Narrative Digital Collage

My collage depicts my viewpoint on today's society. I personally feel as if humanity is corrupt beyond repair and the only actions taking place are because of selfish motives. These motives and actions dry out the earth literally, as shown in the desert setting with a Joshua tree and a dried up riverbed. The centerpiece of the collage is an image of Baphomet, a deity often perceived as a figure of occultism and Satanism. Baphomet's head is replaced with an image of Benjamin Franklin's face as shown on a $100 bill. On the sides of Baphomet are two figures dressed in a suit and hat bowing to him. This shows how humanity has grown to the point where the only thing worth worshiping and praising is money. The burning American flag also shows how so far we've gone as society to reject any previous ideals in favor for profitable ideals. I placed clouds in the sky as a "glimmer of hope." The clouds can produce rain which can also enrich the earth which has been dried up through corruption and selfish motives.

In other words, I feel as if no matter how prevalent these selfish ideas and actions are in our lives, there is always a glimmer of hope that things can go back to the way things once were.

This is me, this is how I see the world nowadays.

Good Art vs. Bad Art

We're all entitled to our opinions. With almost 7 billion people on Earth, that's a lot of opinions. One subject in particular that we have zealous opinions on is art. We are quick to acclaim one piece of art and are just as quick to denounce another piece of art as not even being art. What allows us to make that distinction?

First let's start with good art. Now, what makes art "good?" The majority of the uninformed population would consider the most realistic-looking pieces to be good art. In my opinion, realistic-looking art pieces are good, but they are not the precursor of being classified as "good." Good art, to me, invokes a feeling. Whatever that feeling might be, it's powerful. A bleak and dark painting invokes a sense of desperation and depression. A lively colorful art work can invoke a feeling of happiness and joy. The art pieces don't even have to look realistic. As long as it can invoke strong emotions within a person and, most of all, has meaning, then any art piece can be considered "good art."

                                                      

Now that we got good art out of the way, let us focus on bad art. Now, what is "bad art?" Many people consider bad art to be artwork that either is not done well from a creative standpoint or fails to contain any meaning. In my opinion, bad art is art that either has no imagination or emotion, even if it might be done well. I can be looking at a well-done art piece but unless it has meaning or emotion, that's all it will ever be to me: a well-done art piece. In my mind, it will not be exceptional, nor will it be mindblowing or even provoking.

 

There are people out there that may consider extremely realistic works of art to be "good." To me however, if it does not produce a wide array of emotions in me, it will not be considered "good." I appreciate realism, but I prefer imagination and emotion even more.