Division of Values
My collage, titled “The Division of Values,” represents the disparity of values and morals in the eastern and western world. To best illustrate this contrast of ideals, I focused on using images from recent events, including the economic turmoil in the United States, and images from the catastrophe in Mumbai, and workers in India, China, and third world nations. All of my images were taken from two magazines that I subscribe to Cosmopolitan, and BusinessWeek.
I knew from the start that I wanted to divide my collage in half to illustrate the separation of values, representing the eastern and western world. I chose to attach my images to a green piece of poster board. While green is the most restful color for the human eye, and symbolizes growth, harmony, stability, and endurance, it is also associated with greed, corruption, and envy. I thought this parallel of interpretation fit well with my theme, since green represents infidelity in China, and green which if often associated with greed in the United States, is a form of infidelity.
Dividing the collage are two words: “risk” and “frugality.” I think that it is interesting how the eastern world has often been criticized for their frugal and “cheap” nature, and how they had always been weary of taking massive and harmful risks. Instead they focused on savings and stability, two values that the western world had mocked, but now is starting to practice. While these two values have divided the east and the west, they simultaneously bridge them together as the western world begins to carry out and observe these values.
On the bottom left, I included an image of soccer players standing behind each other, with the quote “you have to be a team” written on one of their legs. Below, there are images of Chinese men working together to assemble railroad tracks, part of China’s ongoing broad railway extension project. Next to that image, there is a group of older men eating and sharing their rations together. In the eastern world, there has always been a tremendous emphasis on hard work, teamwork, and personal sacrifice for the benefit of the group. On the top left, I have inserted an image of an Indian man attempting to help a young injured child breath after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Without any supplies and resources, he has placed a tiny mask on the child’s face. On the far left, there is an image of a young boy drinking water from a puddle, and a brutally injured man being carried by his fellow friends. Again, I wanted to illustrate how people of these cultures make the most of what little they have and how they emphasize brotherhood. Lastly, I included an image of a woman holding stacks of money, to contrast the right side of the collage with the image of a malicious wolf with money atop his nose. The woman is actually holding her entire life savings, with the hope of using that money to start her own store. As illuminated in the word “Gone” above her, many of these people have been stripped of all their materialistic possessions, but still maintain a determined and strong willpower.
On the right side of my collage, I included images that depict the selfishness and desire for personal satisfaction that has been dominant on in the United States. I included the image of the wolf to symbolize the money-hungry and unsatisfied nature of the western world. Furthermore, we seem to live in this bubble, as we are more concentrated on materialistic things, such as the decline in gifts this holiday season, rather than focusing on the harsh conditions people across the world must endure. This is seen in the skull on the left side of the collage made up of pills and tablets, signifying how many malnourished people must rely on vitamins to barely survive. In addition, I have included phrases that personal and individual “wants.” In most of the other images, the figures in them are falling into this abyss, or trying to flee from and avoid reality, by gaining outsmarting others, gaining their share, and running away from problems. As a result, I included a “blame-o-meter,” which perhaps best summarizes the corrupted western values. The fact that this image merely exists, exemplifies how there is a blame game, where no one takes responsibility. Instead there is an ignorant focus on individual and personal satisfaction.
While these two parts of the world contain divided views on values, recent global events have caused people to merge and unite. Although risk, frugality, teamwork, and sacrifice have often been ignored, it is clear that the western world has realized the significance of these virtues and has started to adapt them.
