Symbols of Endurance: A Cultural Collage

1040 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Use of Symbolism

Planting An Idea Beginning with a seed and a leaf as his inspiration, artist Marlon Griffith creates artwork for his first solo exhibition, Symbols of Endurance (Gallery Booklet, 2015). From rough sketches to large mixed media installations Symbols of Endurance showcases a wide variety of works by Griffith. In Symbols of Endurance, Griffith successfully incorporates cultural representation, showcases talent from all across Toronto, and welcomes persons with disabilities. Ultimately, Symbols of Endurance is a powerful exhibition that effectively celebrates Canada’s diverse community. Foremost, the representation of different cultures is evident in Symbols of Endurance. The exhibit is based on the procession, Ring of Fire (AGYU Fall Newsletter, 2015). Processions are performances that bring a cultural presence of a particular group to the city. Unlike any other procession, Ring of Fire was a collaboration of different cultural groups coming together for the Parapan American Games in the city of Toronto. The procession took place on August 9th, 2015 from Queen’s Park to City Hall (AGYU Fall Newsletter, 2015). Amongst the many groups that contributed to make Ring of Fire possible, Griffith worked with members …show more content…

Symbols of Endurance is an all-encompassing exhibit that features disability dancers from Picasso PRO and Equal Grounds (AGYU Fall Newsletter, 2015). These dancers are seen on the walls of gallery two. There is a life-size projection of the dancers from the procession. By restaging elements such masks and pieces worn by the performers from Ring of Fire the gallery space is transformed. The installations in gallery two are successfully arranged without feeling overwhelming. This projection allows for an inviting experience. Although the video displays crowds of dancers and performers, the dimly lit room makes viewing the artwork

Show More
Related

  • Jacob Lawrence’s Direct and Dramatic Paintings

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Herberholz, Barbara. "Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression." Arts and Activities 129.1 (2001): 12. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Postmodern artists Mike Parr and Stelarc

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    People usually expect to see paintings and sculptures in Art Galleries. Imagine the surprise one finds when they are presented with a man stitching his face into a bizarre caricature, or connected to a machine which controls the artist’s body. These shocking pieces of performance art come under the broad umbrella that is Postmodernism. Emphasis on meaning and shock value has replaced traditional skills and aesthetic values evident in the earlier Modernist movements.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron Rhetorical Analysis

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Moreover, within the text, the significance of symbolism is apparent as there are indications of the presence of different handicaps. Notably, those with above average physical attributes and above average intelligence are required by law to wear handicaps. Thus, the application and enforcement of handicaps are metaphors for sameness, because individuals with advantageous traits are limited and refrained from using their bodies and brains to their maximum abilities, for that is considered to be unfair to those who does not possess the same level of capability. Several main examples of handicaps includes “...47 pounds of birdshot… ear radios… spectacles intended to make [one] not only half blind but to [provide] whanging headaches”. Therefore, the intensity of the handicaps is a sign of the government’s seriousness in the field of administering disabilities onto their own citizens. Unfortunately, in order to maintain the sickly “equality”, the people are stripped off of their freedom. When announcers are unable to speak properly, and ballerinas are unable to dance properly, and musicians unable to perform properly, and people are unable to formulate thoughts properly — it is not a matter of equality, but a matter how low society

    Read More

  • One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Lynda Barry." Lynda Barry: Spring 2012 Interdisciplinary Artist in Residence. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Victoria Marks's 'Mothers And Daughters'

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victoria Marks’ most recent contemporary dance pieces all were fascinating, but the two that drew me in the most were “Men” and “Mothers And Daughters”. Both of these pieces made in the spring of 2014, focus on the idea of celebrating the life you have been given, leaving your mark on the world, and getting the most out of every opportunity you have to be with someone you care about. Victoria Marks is a dance professor at UCLA, who also choreographs dances for the stage, and films. “Marks’ recent work has considered the politics of citizenship, as well as the representation of both virtuosity and disability. These themes are part of her ongoing commitment to locating dance-making within the sphere of political meaning.” Marks in both films “Men” and “Mothers And Daughters” believes that , "Your Dancing ability does not matter because we are all differently-abled", which is why she used both trained and untrained actors to create these two pieces of art.

    Read More

  • Trauma and Recovery in Art

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    I look to other artists for inspiration and affirmation in regards to my work. I am certainly not the first artist to portray ideas of the body and its fragility. Hannah Wilke, whose work dealt with ideas of beauty and vulnerability, is perhaps one of more influential artists for me. While her work greatly differs from mine, I believe that fundamentally she was asking similar questions of society through her work as I am. When I first saw her work, I felt f...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Andy Noble's Barrier

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dance can be described as an art that can express meaning through movement. The dance video “Barrier” by NobleMotion Dance was performed at the City Wide Dance Festival in 2009. “Barrier” is a well known theatrical dance used to please others. The choreographer of “Barrier”, Andy Noble uses two dancers to describe a romance that is trying to overcome a dark place in their relationship, together they reveal that love conquers all using the choreographic elements space, time and energy. The choreographic element space refers to the amount of space or distance that the dancer’s body moves.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ohad Naharin's Deca Dance

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    The stress of always doing the same day-to-day routine eventually causes someone to break. In Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance, the second piece, features a large group of dancers in suits who stand in a semi-circle with a chair sitting directly behind each person. The dancers use tension and looseness in their movements as well as use different aspects of timing to perform a repetitive sequence that shows how the same patterns lead to breaking free from confinement within themselves.

