Art Reviews

Here are a few art reviews on pieces that I find inspiring and interesting. Remember these are just my opinions as a viewer, I have no formal expierence with art.

 

Sodbuster: San Isidro

by Luis Jiminez

The Sodbuster: San Isidro is an impressive piece of sculpture made in 1984 by Luis Jiminez. It depicts a man struggling against an oxen drawn plow. Being that the sculpture is life sized, you feel what is happening as though you are looking back on a paused moment in time. You can feel the power of the two beasts pulling, with muscles bulging, eyes straight ahead. The oxen look versed on their task, like they need no direction because they are so familiar. The man is giving no obvious instruction, they work as a well balanced team. All parts of this piece show that this has been their lifelong work. The farmer is older, with white hair and a wrinkled brow. His body is large and muscular and appears accustom to demanding labor. The farmer seems to have lived a difficult life, his skin is darkened from many days in the summer sun and his hands are heavy and callused. His skin is thin, you see many veins, and he carries no excess bulk. He eats, but not as a king would, but as a humble simple man would. This body should not belong to a man of his age. During his work, his arms grip the plow and force it to the ground with confidence and determination, as though it was a light simple task. The oxen appear much as he does, heavily muscled with little fat. These animals are truly beasts of burden, but they are taken care of. The team appears exhausted yet they continue to work with the same vigilance as when they began early that morning. They are not working to earn a paycheck or to satisfy a boss, they are working to have a home to go to with food on the table.

            This piece depicts the difficulty of the time period it represents. It shows that nothing came for free and that everything they have is due to the work they put in. The farmer and his oxen continue to work year after year, even though he gets older he continues. This is his livelihood so he can only pause long enough to wipe his brow and eat a meal, nothing more. This piece shows that hard work and determination must exist in life, otherwise nothing else does. For the farmer, quitting will never be an option, likewise for us, it never should be. This holds true today as much as it did during that time period.

 

 

He Fell To earth

By Robin O’Neal

            Imagine walking out into a place you knew well, somewhere you lived and enjoyed. But, when you get there you see nothing you recognize. Everything you knew about this place has changed, the grass is gone, leaving only barren dirt. The trees that used to move in the wind and give shade are now just burnt sticks and stumps in the ground. The trees and forest that used to give a beautiful backdrop are now reduced to piles of sticks as far as the eye can see. Buildings that dotted the hillside are now only shacks and rubble, mere shadows of the past you remembered. What happened? Where is everyone you knew and loved? Why am I still here? Am I alone? You walk to the center of the clearing where you used to quietly sit and read. You’ve spent hours there before but now you feel out of place, like a stranger in a new world far from home. You look around and realize there is nothing, you are alone and waiting. You fall to your knees and put your head to the ground. As the tears well in your eyes you smell the burnt ground that you are clinging to, it seems so real, but is it? You think to yourself ‘this can’t be, why here, why now, it must be dream; it must’. Now you wait, for something, anything; maybe help, maybe just a sign of life to give you hope. You realize this is not a dream.  

            These are some of the feelings raised when you look at this pencil drawing by Robin O’Neil. He Fell To Earth was drawn in 2004 and depicts a dark, post-apocalyptic disaster area. O’Neal has done a wonderful job of conveying the loneliness and disparity that the character is feeling. The deeper you look into this drawing, you see the details and are quietly drawn into it. Then thoughts begin to flow as you feel as lost and confused and put yourself into the drawing. If this was intended to be a glimpse into the future, it is chilling at best. If it is an omen to avoid such happenings, look close and you will see what loneliness and sadness truly is. 

 

 

Three Women Walking

By Francisco Zuniga

            Everyday, in every part of the world a struggle takes place. This struggle has been around for generations and will continue for many more. It is the struggle between being who you are and being what you ought to be. In 1981 Francisco Zuniga was perhaps thinking of this when he cast Three Women Walking. This bronze statue on display at Wichita State University appears to be the embodiment of people changing their direction in life. In this instance we see a young lady with her back turned, walking away, from her mother and grandmother. One could set a scenario to this situation of the young woman making a decision that wasn’t well accepted by the other women. She looks confident, head high and shoulders back. She is leaving to carryout her decision or to go somewhere and find acceptance. She is showing her independence and proving to herself and others that she is an adult and can think for herself. The two older women are also walking away, and confident in themselves and their opinions. The middle-aged woman looks back, either at her daughter or over to her mother. She doesn’t want to let her daughter go but she sees the strength in her mothers eyes, and knows she must resist. The grandmother walks looking straight ahead with a bit of a smile. Maybe she remembers this same incident a generation earlier. Or maybe she remembers being the one going out on her own and making a stand on her own behalf. Regardless, the grandmother seems to be the most understanding of the group, and she has the comfort in knowing that this is normal and will bring to light a new beginning. Three Women Walking is a very appropriate piece for W.S.U., symbolizing the struggle for growing, beginning a new life, and becoming your own.  

 

 

Flood o Rusti

By Trenton Doyle Hancock

            Flood o Rusti is an interesting piece that is in the permanent collection at the Ulrich museum of art at Wichita State University. When Trenton Doyle Hancock created this collage in 1974 I wonder what he was thinking about? The piece is quite large at About 5 feet wide by 6 feet tall and is made up of many small bits of felt, acrylic, and plastic. These bits seem to have little or no order to them and some appear completely random. After starring at this piece for some time, I have found that I can make out many different objects. First I see something like a toucan (bird) with a big cartoon like smile, then a peacock to its right and below that a face that look somewhat tribal. Looking more I see a court jester on the left and a picket fence in the middle. I can even see a dartboard and a few Mardi Gras masks and even a dragonfly. The overwhelming reason that I like this piece is that it reminds me of my childhood, its like looking into a large tote with multi colored Lego blocks in it. For some reason it gives me a feeling of comfort.

            This, unlike the other pieces, I can’t seem to find a meaning to. Perhaps what you were meant to see is whatever you want to. Perhaps the idea is that you will find in the piece what you have inside you, making it appeal to everyone. The title of the piece also leaves me with no idea what is intended by the artist. The only thing for sure I get from this collage is that there is an endless amount of items floating around in it. The more you look at it the more you find and the more you want to keep looking. You want to stare at it until you find the hidden picture and meaning. In the end, when it is hanging on the wall in the gallery and someone is staring at it, they become part of the art, just adding more to the piece.