The Work In Potential Of Imperfections By Melissa Cunningham

Death is the great equalizer. No matter the person, death comes to all eventually. The idea that no matter what one does or says death’s grip is ever present scares a large majority of people. This means death is not a topic typically approach with thoughtful discussion in normal conversation, rather it is regulated to philosophers and academics. Cathy Malkasian seeks to challenge that notion in her graphic novel Percy Gloom. In it, Malkasian uses symbols that at first seem absurd, or amusing to broach the topic of death and deep truths surrounding it, in an accessible way. The three biggest symbols that Malkasin uses are the goats, the muffins, and Safely Now.

As a young child, my grandmother’s china cabinet was enchanting. When the sun streamed through the cabinet at the perfect angle, pink patterns created by glass dishes were splayed on the green shag carpet. Of course, I was not interested in the glassware that produced the light display, I was just intrigued by the display itself. As I grew, my grandmother explained these two pale pink glassware sets were known as Depression Glass. Like many other women, my great grandmother collected the sets piece by piece, and they became her pride and joy. Although they may not be made of high quality glass, these cups, plates, and bowls are priceless family heirlooms that remind us that beauty can be found in the bleakest of times, even during the

Distinctively visual is not just about images but also the power of language that enables composers to transport us to their world, specifically to the place indicative of the time during which the text was written. Henry Lawson’s collection of short stories in particular ‘In a dry season’ and ‘The drover’s wife’ and my related text, Art Spigelman’s graphic novel ‘Maus’ bring their unique ideas to life shaping and challenging our perspective and understanding of various human experiences of pain, suffering ,courage, resilience and perseverance ultimately bringing personal and social issues to life.

For example, in the first short story, “ On The Quai At Smyrna, “ the repeated image of women giving birth on the pier while others are protecting dead babies attempts to give the reader glimpses of World War I which allows the readers to realize the soldiers lack sensitivity to death or loss. Because of the harsh conditions in the war, soldiers are forced to see things that would leave many scarred for life. The character the Turk Man stated,“ Yet you didn't mind the women who were having babies as you did those with the dead ones. They had them all right. Surprising how few of them died. You just covered them over with something and let go to it They'd; always pick out the darkest place in the

One friend of a victim, Eric Fischl, chose to create a sculpture entitled, “The Tumbling Woman”, to express his grief. He faced a harsh response, and his piece was was exhibited for only a week before it too was censored. Despite this, one wife of a victim, upon seeing the Tumbling Woman figure, expressed that the creator Fischl, “Had the right to create and exhibit it.” (Junod) Junod showed how valuable having access to these images truly was when he discusses one mother’s personal choice.

The first visual depicts the tombstone of Edgar Derby, a fellow soldier shot by a German firing squad, stating “Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt” (Vonnegut 122). The second visual is that of a sign outside of the bathroom within a German imprisonment camp that states “Please leave this latrine as tidy as you found it!” (Vonnegut 125). The third visual shows the necklace of Montana Wildhack which states “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference” (Vonnegut 209). When interpreted together, these three statements suggest the theme of the impossible desire to avoid suffering, the equally impossible desire to prompt no suffering, and the need to act upon these desires following the comprehension of

Death. The topic no one likes to discuss despite it being an inevitable part of life since humans came into existence. Simply thinking about the phrase, “I am going to die,” causes most people to become extremely uncomfortable, evoking unwanted emotions such as dread and fear. Humans will do anything to distract themselves from this depressing reality. Whether it’s using drugs or going out with friends, people frequently engage in activities that push darker thoughts to the back of their minds to be dealt with at a later time. Hanging in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), the painting Leyster, The Last Drop (Fig. 1) captures the complexities of coming to terms with one’s own mortality. Judith Leyster’s use of lighting, color, and symbols in the piece come together to express the struggle people go through to give their lives meaning in the context of eternity, making observers confront the temporal limits of their humanity right on the spot.

