December 16, 2009
Writing Assignment DHR#1 Art 7a Beginning Drawing and Composition
Masako Miki, Sometimes It’s Better Not Knowing Too Much I, 2009
While browsing the SRJC gallery, this 22” x 30” narrative collage stood out to me. The bundle of boxes and the deer are arranged centrally on the page. They form two dominate areas that my eyes are conflictingly drawn to, wondering if the deer is aware of the danger. The gifts suspended insecurely in a loose bundle above the deer suggest mixed feelings of excitement, curiosity, suspense, and danger. The angular squares of the wrapped boxes are balanced by the smooth curving shapes of the containing ropes – just as the angles of the antlers are balanced by the smooth curve of the deer’s back. A similarity in the two dominant areas is established: the shape of the deer and the shape of the loops of rope; the rope branching out like an antler.
I’m reminded of the human relationship to the planet’s fragile ecosystem, the threat that blind consumerism holds over nature. This deer -- a symbol of gentleness in Native American culture -- has adult antlers, though he also has the spots of a fawn – another subtle conflict? or a hint that the fawn will survive and live to adulthood? I ask myself, “What do the colorful boxes contain? What surrounds the deer in the space around it? Is it trapped?”. I realize that the deer is also us.
I’m left with questions, and the title of the piece then addresses that by saying, “Sometimes it’s better not knowing....”
Tags
art (21), essay (2), painting (10), srjc (3)
Arianna Helen