Amaya
I chose the last piece in her series of what looks like a little girl standing in a field. The color of the photo and the outfit which the child wears makes the photo look like it was shot in the 1950s or later. The child isn’t facing the camera and seems to be looking off to the left of the photo at something the viewer can’t see. Their are what seems to be paint and marker designs on the page in random spots. Some of them are darker than others.
- What is the significance of the marker/paint marks on the photo?
I don’t know what the point of these marks are but they definitely make the piece more interesting and potentially make the photo look older, more worn out, or suspenseful.
- What did Amaya do to this piece to make it her own?
I’m assuming she didn’t take the photo because, as I said, it looks like it was taken before she was born. Maybe she found the photo somewhere and the added the marks on top. If that’s the case, I would love a more in depth written piece, even a poem, to go along with this so that I could understand what I’m looking at.
- What is Amaya’s object?
Honestly I had no idea what her object was when I first looked at the pieces. As I continued on with this writing exercise I discovered it was a camera, but only after reading her artist statement. After discovering what her object was I could better understand her art pieces and see how they connected.
- What is she trying to tell the viewer with this art piece?
I don’t know what she’s trying to say with this piece. I experience a lot of emotions when I look at this photograph. First, I think it’s calming and relaxing, just a child enjoying the outdoors. But the fact that the child is looking off at something kind of creeps me out. The child doesn’t look scared but they stay where they are as they continue looking at something that’s out of the shot. Also the fact that those marks and smudges are on the paper makes me think something bad is going to happen because they resemble smears of blood.
- What can you learn about Amaya from this piece?
She’s definitely trying to tell the viewer something in this piece but I can’t put my finger on it. After discovering that her object is a camera, I’m going to conclude that she likes taking photos, and that she’s fascinated with this old camera that she found.
When I see this art piece, I’m reminded of family photos of my grandparents and my mom when they were younger. The fact that taking photos with color wasn’t discovered yet makes it feel like their lives were so different then mine. I feel very detached and unable to relate when I see photos without color. However it also makes me curious about the lives they lived and how different or similar they are to mine. The photo itself seems very concrete, just a child looking at something in the distance, however the marks on top of the photo make me question if the piece is representational. Are the marks supposed to aid in understanding that something bad happened after this photo was taken based on the dramatic and harsh lines? I like the piece because it keeps me guessing, however I would like to better understand the point and intent of this piece. If I truly understood the piece I would recommend something.
