“Metaphoric Tactical Displacements”, 2020, Digital Illustration
Two 3D generated figures dressed in special ops / tactical gear are placed into an art gallery. The viewer of the image is provoked to ponder what the circumstances are that brought together this “situation?” The frame is in mid-sequence appearing to be paused from its motion as we observe a seemingly ceaselessness of the characters. The art work on the wall is subjective, yet colorful, energetic and benevolent. It appears to be resembling a character from an animated film or a video game. It is familiar yet not completely objective. Is it the art work itself that is displaced in this image? Or is the image as a whole a representation or a reflection of something much closer to present day reality?
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The first thing that drew me to to the art was the vibrant colors. Whenever I visit a museum, I always look for appealing pieces and this piece would have definitely drawn me in.
One thing about these appealing pieces is that they can be confusing- and this is the case here for me. Usually, if confused, I’d just read the informational card but there is none here so my imagination is running wild.
The image on the wall for some reason reminds me of “Garfield.”
For the two characters, one appears to be standing in a position as if he was holding an overhead microphone while the other appears to have been running but was so mesmerized by the image on the wall that he’s trying to bring himself to a halt.
Art is such a funny thing because the interpretations are always so insane, so I am sure my interpretation is not close to what the creator had in mind- but this is what I see.
Well said! Thanks so much. Lol, now I cant unsee Garfield! :))) Fun!
This is a great piece of art! What immediately draws me to the art piece is the center, because of its bright colors. With its blunt rounded edges, the intricate center piece is mesmerizing inevitably. It reminds me of the eye at the top of the pyramid that’s on the back of a dollar bill. It captures your attention instantly and with its lively colors, draws you in.
The two special ops geared characters seem astound by what they came across. Their bodily expressions makes you think of their shocked expressions and inconceivable attitude towards the center piece of work. It’s almost as if the center art piece is provoking their actions.
Overall, the piece works beautifully. It brings out an unimaginable amount thoughts and various emotions. It is artistic!
Wonderful! Thanks so much!
I absolutely love the vibrant colors in this artwork. I enjoy the dynamic of the character-like illustration with the background containing the different array of colors. The combination of colors, especially with the cartoonish pink, reminds me of a famous Nintendo character called Kirby. I can imagine this illustration being used professionally as a video game asset or even in an animated feature.
One other thing I adore about this image is the use of both 2D art and 3D models because there it creates creative contrast. The two special ops characters, both of which are 3D models, seem mesmerized by the art, both having over the top, comical reactions of excitement. The one on the left has his arms up in the air in joy and the one on the right looks like his “eyes are popping out” by the way he is bending forward. It’s also important to note that the dark outfits worn by these spec op characters really make the illustration stand out, but do not devalue their vivid expressions.
This piece of art is effectively portrays vibrant colors, expressive gestures and emotions, and refreshing contrast. Overall, this artwork is amazing and really speaks to me as both an avid gamer and a pursuing artist!
The artwork I would say is very interesting and has a variety of colors. In addition from my point of view I can see many things going on all at once. First the middle section, the colors give me carnival vibes and a one eyed creature welcoming you to a creepy carnival. The second thing was the two people and there shadow silhouettes. The first guys shadow looks like a horse kicking and having his two front legs up and the second shadow is a motorcycle. Overall very creative and nice storytelling to really feel something!
Excellent! Thanks so much for the great response!
It is like the two guys were competing to get first into the beam of colors projected by the artistic element. But, this is the way their ombrages integrate them as part of the system, more than the floor, that draws me. Also, you feel kind of surprise effect from the image which would be imperceptible without the two tactical figures…..
Well said! Thanks so much for insightful response! I now see the beams of color as a āportalā into another dimension!
I had to really look at it for a while to gage my feelings about this image. The art work in the background and the two guys in tactical gear are juxtapose to each other with the contrasting light and dark colors. Yet, I feel there is a deeper metaphors to this image. At first glance I saw the image as a representation of joy and playfulness with the bright almost florissant colors from the artwork, the two video game characters that look like there from Counter Strike or PUBG. Innocent is how I would describe it.
Then after a couple minutes I let my mind wonder as I looked at it to see what other connections my brain would make. Then I made a darker connection to the image that really fits into what is going on in the real world. When your looking at the image your eye get immediately drawn to the bright colors and it feels like a distraction to the two characters. Think about it. They are in tactical gear and the guy on the right looks like he is about attack the guy on the left. It’s actually pretty chaotic but since it’s paused it looks more innocent but it really looks like world war 3 is about to go down.
I made the conclusion that the image to me represent a combination of everyone being in their homes which I would consider a controlled environment. The artwork in the background are kind if like the rose tinted glasses we created to escape from reality. We watch Netflix and play video games to detach ourselves from reality and those tactical gear video game characters are a representation of the madness happening just outside our windows. The pandemic, protest, violence, racial injustice, police brutality, the elections, Trump himself. This is the image we create in our head so we don’t lose our minds from the stress and anxiety that hidden in the back of our minds.
