest. Using these ordinary objects, it shows how art can be made out of anything an artist puts their mind to. This allows for the visitors to interact with the art and experience it in a new way.



Sarkis, Two Rainbows, 2015, prints, neon

Another example of helping us see the world in new and innovative ways. This installation are neon prints overlaid with neon lights in the shape of a rainbow. The prints are of stairs painted in rainbow colors. This installation represents civic resistance in Istanbul following the Gezi events, showing the change in the society. The bright colors cover up the sadness of the events that occurred. The stairs were later destroyed. This work of art is a reminder of the resistance in Istanbul and the spirit of its people.