Artist Maya Barkai's "Men at Work" takes on the idea of the "universal man" by taking street icons from across the world and displaying them with all their similarities and differences. By placing them around New York City in public installations, the artist forces the public to see the recognizable, yet slightly different icons in the context where they see the one with which they are familiar. They are forced to see them contrast and compare in a similar setting to which they had grown accustomed. Because of this they do not take on a new special meaning, as they might if installed in a gallery, so the viewer compares the icons as they would an everyday object. Not seeking something particularly deep, but on a more literal level.
What are the real fundamental differences of these very similar pictures and in turn, what is really that different between the people who recognize them?
I think it is a very clever comment on our ideas of race and culture, pointing out that we have different symbols or beliefs that stand in place of the same ideas...we are not all that different when it get's down to it, despite the vast differences in appearance...or at least thats what I took from it...read the article below.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576359343185712246.html
No comments:
Post a Comment