Author: Ahmad

General Information: Made in the year 2000 using wood, epoxy resin, polymer clay, plaster, enamel paint, and gold leaf.

Fat Friend By Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer

When viewing Fat Friend by Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer, the viewer is starstruck by the piece itself. But, instead of analyzing the details hidden throughout the work of art, one begins to wonder what it all means. The provocative title of the artwork “Fat Friend”, also adds to the rush of finding out what it all truly means, thus this work entirely constitutes conceptual art.

Fat Friend By Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer

After much thought and internal debate, the message or idea the artwork is trying to express is the health effects of being overweight and or obese. The artwork expresses this idea by abstractly implementing organs affected by obesity and being overweight, into the artwork. When doing a 360° look around the artwork, one may notice that pieces of the artwork resemble human organs. The back of the artwork has a gigantic heart shaped piece made out of polymer clay and plaster. This enlarged heart may symbolize the actual condition that affects people in the real world. Also, one of the main causes of having an enlarged heart is high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. Both of these are common side effects of being overweight and or obese. There are also two gold leaf covered pieces that puncture the enlarged heart. These pieces resemble veins or arteries. One can assume that the reason they are gold is because they mimic clogged veins or arteries. Clogged veins or arteries contain the build-up of fats, cholesterol, and other substances. This build up does mimic a yellowish, gold like color. 

Fat Friend By Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer

There are also two large gold like pieces that resemble wings but may as well be mimicking hyperinflated lungs. Though overweightness and obesity don’t directly cause hyperinflated lungs, they do lead to other pulmonary illnesses such as difficulty in breathing and hypoventilation. Lastly, there is also a pink gut like piece that sits at the base of the artwork. The gut is also enlarged and may point to the illness of Abdominal distension, that is again caused by overweightness and obesity. All in all, the artwork itself is a mimesis of human organs that can be affected by being “fat” or overweight. Though the title may be offensive to some, the artwork itself does highlight the repercussions of a lifestyle where health isn’t the main concern.

Fat Friend By Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer

The artwork isn’t inherently political but it does hold quite a bold message. Through the pieces that represent organs affected by overweightness and or obesity, the artwork tries to show the horrors of these illnesses in an abstract way. The message is most likely to live a healthy life, to be on a diet, and to exercise. The way in which it’s trying to effect a change in the viewer is by making them understand why certain elements of the artwork are the way they are. The viewer will question why the heart and lungs are so enlarged and the viewer will wonder what the gold objects piercing the heart mean. Through contemplating the purpose of each piece, the viewer will arrive at the message, which is again to be mindful of the effects of overweightness and obesity and to strive to live a healthy life.

Fat Friend By Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer

The idea the artwork posses and the message it holds are quite similar. However, The way the artwork expresses the idea and message may not be the most efficient. The artwork is a little too abstract and can take on an entirely different meaning very easily. If it weren’t for the title of the artwork, “Fat Friend”, it would’ve been really hard to decode what the meaning and purpose of the art work is. Furthermore, only if the viewer is intrigued enough by the abstractness of the piece, they will be able to understand what the artwork is trying to communicate due to the drive of curiosity.  All in all, Fat Friend by Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer is an extremely complex and intriguing piece of art and can be very fun to decode.

Note: Unfortunately, the post is a little over the word count but there were just too many details to explain and discuss. Hope this isn’t too much, sorry!

Concept, Thesis, & Claim

By 2030, the effects of climate change will be irreversible. Coastlines across the world will be devastated by the rise in seawater due to the melting polar caps. The increasing temperatures globally will metaphorically and literally set our Earth on fire. New York City will be at the front lines during this event. Our project will show the effects on global warming in an artistic manner to inspire the community to get involved and try to reverse out mistakes. Currently, our politicians are increasingly complacent and ignore the gravity of global warming. Recently, our president, Donald Trump, has withdrawn the United States from the Paris accord as well as rolled back countless of Obama Era environmental protections from the coal industry to clean water initiatives. This project is centered around claiming that our world needs saving and the people of our country need to take charge in order to prevent impending doom.

