Then & Now

When I was younger, arts and crafts were my favorite thing in the world.  I was always coming up with new ideas and making new messes... When I was really little, finger painting, or rather body painting, as you can see in this picture, was my style of choice.  It then progressed to coloring and painting real pictures, making jewelry out of those giant plastic beads, making bookmarks and cards with the thousands of stickers my grandma supplied me with, and making clothes out of anything I could get my hands on.  I'd say not much has changed, although I'd like to think my artwork has become a little more sophisticated. 

Blue Sky Gallery- Image Analysis

Blue Sky Gallery

Maria José D’Amico: Bien de Familia #32

This is a photo of what seems to be a child’s abandoned bedroom. The wall is dirty and covered in drawings, and there is a box of old toys left open.

To me the most striking aspect of the piece is the drawings on the wall.  You can tell this used to be a little kids room, and for some reason that makes it more eerie to me than if it were an adult’s room.  Also, the drawing of the A inside a circle in the top left corner, is a symbol for anarchy, rebellion against government.  I’m not sure if that’s what the person who drew it intended for it to be, but it’s interesting to me.

The photograph makes me feel sad, and I wonder what happened to the little kid that lived in that room, whether their family had a choice of leaving their house or not.  José D’Amico’s “Bien de Familia” show is all about what’s left of abandoned houses, and this photograph in particular makes me think about what the family living in this house was life.

The whole show makes me think about the families that inhabited the places in the photographs, and why the houses are abandoned.

I thought the lighting in all the pieces was interesting, so I might experiment with similar lighting in my future work.