Rural vs. Urban America

Olivia Barbaglia

Growing up in mid-west America, I have realized that America is seemingly divided between urban and rural areas. Some states are heavily populated and have large cities such as Rhode Island, other states have a smaller population density such as Maine. Rural areas tend to have a simple and relaxed environment, while urban areas are fast and complicated. These two ways of living are very contrasted but they have several similarities, such as strong political opinions and being connected by their common humanity. In my work, I show both the similarities and differences, the good and the bad, of rural and urban America.

I’ve noticed in rural areas, there are warmer colors from the crops to brick houses, red barns, and dirt roads. However, in urban areas I see cool colors from concrete, faded graffiti, and smoke, with pops of warmer colors from a building or lighting. I believe certain feelings can be invoked with colors or lack thereof. I keep my rural pieces warm and colorful and hoping the viewer feels relaxed, such as my painting “Determination”. Urban pieces have a cool or monochrome look with the occasional pop of color, to cause the viewer to feel cold, such as “Office Job”. In pieces that include both rural and urban, I use color schemes that I feel will invoke a certain emotion within the viewer. Examples of this would be my paintings “Loss” and “Divided Together”.

My chosen topic has caused me to look at both rural and urban living differently, and with more understanding. Living in a suburban area made me form opinions on both urban and rural areas, some positive and some negative. Living in a suburban area, I see a large spectrum of people when driving down the road, from older men in cowboy hats and flannel shirts, to young women in leather jackets and mohawks. Seeing this large spectrum of people allows me to have a better understanding of how people from seemingly opposite ways of living interact with each other and the world.

Self-Refraction

Jack Thomas

Refraction, the diffusing, distortion, and dispersal of light waves as it passes through a

medium. The mediums of choice in which I refract myself are in fact non traditional self portraits generally fueled by my passionate distaste, disgust, or dismissal. Unlike love or any other positive emotion, rejection is not built up over time, it is more primal, more instinctual than even hate; rejection and disgust are reactions. In a testament to not only the spirit of this body of work, but also to my own personal variety, every piece is in a different style than the others. In an effort to ride the line of what is a self portrait I include at least one physical attribute of myself in each piece, whether it be my eyes, my hands, or even just my silhouette. I am the common denominator holding together the disparate aspects of my shattered being.

In my body of work I focus on not reflecting and capturing my image, but deconstructing

that image. In Rip and Tear, for instance, I painted a traditional self portrait, which in itself is

a complete piece. I ripped it to pieces. It took only five minutes to destroy days worth of

work. The act signifies the driving force of the pieces, the emotional processes involved in the creation of the entire body of work, and the emotional toll it takes to tear apart what I thought was a whole being and pass judgement on the scraps that remain as they are barely recognizable even as the person who wears the face that they portray.

In Burn the Mouse, my silhouette is the physical element of me incorporated into the piece. I explore my rejection of weakness, not only within myself, but in the world around me. The mouse imagery keys in the ties to not only my fear of my own weakness and frailties, but the rampant capitalist mindset. Encoded in the various number sequences, are specific terms tied to what I take issue with society, and the specific list of terms connects to a certain group and ideology I also strongly stand against. The piece represents the fact that weakness as a concept is not weak, but a looming threat, both within ourselves and around us.

Idle Hands explores my rejection of expectations and standards. My whole life I had been raised with the idea that I was special and meant to do great things, but the praise and expectations are a main source of pressure in my life, as I feel as if I’m not living up to those standards. They say idle hands are the devil’s playground. I feel as if I'm not utilizing my gift, I’m falling further and further away from grace and embracing my life I found in the idle hands. The religious imagery ties to not only the line, but to my life as well, as I have also removed myself from my religious upbringing and embraced the force some would call sinister and tempting: the eyes within the hands.

Through the distortion of the artistic mediums I provide clarity. By a deconstruction of the aspects, elements, and relationships that make up my identity and existence, I will construct a clearer exploration and presentation of who I am, what I feel, and how I see myself. My body of works acts as a cathartic experience for me as the artist, and an interesting look into the shattered mirrors that are my self portraits.

Reliquum Tempus

Hannah Jones

My study shows the inevitability of time and change. “Reliquum Tempus” is the Latin phrase translated to “the remaining time”. The concept that everything constantly undergoes change; constantly maturing and differentiating from person to person is what I am expressing.

Time affects everything: nature, humanity, mentality. It changes our physical and mental environment and living comfortably with the changes that life throws is cathartic. Everything has a lifespan and an end; yet the beauty in change is a relatable part of life. The never ending cycle of time, self reflecting and showing growth in mentality is part of becoming a person, and expressing those changes finds newfound beauty. There are multiple aspects to time, past, present and future. Learning to embrace the changes in life and enjoying time in the present is how I happily live.

As the events in my life unfold, I have learned to find the absolute beauty and appreciation for those changes, negative and positive. Using symbolism in both the physical objects and the overall tone of the pieces, I use my art pieces to explain the changes of time and how people grow to learn self reflection.

Each piece has a personal meaning to myself, however I work to make it relatable and create an atmosphere in which people can self reflect to love the present moments. Dealing with loss for example, A Final Goodbye is something everyone will go through, the unfortunate yet human part of life. Nothing will last forever; everything has a limit but one should appreciate the temporary things (such as flowers, or physical objects)and experience the changes life gives. Living life to the fullest capacity, and having experiences rather than material things is what I strive to express through my art.