artf155a-thspring24

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Hello and welcome to my curated exhibition for ARTF 155A - Spring 24! My name is Thomas, and this is my gallery, Tumblr Confuses Me But Here Is Some Art.

This exhibition is called The Spiral of Being, and it is about the transformative stages of life and the depths of the human condition. This was a very difficult project for me to put together as it was abstract, and I find abstract thought to be tough sometimes. But I looked at hundreds of images and found 10 that really captured the different stages of existence. The featured artists are Lori Ellison, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Ray Yoshida, Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, Jacques Lipchitz, Louise Bourgeois, Yoshitomo Nara, Salvador Dalí, Käthe Kollwitz, and Vasily Kandinsky.

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The statement of The Spiral of Being is showcasing the cyclical journey of life. We follow a soul's passage from the ethereal to the corporeal and back. In this passage, we explore consciousness, identity, independence, emotion, perception, and eternity. It is a celebration of the legacy we weave and the silent metamorphosis that shapes our existence. I looked for images that represented different stages of life in a way that wasn't readily apparent. Each artist contributes a unique perspective and a single point on the spectrum of experience and transformation that makes up the universal human odyssey.

You are invited to ponder, reflect, and connect with the transformation that defines us all.

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Lori Ellison

Untitled (Notebook Drawing)

Ballpoint pen on notebook paper

10 3/4 x 8 1/4" (27.3 x 21 cm)

Lori Ellison often worked with intricate, repetitive patterns to explore themes of meditation and internal dialogue. I felt that this piece represents the initial spark of consciousness and thought. The mesmerizing patterns symbolize the mind weaving thoughts from the aether into tangible essence. Ellison's meticulous detail and use of simple pen and notebook paper also felt like a great place to start, as it represents a simple beginning but clearly has unexplored depth. The perfect representation of life before life. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/118155

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Sandra Vásquez de la Horra

National Hero (El Heroe nacional)

Pencil and wax on paper

19 1/4 × 13 1/2" (48.9 × 34.3 cm)

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra often draws on her Chilean background and cultural heritage to create deeply personal pieces. She created an image here of Arturo Prat's final stand in the battle of Iquique, one that became legend after Prat's death. I felt that this piece represents our formative stages of identity construction. The figure is without detail, merely an outline of an idea. It is leaping off a ship into the unknown, similar to how we start forming our identities the moment we are thrust into the world, prepared or not. Sure, there is a general outline of who we can be, but it will be our experiences that end up defining us. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/273577

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Ray Yoshida

Untitled (Figure in profile)

Felt-tip pen on paper

11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm)

Ray Yoshida often explored the relationship between objects and their meanings. This image shows a figure whose identity merges with and emerges from a patterned backdrop. To me, this represents how our cultural and societal contexts help shape our identity. We are all made of the things that surround us, and we use them to start defining our outline into something with more substance. We start to see what gets brought with us from the external influences we are surrounded by. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/165525

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Charles Hossein Zenderoudi

K+L+32+H+4. Mon père et moi (My Father and I)

Felt-tip pen, colored ink, crayon, and metallic paint on paper on board

89 x 58 5/8" (225.9 x 148.7 cm)

Charles Hossein Znedoudi's piece is a dialogue between past and present, exploring familial bonds and the legacies that shape us. I felt that this perfectly represents the transmission of cultural and personal identities through generations. As children, we are often who our parents want us to be, and like it or not, we carry with us what they gave us. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/36253

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Jacques Lipchitz

Untitled from Flight

Lithograph from a portfolio of eleven lithographs and one screenprint

composition (irreg.): 21 1/2 × 14 1/4" (54.6 × 36.2 cm); sheet: 25 1/2 × 20" (64.8 × 50.8 cm)

This image represents a moment of transformation and ascent, symbolizing the struggle for personal freedom and independence. As the figure carries on, it has with it an enraged creature who wishes to be free and on its own. It embodies the moment where the child grows up and needs to break away and redefine themselves. moma.org/collection/works/89324

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Louise Bourgeois

Study for Female from Male and Female

Pencil, ink, carbon, and ink

sheet: 14 7/16 x 9" (36.6 x 22.8 cm)

Louise Bourgeois's "Study for Female from Male and Female" represents a stage in life after being out on one's own, where they start to question everything they knew growing up. It explores gender identity and inner conflict. It reflects the internal transformation and growth that happens as a young adult. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/136147

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Yoshitomo Nara

OH! MY GOD! I MISS YOU.

Synthetic polymer paint and pencil on printed paper

20 x 14 1/4" (50.8 x 36.2 cm)

Yoshitomo Nara blends innocence with insurgency in this piece. The solitary figure conveys a deep sadness, resonating with loss and longing and a tint of anger. Perhaps a moment of depression after being nostalgic for one's childhood, or the loss of a relationship, or maybe the realization of the death of a parent. This piece was chosen for its visceral portrayal of emotional transformation. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/89360

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Salvador Dalí

Limp Cranes and "Cranian" Harp

Etching

plate: 14 1/2 x 11 13/16" (36.9 x 30 cm); sheet 18 15/16 x 14 3/4" (48 x 37.4 cm)

I felt that this piece represented the changing of our subconscious and the transformation of our perception over time. Every time we think we know what we are doing and how the world works, we are shown again that we know almost nothing and must shift our perception of the events and world around us. Life is a constant evolution of changing ideas and challenging our perception of what is known. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/68852

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Käthe Kollwitz

Death Seizes a Woman (Tod packt eine Frau), plate 4 from the series Death (Tod) 1934

Lithograph

composition (irreg.): 19 15/16 x 14 1/2" (50.7 x 36.8 cm); sheet: 25 1/4 x 20 7/8" (64.1 x 53.1 cm)

This is the ultimate transformation -- death. This powerful depiction of mortality invites contemplation on our finality and the profound transformation that accompanies our end. Everything we have done up to this point has defined our reality and shaped our identity, but in the end, we all have the same transformation. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/117570

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Vasily Kandinsky

Orange

Lithograph

composition: 15 15/16 x 15 1/8" (40.5 x 38.4 cm); sheet: 18 7/8 x 17 3/8" (48 x 44.2 cm)

This represents the culmination of our journey. We've transformed from thoughts coalesced from the aether, created a sense of identity, carried on the traditions of our family and the society we were birthed into, broke free to become our own selves, questioned everything, endured loss, continuously evolved, and finally ceased to be. So what comes next? Perhaps an existence where there is no boundary between thought, reality, and the ethereal. We return to where we were at the beginning but with a bit more experience in our energy. This piece was chosen for its embodiment of the final non-physical essence of transformation, returning to the intangible, ready to be drawn into thought and experience life once again. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/70099

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By organizing an exhibition of works by various artists, I learned about the balance between individual expression and collective harmony. Each piece stands alone, yeah, but also contributes to a larger narrative. The flow of the exhibition is incredibly important when trying to tell a story, and I went through several iterations before I was happy with the order it went in. One work must lead to another for the story to unfold visually and thematically. Had this been a physical exhibit, I think I would have presented it in a circular room, with the cycle ending at the beginning. Figuring out a theme and then finding works that spoke to it was probably the most difficult part. Transformation and life are universally resonant, but each life and transformation is unique, so how do I select art that can encompass everything? And how to organize it to balance the aesthetic impact with intellectual engagement? The easiest part was writing up why each piece felt like it belonged in the exhibit and what it meant to me. I think a great discovery was how art from different times and in different mediums can still be part of a larger dialogue, and play off of each other. The human experience is something as old as humanity, and artists have grappled with it in personal but universally understandable ways for ages.