Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gallery - Essay Example It is made up of over 5000 pieces of this screen-printed paper which has been folded and stuck on to a hidden foundation made of foam and cardboard. The installation art changes form depending on the space where it is being exhibited at the time. The idea began when Dupuis-Bourret wanted to start ‘a river of paper in her basement’ (Vocat). The repetitive lines on the printed paper create a rich texture in place of the usual picturesque images one may be used to seeing at an art gallery. This is one of the things that make this piece of work ‘difficult’ to appreciate (Diepeveen & Van Laar). The traditional notions of beauty cannot be adhered to while appreciating this installation artwork. There is no use of color in the usual sense; it is entirely in black and white. The textures and patterns are repetitive and not very artistic in the usual sense. However, it is because of this unusual quality that this piece of art makes for a thought-provoking one. The vi ewer begins to wonder what it is about this artwork that makes it so compelling despite the lack of traditional beauty in it. To begin with, the lack of color and the tonality of the texture give it a rather haunting quality. The wide expanse of black and white with varying densities of etching on them allows the viewer to project their own opinions and thoughts on the artwork rather than it dictating too strictly what it ‘means.’ The black and white expanse could mean different things to different people and this element of ambiguity and room for interpretation is one of the things that make such a piece appealing. But by itself, the artwork is not entirely silent either. The pointed edges and the material used recall the ‘paper fortune-teller’ that children use to play and tell fortunes for each other. This gives the piece a toy-like quality. This playful element is also reflected in how repetitive the structure is; something that rhymes and songs for chi ldren often are. The piece also has mathematical significance. The idea of the fractal, where basically a super-structure is made up of identical smaller structures and at every point of a structure, one finds the same pattern replicated. This is something that is sometimes reflected in nature as well where particular arrangements of petals in flowers or rings on a snail’s shell and so on are often found to be uncannily replicated. Other than the various connotations that the piece itself evokes, the title of the artwork meaning a debacle or disaster is also interesting. Is it that the artist wants to call this work itself a disastrous one? This would mean the apparent lack of order or beauty in the artwork and its almost awkward haphazardness would assume a greater significance, as this would be what the artist would emphasize as being what a failure looks like. Or could it be that the image that the artwork attempts to recall or recreate is the disaster? The wide expanse of paper visually looks like a flood or ice melting and this could be what the artist point at as being ‘the debacle.’ Whatever the meaning or response the title may evoke, it is evident that the choice of naming a piece of art is of crucial significance. It can emphasize a certain aspect of artwork or even bring up a new dimension to it. Apart from the provocative, childlike, mathematical and other connotations that this piece seeks to evoke and its creative naming, the artwork is also made ‘