Hypnosis

Hypnosis

The subject for my final are eyes that look like they are in hypnosis. I wanted to focus on the spectacle and how images we see on social media puts us in a hypnosis as well as how it is hard to look away from the spectacle. For the eyes, I lined them in thick black strokes with swirls in the eyes to make them look like they are in a trance or trapped in a hypnosis. To express how we are glued to social media I chose bright colors such as cyan, yellow, and magenta. I kept the composition asymmetrical and unbalanced to give my work a chaotic atmosphere. For some eyes I had the swirls of colors spill out like tears to show how images from social media has negative effects on ourselves and we consume so much content until our eyes can’t take it anymore. Most the eyes are open but one is closed with a tear to show how even if we try to remove ourselves away from social media or the spectacle we will still be affected by it. Along with the eyes I included simple rectangles to represent our phones the device we use to consume these images, squares and grids to represent the apps on our phones. I would categorize my work as a digital painting since I used brushes and layers in a drawing program.

For this artwork, I was inspired by a piece we saw in the Montclair Museum called Vanity Eye by Martha Rosler. In this artwork, Rosler creates a focus on the eye that watches a woman's vanity which is supposed to represent culture. I was inspired by how Rosler used an eye as her subject and how it strengthened her message in her piece. I was also inspired by the fauvist movement in how they incorporate color for expression in their artwork. The differences between my first self-portrait compared to this self-portrait is the medium I used, previously I worked with hands-on materials, whereas now I created everything digitally. In the first project, I focused on the idea of identity and how identity is something that happens naturally rather than being constructed. In this self-portrait, I focused on the idea of the spectacle and how we are glued to it. What influenced these changes is that I really enjoy creating digital art and haven’t been able to make for a while so I wanted to take advantage of using any medium.

The media and its images influence identity and self presentation in a negative way by pressuring people to fit it which can create anxiety or depression. Although I do think there is media that influences people in a positive way about their identity, there is still media that influences us to want to be somebody different rather than be ourselves such as driving the right car, wearing the right shoes, etc. Seeing images of people who seem that there are much happier even though that might not be the case can cause people to constantly compare themselves to others thus creating a negative self image. The spectacle are images that affect us such as having the need to get the latest iPhone or getting plastic surgery. The spectacle influences our behavior and how we view ourselves whether it is positive or negative. It makes influences our need to want more and to buy more. My project addresses the spectacle by illustrating how the spectacle can put us in a hypnosis if we aren’t aware of it and it is something we truly can’t get away from.