Not to undermined anyone who actually reads this but, (ignore this if you already know it) Integrity or truthiness (wink) in whatever you do is Important.
How Steven Colbert and his hardcore entourage of fans got the word "Truthiness" on wiki is beyond me! That's integrity!
I went to the ICA today to see Shepard Fairey's Exhibition,
"Supply and Demand."
(Note: It would be beneficial to get familiar with the ICA site about his work/exhibition to read on)
A wash of questions came over me with observing his work. How do we assess this?! His 20 years and ongoing of experiences is bluntly involved with blurring the lines of Street Art, Graphic Design and Fine Art. I noticed that he uses images of heavy symbolic weight to reveal the awareness of Peace and Revolution. His work also draws attention to reminding viewers to look closer at their everyday surroundings. Some would say that Shepard has, "Sold Out" but I don't know enough about that terminology as much as I know about the meaning of "Peace!" That's another entry in and of itself.
In a separate room at the exhibition were some videos of his process and the evolution of his work. In one of his interviews about his popularity (which is a common topic with Fairey) he says, "During 9/11 I was not popular." He used the word popular in a sense that the weight of his subject matter at the time was, "too mainstream." This topic of 'the sentimental' is touchy BUT ALSO EVOCATIVE AT THE SAME TIME and that's what is accomplished when I look at his work. I am deeply reminded that his work can be complicated in a sense that it comes with a cultural context as well. How do I define Evocative?! Evocative is a loaded word, words are loaded words, can we let this be? I am not sure where that answer could be but its similar to the idea of saying, it's art. It can be.
To simply Google something and blow it up is the result of his renown Obama work. Imagery from Google I think reveals a cultural substance of the "everyday ephemera," even if it is limiting. Using googled images have chance outcomes where arranging a planned situation with imagery may defeat the 'life' within a piece but I cant say that for all art. My time spent at the ICA seemed to extend longer with my class because of my, "What is art? questioning. His work read as, THESE BOGGLING WORKS REALLY MATTER IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTROVERSY IN CONTEMPORARY ART and.. THIS WORK HAS INTEGRITY, even beyond the "mainstream." His work has grown a life of its own! Shepard's integrity speaks in a sense that he is saying, "you can bomb and steal all you want and/or you can make art." Emphasis on "and" and "or." Crazy. I thoroughly enjoyed the contemplative nature that his work has conjured up.
Finally it’s back
2 days ago
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