While some links between symbol and idea are quite evident (fragile masculinity) others lose their intended meaning outside of the context of the book (roses). Most of these symbols from the book are everyday objects that either remind Billy of his trauma after the fact or instantly become a way to compare and normalize his citizen and POW life. The inspiration to include this myriad of symbols was to include my unique interpretation of the most important symbols in the book. When art, written or visual, uses symbols, it is always up to the audience to interpret them. The context of the work helps a lot, but every person’s interpretation is different based on their personality and past, and that is why art is so therapeutically

Tara Donovan creates large-scale installations and sculptures made from mass-produced, mundane, everyday material and objects. She has earned acclaim for her ability to discover the inherent characteristics of an object and completely transforming their original context, turning it into art. These objects evolve to become sculptural installations that mimic natural forms. Untitled (Plastic Cups), 2006 is a piece of work which” comprises of 500,000 drinking cups that are methodically prepared in a formula of varying stacked heights.” Tara Donovan made use of plastic cups that usually go unnoticed as the sole purpose of plastic cups is to serve drinks.

For thousands of centuries, Japanese artists had been breaking the boundaries with their relentless creations of shocking pieces that made people question if there was a life after death. The popular subject of restless spirits or dark beings drove many artists from the Heian Period to modern-day times to express their stylistic techniques and narrative stories through woodblock printing and other alternative forms of art. Unlike most Western art, Japan’s disturbing representations of decaying bodies and death did not promote unrealistic, commercial expectations of death that commonly exists in art today. While handling such abstract ideas of the afterlife alongside the uncensored authenticity of death, each piece arouses fear and empathy for

Wesleyan’s first Artist-in-Residence, Jeni Hansen Gard, has committed to completely immersing herself into the Wesleyan community this year. She is living on campus, eating in the dining hall, interacting with students, all in an effort to understand the intricacies of life at Wesleyan. As a socially-engaged craft artist, Gard uses functional, everyday ceramic vessels to explore our ecological relationship with plants as food through growing, cooking, eating, and sharing meals. Her work draws on a critical understanding of human relationships and the merger between art and life.

In literature, however, scars, marks, and deformities speak even louder than they do in reality because writers often use them as symbols. Unlike real-world wounds, writers can manipulate a character’s injury to express a desired concept, theme, or representation

“Groundless” by Samuel Back depicts a scene in which a well-dressed man appears to be reflectively drinking a cup of tea or coffee while being chest deep in a teacup of water. To add to the bizarre scene, Back allows us to view the inside of the cup where it appears that is actually no water at all- just an empty pair of men’s dress shoes. I believe this scene is trying to show how empty our lives can be despite how busy we may seem. The man, though somber, could be viewed as very in control of his full life, which is represented by the normal teacup he drinks from, the sharp attire, and the fullness of the teacup in which he is incased; however, the empty shoes and hollowness of the cup shown below suggest that none of what he has is meaningful.

Van gogh, Da vinci, Salvador Dali, Michelangelo… All of whose works were available for me to view. Yet, here I was, staring at a Japanese teacup in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. There was nothing elaborate of this cup: made of porcelain, it had a plain and uniform color of white. What made this teacup special was the cracks all over its body. It was apparent that this cup had been smashed to pieces once, but here, somehow, it had been reassembled together.

The artwork is one of the main ways to express the culture of a region or a country. Therefore, art has played a very important role throughout history. When talking about art, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is probably that art is a painting or it is a sculpture. However, art has many forms of expression, and it closely connects to human’s daily life. Besides paintings and sculptures, art is everywhere around us. I am always interested in how people have linked art with daily life throughout history. For this reason, the two pieces of artwork I chose from my visit to the Museum of Fine Arts are both objects that can be used in everyday life: one is the mixing bowl and the other is an incense burner. Though they are from different cultures, have different making processes, and have a different purpose in usage, they both are good examples to show how artists tried to apply art using different techniques to human’s daily life.