    Read More

  • Natasha Trethewey: The Cathartic Use Of Visual Art

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since its emergence over 30,000 years ago, one of visual art’s main purposes has been to act as an instrument of personal expression and catharsis. Through the mastery of paint, pencil, clay, and other mediums, artists can articulate and make sense of their current situation or past experiences, by portraying their complex, abstract emotions in a concrete form. The act of creation gives the artist a feeling of authority or control over these situations and emotions. Seen in the work of Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo, Jean Michel-Basquiat, and others, artists’ cathartic use of visual art is universal, giving it symbolic value in literature. In Natasha Trethewey's Native Guard, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,

    Read More

  • The Red Tent - An Unforgettable Testimony to Women’s Strength and Power

    3864 Words  | 8 Pages

    Images inspired by Diamant’s work flooded my conscious. Perhaps I was experiencing flashes of my rememory, my collective unconscious coming to life on the paper in front of me. However, it was not just The Red Tent providing me with stimulation, but other works such as Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf, Mary Oliver’s “The Fish,” Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party” and The Book of Genesis. Each work embodied themes of childbirth and motherhood to self-love and social standing, in which I could find connections that affected me creatively. Aesthetically, I intended my visual art to be full and consistent in texture and fecund in my use of sensuous lines. My hope is to celebrate women and the strength that comes from battling adversity, challenge, victimization and in actualizing the power of childbirth. In all of these works, a connection is made: these are stories of women that need to be remembered and cel...

    Read More

  • The Art Of Survival

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    For most people, survival is just a matter of putting food on the table, making sure that the house payment is in on time, and remembering to put on that big winter coat. Prisoners in the holocaust did not have to worry about such things. Their food, cloths, and shelter were all provided for them. Unfortunately, there was never enough food, never sufficient shelter, and the cloths were never good enough. The methods of survival portrayed in the novels Maus by Art Spieglmen and Night by Elie Wiesel are distinctly different, but undeniably similar.

    Read More

  • Judith Butler Sex And Disability

    2333 Words  | 5 Pages

    Judith Butler’s essay “Performative Acts and Gender Construction: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” explains and explores the performativity of gender, and problematizes Simone de Beauvoir’s understanding of “What is a Woman?” Riva Leher, artist and author, reflects on the intersections between sex and disability in a personal essay, “Golem Girl Gets Lucky.” Both texts aid us in exploring how we must examine disability as a feminist issue, since oppressive forces faced by women are part of the same social construction as the forces which oppressed disabled people.

    Read More

  • Art - A Culturally Constructed Myth

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having realized art as a structured cultural phenomenon, and having emptied its direct and apparent meaning, it is possible to identify all its possible significations. Interestingly enough, I find that art reveals many diametrically opposed significations: expression and oppression, bias and acceptance, individual and society, creativity and confinement, and freedom and convention, among others. Art signifies the de-politicization of our culture, for even the most political of pieces cease to cause a stir among the masses.

    Read More

  • Ballet Dancer Essay

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    A ballet dancer’s general intention when performing any piece is to convey a message to the audience. A message is relayed through the dancer’s strategic facial expressions and body movements. Each movement has a purpose in articulating the dancer’s energy, and confidence within themselves to express the emotions and inspire the audience (Lucas). A dancer’s energy and

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Dance Performance

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, the performers are constituted with same number of men and women. They imply the importance of equality through the performance. The female and male dancers use the same movements to show that they are equal. The message being conveyed here is important, on the grounds of its social influence and giving the whole performance a deeper meaning. The thing makes dancing different and odd to other occupations is the fact that most famous and well known dancers are mostly females, since on other social circumstances males tend to dominate more realms. Here, besides all the female masters, the male dancers appear as much as the female artists do and they also showcase what they are capable of. As I watched more of the performance, the interactions between dancers and the LED lights became more appealing to me. Dancers use their bodies to interpret the connections between human beings and technology. Moreover, the background music also plays a vital role in the production of this whole piece of art. The tempo of the music, the dance movements, as well as the frequency of the lights going on and off together appeared to the audience as a desirable combination. I love how the dancers do every movements according to the rhythm of the music and how they two fit perfectly. All of those things together made a great show to watch and

    Read More

More about Symbols of Endurance: A Cultural Collage

Open Document