Wangechi Mutu - Nicole Corvi
Wangechi Mutu: Forensic Forms, 2004
My interpretation
1. "The work of Kenyan-born Wangechi Mutu features gorgeously grotesque creatures that range from amusingly freakish to macabre. Using ink and collage on Mylar or paper, she combines humans, animals and machines in seamless and commanding compositions full of small moments of discovery and random elements that may betray only an oblique relation to the overall image," (Cash 2023).
2. "Many viewers simply admire her fantastical compositions and never deduce the subtle critique at play. It’s hard to deny the work’s sheer visual delight." (Cash 2023).
I think the way that Cash explains how Mutu creates her artworks makes them a lot more interesting. Mutu's collages are chaotic, emotional, confusing, familiar; they draw the viewer in through obscure decoration. Even when there are stories or deeper meanings within her pieces the captivation of the surface overrules the work as a whole.
Ways of Seeing (ch. 4&5) - John Berger
1. "The art of any period tends to serve the ideological interests of the ruling class," (Berger 86)
2. "Landscape, of all the categories of oil painting, is the one to which our argument applies least," (Berger 104)
How to See the World (ch. 2) - Nicholas Mirzoeff
1. "Simons attributes this to what he calls 'inattentional blindness,' the inability to perceive outside information when concentrating on a task," (Mirzoeff 76)
2. "It turns out, according to recent research, that this is because there are two streams of brain activity; one for perception and one for action (Nassi and Callaway 2009)," (Mirzoeff 92)
Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books, 1972.
Cash, Stephanie. “From the Archives: Wangechi Mutu Dresses Cultural Critique in Freakishly Beautiful Disguises.” ARTnews.Com, ARTnews.com, 1 Feb. 2023, www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/wangechi-mutu-dresses-cultural-critique-freak-beautiful-disguises-1234655195/.
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. How to See the World. Basic Books, 2016.
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