I mean I could be going to deep, but I kind of let my imagination take over on this one. so it is what is.
This is so spot on, Saul! Thanks so much for the awesome insight into this piece! Truth!
The first thing i thought of is two adults inner child is coming out. The colors are putting them in a trance the same way kids are when they are if they were in some way wearing virtual reality helmets. They are reacting to whatever they are experiencing in the game. The bright colors keep them wanting to play the person on the left appears to have done the game whereas the person on the right lost the game and is visibly upset.
Love this! Great connection to the “Inner Child” idea! Thank you!
Thanks so much! Attacking the painting, or protecting themselves from it? Or both? Metaphors! š Thank you!
Wow! really cool! As I’m looking at this work, I’m imaging this displayed at a museum in a very spacious wall. To me it seems like there’s there’s two characters more like G.I Joe toys, which are action figures, you may not be familiar to G.I Joes but it definitely reminds me of those actions figures. Lastly, It looks like they are getting ready to jump into the set of colors!
Cool! Love the action figures perspective!
My first reaction to the image was confusion, but as I stared at the piece longer, I realize that the author may have try to convey a message of consciousness as we fight our inner demons, we forget that our actions cause a reaction. As the art look like an eye representing awareness and consciousness. Also, the two charaters could be one person facing inner turmoil, hence the reaction. In terms of being a visual representation of something much closer to present-day reality, a lot of people are facing challenges regarding health, financial security and etc. This image represents that turmoil and the everyday battle a person might face and being conscious of the circumstances while dealing with the issues within. That was my take of the image.
Wow awesome and well said!!
When I first saw this picture my thought to myself was ” HUH” but as I analyzed deeper I was able to notice a few things. I instantly thought aboutthe movie Fat Albert, In the movie when his time was up in the real world he started faiding away. Albert had to fight those around him who did not want him to go back into character form.He had to make sure he was able to jump back into the television before he completed fanished. Looking at the man on the right side his body is angled in a way of which it looks like he running into the middle of the red dot which is in the center of the art work as if it was a vortex time lapse.What automatically attracted me to the art is its vivid colors. The two characters of special ops, that are 3D models, appear to be facinated by the art.
Excellent! Thank you!
For some reasons the artwork above reminded me of an SCP foundation task force agent, I then noticed the vibrant colors which for some reason in my mind looks like a small character from a game flying, the two little yellow dots are his hands to help see the perspective, the vibrant colors behind the character is the vibrant colors he leaves behind in his flight path. Stepping back you look at the solid background, 2 seperate colors, white and wooden floors, gives you a calming view if you remove everything else. Now place the two agents, they look they might trying to show dominance over each other, we can say two negatives unfolding, now add the vibrant colors, which I feel is a positive object coming through both negatives, interestingly enough in a realist perspective we can say how in life we can be a quiet environment yet negative thoughts attack you from left and right but there’s always that one positive object that stands between both. Wonder what that is for you. Nevertheless a very beautiful image that possibly has millions of meanings with the mix of objects presented. Truly brilliant!
Well said! Love the strategic assessment here! Thank you so much! I must admit, the juxtaposition of the elements involved here are supposed to be contradictory, but then as we look deeper we see this around us in so many ways. It become reflective to each individual and a narrative exapnds from there š
Art is objective we all see one piece differently and when we discuss and share we can each begin to see a little bit what the other person saw as well, this to me makes art AWESOME!!!! In this piece for sure the vibrant colors draw me in, but what keeps me starting are the men who appear to be from an action movie who were frozen in mid scene by the art that appeared out of nowhere. The man on the left seemed to have raised his hands in victory while the man on the right may have been getting ready to charge and stopped mid-attack by the colorful piece of art. The men are also in dark clothes which also for me show we fight each other and sometimes in the middle of a battle out of nowhere there is brightness that will appear and make you stop and take pause.
Agreed! Well said, Janett! The subjectivity of it all as a whole gets us all reflecting and seeing the many layers!
It took me a good 10 minutes of looking at this to develop a narrative of what I thought was going on. I was immediately drawn in by the vibrant colors of what looks to be like a video game sprite. The vertical lines of color that are attached to the sprite make it look as if it is moving upwards, maybe to dodge an incoming attack from the two men? Maybe this is sort of like a final boss level? Maybe I, the viewer, am player #3?
Awesome perspective!!
I love this art, it leaves a lot for the viewer to imagine. For me I think this looks like two people arguing over the art wrote in the middle. I love that the people are in black for me meaning that the opinion they have does not matter but what that really matters is the art which is shown in full color.
Thanks so much!