Manifestation of Hope Through Structural Art
True art is never just decoration; it forces upon us a feeling of some sort, whether it be a sense of wonder or sadness. The creators of the store windows hope to make us fall in love with a certain fantasy and hope to achieve this fantasy by purchasing whatever they choose to sell. However, I think the art in neighborhoods is much more interesting to analyze because it gives us a window into the lives of those that live there.
Keeping with the ideas of Freud and that art is our attempt at redefining (or possibly avoiding) reality, I chose to comment about the picture of the red fence made out of scraps of metal. It is the only burst of color in a seemingly grey world. The metal is bent in a looping fashion, which creates a Dr. Seuss-like feel. It seems as though it is the embodiment of a childhood fantasy that the artist longs to return to. (An even closer look reveals a figure of Pacman in the bottom left corner.) It has elements of the old fence in it, but it is contorted in such a way that it no longer looks like a fence at all. It seems as though the “artistic” part of the fence is longing to break free of the rest of it, but of course it cannot. The top of the fence seems to be budding off the rest of the fence, as a biological cell does after a new cell is created. The center of the part budding off is reminiscent of a cell nucleus, the master of the cell. The fence is sandwiched between two towering buildings; it is created in such a way that it seems as though the left side of the fence is attempting to climb up the wall. This represents a sort of social frustration with the current condition, along with the fact that the cylindrical shapes look much like garbage cans.
The aspect of childhood and the image of a biological cell represent new life- a new life in which the next generation can break free of social constraints. The fence attempting to climb up the wall represents the artist’s hope that the future generations will try to do the same; they will hopefully climb the wall of adversity and find the light overshadowed by their current condition. The color red, a pivotal color to employ, provides a stark contrast between the washed-out walls of the buildings surrounding the fence. It symbolizes the blood of youth that is alive and vibrant, while the color of the walls surrounding the fence represents the washed-out lethargy that comes with age and adversity.
It is important that the old fence is beneath the new part of it because this reflects the fact that the new generation must use what the previous had learned in order to build off of its wisdom. As Newton said, “If I have seen father than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” The artist hopes that the new generation will use the knowledge of the past to aid in the reform of the future. This artist has certainly left his or her mark on the city through this piece; it is both visually appealing and rich with meaning. It may be that I am simply projecting my views onto this work, but one look reveals that this piece cries out to be understood.
- Simone Caccamo
