The small exhibition featured a selection of greyscale,
ambiguous images. The theme ‘naming’ united the collection and really made me
think about how we use language. So many major works by influential artists
rely on text: from Barbara Kruger’s intimidating poster-like pieces to Bruce
Nauman’s provocative neon messages- but would these pieces mean anything without
the viewer’s participation in the work, bringing their own assumptions and
interpretations to the text?
Therefore the indistinct style of Lynch’s paintings make
them rely heavily on the audience’s own opinions of the meaning behind the
scratched disjointed words. Each painting features a limited number of words,
often innocent and childish for instance “dog” and “man” juxtaposed with more
obscure, mysterious mark making in black paint. The vagueness of the text
allows room for a more sinister reading of the images by avoiding the rational
and the blunt. Fearful emotions are triggered by the feel of the paintings
resulting in the simple words connoting much darker personal meanings.
I find the ambiguity of this really interesting because it
makes each person’s response to the work unique and the uncomfortable aspect is
something I would like to create with my own word-based work. By taking the
beauty slogans found in the media and removing them from this pop culture
environment I intend to challenge what the audience feels are acceptable
statements, revealing the vapid and degrading nature of beauty advertising.
The exhibition also featured photographs that pictured
somewhat bleak scenes of contemporary life; logos and company names prominent
in the images. The businesses look closed and vehicles abandoned against the
grey skies, with no figures present to refute this. What do the names signify given this desolate
context? Does our perception of simple words change based on the atmosphere? Are
we to believe that the diner is a diner, purely because a collection of letters
is presented overhead?
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