Vanitas- #Blacklivesmatter” 
2020

 “Mother and Child”

During my time at the Extraordinary still life exhibition in the Visual Arts Gallery, curated Midori Yoshimoto, the gallery showcased a variety of different works that had different concepts, meaning, and perceptions. The gallery displayed a diversity of work from different artists such as Ashley Lyon, Nakeya Brown, Lina Puerta and many other talented artists. I truly enjoyed the different concepts all displayed around the room and how each piece truly held their own story that connected with the artist. Although all of the works shown in the Gallery struck out to me in their own way, I truly admired the meaning and concept behind the Piece titled “Mother and Child” By Ashley Lyon. The work is a fired clay sculpture replicated after a physical piece of rope the artist saved from her boat, she had been living in. The work represents the relationship between mother and child and how the relationship between the two will always be permanent and ongoing. During my time in the exhibition Lyon state “The relationship between a mother and child is like a knotted rope. As much as u try to untether the rope, it’s difficult because it will always gets knotted again. A mother and child’s relationship are the same, sometimes as a mother you have those day where you want to through your kid away,but the bond will not untethered and the nurturing feeling of a mother will always be there.” The artist connects her own personal relationship with her child to the object. Another piece that also caught my eye with its powerful meaning and strong concept was Margaret Murphey’s 2020 oil on wood panel piece titled “Vanitas- #Blacklivesmatter”.  

In Murphey’s 2020 oil on wood panel piece titled “Vanitas- #Blacklivesmatter” the artist speaks about the social injustice of police brutality and the number of deaths it has caused. The focus point of the piece is of a large bouquet of flowers in a large green vase. The color palette chosen for the piece holds a variety of vibrant colors mainly depicted in the flowers, the background is of black empty negative space. As viewers get a closer look at Murphey’s work your able to notice pieces of small papers Falling down from each flower. Each paper labeling the name of victims of police brutality such as George Floyd and many others. I believe in doing this the artist wanted to hold a great remembrance of the innocent people killed through her work and also mark the injustices going on in society through her art. I believe the vibrant flowers represents the bright beautiful lives lost to police brutality and the dimmed names on the small pieces of paper and dark background represents the after effects of those injustices’ events and how they affect the families of these victims as well as the community and society. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be sensed. By referencing those tragic events in her work, I believe the artist wanted to display the importance of remembering these events through her work by permanently displaying it on canvas for others to view as the years pass. In the beginning of her excerpt Susan Sontag states “Humankind lingers unregenerately in Plato's cave, still reveling, its age-old habit, in mere images of the truth.” I think this quote correlates with the idea of how objects throughout the years tell stories of the pass. I truly believe like marked caves and historic objects; Murphey’s work will be looked at by the next generation and generations after for many years as it captures an important event in history.

I believe both pieces correlate to the idea and topic of object permanence. During this semester we have focused on the importance of objects such as art and photography. Although it may not be seen at first glance, objects hold great value as they mark important millstones, memories, and historic events. Although Ashley Lyon and Margaret Murphy’s work represent two different themes and topics, both objects hold great value. In the excerpt On Photography Susan Sontag also explains this idea of the importance of object permanence, she goes on to say that for some this may not be seen as important but in hindsight physical objects hold great value.  In her excerpt she states this through an example stating “two sluggish lumpen-peasants are lured into joining the King's Army by the promise that they will be able to loot, rape, kill, or do whatever else they please to the enemy, and get rich. But the suitcase of booty that Michel-Ange and Ulysse triumphantly bring home, years later, to their wives turns out to contain only picture postcards, hundreds of them, of Monuments, Department Stores, Mammals, Wonders of Nature, Methods of Transport, Works of Art, and other classified treasures from around the globe.” I chose a image of me and my mother as my self image. I felt that the Mother and child  piece connected to my self image. Both tell the story of a mother and child relationship and the bond between the two. Like the piece the image displays that same concept of  how the relationship between the two will always be permanent and ongoing.

“Mother & Daughter”