Analysis
This month, our photography classes went to Decordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln Ma. One photograph in their museum really stood out to me. The photograph was by Rachel Petty Welty and it was called "Lost in my Life" (price tags). This was made in 2009. In the museum the large photograph was hung behind a solid dark blue wall all my itself. Most of the colors were warm and contrasted with the wall, making the photo stand out even more. Rachel created this almost sculptural piece and then took a photograph of it; it is both a photograph and a sculpture. The piece of art is herself covered with different, unique price tags and price stickers. The stickers are similar to the one you may use in a yard sale. If you close enough you can see familiar stores price tags on them like Shaw's grocery stores. Welty infuses a little side of pop art in her pieces. Rachel uses her daily life and her surroundings as inspiration to her art work. She was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1962. Also, she graduated from Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts and New York, New York. Welty expresses "domestic life" and uses everyday materials for her projects. She is definitely a 21st century artist, using "various media, including sculpture, video, performance, and drawing." This photograph shows how committed Rachel is to her art because this photograph must have taken a lot of work and time to create.
Color is apparent in this work. She emphasizes on the price tags because she hides herself into them and she doesn't show her face or emotions. I believe she wants to send a message about consumerism. There is balance or symmetry because there's tags on each side of her and on her outfit she created. Rachel was very creative with her space. It looks like a blank, white canvas. It must have taken her awhile to collect all those price tags and stickers. There's a contrast between the competing tags. The photo is focused to the tags, on Rachel, and the background. It is a view looking directly center of Rachel. There isn't one main subject matter she wants her audience to focus on. She wants the audience to see the small details that make up the big picture. She took the photo vertically, maybe to show it more life-style or life-like (larger than life).
This photograph stood out to me maybe because it stood alone, and because of the large size. As soon as I saw this work of art, I realized there was something else Rachel wanted to tell and show us. Some of the price tag stickers had 99 cents on them or tags from a yard sale. I connected to this because I am careful with my money. She wanted to share with the audience that she hides her face for a reason. There is reason behind the organized chaos. Rachel doesn't show her face because she wants to show the more important topic: human consumer habits, people want, and they buy more and more. She takes away her personal identity by showing the tags covering her. The tags are consuming her and the space around her. Consuming goods is our normal society/culture; it defines part of us. When I looked at the piece I caught on to the idea of consuming goods. "Lost of my Life (Price Tags)" is both realistic yet has an aspect of abstraction. She used real life materials to show a concept in an abstract way. Your eyes definitely move through the entire piece.
I thought this piece was very interesting. I loved looking at the whole piece composed of different tags. Some were familiar and that's what she wanted to tell her audience. I really enjoyed the literal and especially the symbolic meaning of the piece. This is a very unique work, I've never seen anything like this. It was a fantastic idea to camouflage herself in her piece. I believe that helped what made this successful. I would love to see more of her artwork similar to "Lost of my life (Price Tag)."
of Fine Arts, Boston. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts and New York, New York. Welty expresses "domestic life" and uses everyday materials for her projects. She is definitely a 21st century artist, using "various media, including sculpture, video, performance, and drawing." This photograph shows how committed Rachel is to her art because this photograph must have taken a lot of work and time to create.
Color is apparent in this work. She emphasizes on the price tags because she hides herself into them and she doesn't show her face or emotions. I believe she wants to send a message about consumerism. There is balance or symmetry because there's tags on each side of her and on her outfit she created. Rachel was very creative with her space. It looks like a blank, white canvas. It must have taken her awhile to collect all those price tags and stickers. There's a contrast between the competing tags. The photo is focused to the tags, on Rachel, and the background. It is a view looking directly center of Rachel. There isn't one main subject matter she wants her audience to focus on. She wants the audience to see the small details that make up the big picture. She took the photo vertically, maybe to show it more life-style or life-like (larger than life).
This photograph stood out to me maybe because it stood alone, and because of the large size. As soon as I saw this work of art, I realized there was something else Rachel wanted to tell and show us. Some of the price tag stickers had 99 cents on them or tags from a yard sale. I connected to this because I am careful with my money. She wanted to share with the audience that she hides her face for a reason. There is reason behind the organized chaos. Rachel doesn't show her face because she wants to show the more important topic: human consumer habits, people want, and they buy more and more. She takes away her personal identity by showing the tags covering her. The tags are consuming her and the space around her. Consuming goods is our normal society/culture; it defines part of us. When I looked at the piece I caught on to the idea of consuming goods. "Lost of my Life (Price Tags)" is both realistic yet has an aspect of abstraction. She used real life materials to show a concept in an abstract way. Your eyes definitely move through the entire piece.
I thought this piece was very interesting. I loved looking at the whole piece composed of different tags. Some were familiar and that's what she wanted to tell her audience. I really enjoyed the literal and especially the symbolic meaning of the piece. This is a very unique work, I've never seen anything like this. It was a fantastic idea to camouflage herself in her piece. I believe that helped what made this successful. I would love to see more of her artwork similar to "Lost of my life (Price Tag)."