Alex Gross Essay
#29 Greg Colson (Visiting Painting)
#30 Alex Gross
My participation in this project began with a visiting painting that portrays a profile of a head with something wrapped around the eyes. It also included the type “bandage, blindfold, bandana.” I spent awhile looking at this piece trying to decipher a theme. Ultimately, I concluded that these three terms were all different ways of looking at the same thing. A bandage over the eyes is there to protect or heal us. Whereas a blindfold over the eyes is there to restrict us. And a bandana above the eyes is something of a fashion statement, an accessory.
This is where my brainstorming process began. I started to think of things that may be both protective and restrictive at the same time. And I also wanted to incorporate something to do with accessories and fashion.
Typically, my process involves found imagery that inspires themes for me. This project was something of a reversal of that formula, since I was beginning with a theme. But, as I often do, I searched for imagery that brought up ideas of restriction, protection, limitation. Illness and health began to rear their heads as I played around with this. Ultimately, I came up with the idea of an innoculation, which is really universal, and involves protection as well as pain. Neck braces also involve both protection and restriction. I melded these ideas into one image. The remaining task was to incorporate something connected to these which referenced fashion or accessories.
I’ve been doing work that references text messaging and digital communication for awhile. For me, one of the interesting aspects of this area is the double edged sword that this technology represents. It has given us a lot more freedom to stay in touch wherever we go, and whenever. At the same time, it isolates us as we lose touch with the environment around us as we stare at our phones and ipads. This seemed to be the right third element for my painting. I feel like its inclusion in the image creates a dialogue with the viewer about where the phone stands in relation to the other themes in the piece. Is it helpful, or harmful, or perhaps both?
As with the piece that begat mine, I felt that the inclusion of type was important in conveying the ideas more clearly to the next artist in line. And it also makes for a more complex and interesting experience for viewers.