We hope that our piece inspires action from our audience. If our leadership does not take the right steps to preserve the planet and humanity, we cannot sit by complacently. There are ways every person can get involved; to help keep this planet going for generations to come. Whether that action is protest, volunteering, entrepreneurship, it doesn’t matter as long as it is a conscience effort, a collective effort, to solve this issue. We cannot solve this issue of climate change alone, and hopefully our project can show the dire situation and convince our audience to go out and make change, or at least spread the message of conservation. Climate change can only be combated with global cooperation, we hope our project, “Earth on Fire”, can aid in fostering this cooperation.

Breakdown of the Use & Need of Certain Materials

For our project we will be transforming two lanterns into globes. The first globe will mimic the Earth in present time. It will also be set on fire in a safe and controlled environment. This will be done to represent what’s occurring all over the world. The world is warming up exponentially and in some cases burning. Forest fires dominate the news today and multiple peer reviewed research papers show the drastic increase in temperature are the cause. The burning of the first globe will be recorded and will be available for viewing at our table during the STEAM festival. The second globe will mimic the projections of how the Earth will look like if climate change continues.. Projections by NASA and industry related researchers will be used to create an accurate representation of how the Earth may very well look like in the foreseeable future.

Future of the Earth – Source: Forbes Magazine

Lastly, an erasure poem will be created to view climate change through a political lens. The statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord will be contorted to show the repercussions of pulling out of the accord in the first place. Though this is the main thing we hope to represent, it may change as new ideas come to mind. All the objects used in the project will embody the world and will expose climate change for what it really is, a threat to the future of the planet and the next generation. All the pieces of the project put together show the effects of climate change in a tangible way. The transformation of the Earth is shown via the globes and the repercussions of pulling out of accords that fight climate change are shown via the erasure poem. We hope that the complexity of climate change being explained through art and poetry, will offer the audience a better perspective on this serious issue. We also hope that our message will be heard loud and clear!

Relationship Between the Art Work & the Audience

Our purpose for this project is for the viewers to be aware of the severity of climate change. The viewers would have an intimate visual interaction with our lanterns and our erasure poem. We hope that they will be first attracted to our destroyed lantern so that they can automatically compare it with the original, and undamaged lantern. This comparison allows the viewers to comprehend the damage of climate change and what it had done to our planet. Additionally, with our erasure poem, we hope to escalate the visual effects. Our poem is an erasure poem of the infamous Trump’s Paris Peace Accord Speech, in which he withdrew the United States from the international climate change treaty and subsequently led to many countries criticizing the US for it. Our plan is to erase parts of the speech by burning the edges and putting it with the burned lantern. The charred paper signifies the rise of global temperatures and also the destruction caused by the disasters of climate change. We hope that the viewers would look at the burned artwork, and automatically think of chaos and destruction while also fear the effects of climate change. The two lanterns represent a healthy earth and an earth destroyed by climate change. Through the visual differences, the viewers would then digest the harsh reality of what climate change has done to our planet.

Group Members: Kaven Cao, Ahmad Choudhry, Axel Tolpina

Roles:

• Kaven Cao: Writer of the Erasure Poem
• Ahmad Choudhry: Creator of the Globe on “Fire”
• Axel Tolpina: Main Spokesperson for the Presentation & Writer of a Brief Summary of the Project

What We Might Make:

We want our work of art to outline the horrors of climate change and the impact it can have on the planet. Therefore, we would like to transform a traditional globe to show the many effects caused by climate change. We want to represent how specific regions of the planet will be affected by climate change and we want the overarching theme of the art work to “scream” that the Earth is warming up rapidly/unusually.

We intend to use a hollowed out, preferably metal, globe. We would attach LED light strips inside the globe and would use an Arduino to program it to mimic the light given off by an actual fire. To add a more realistic “vibe” to the artwork, we would bring in a small speaker that would give off the ambient noise that a fire would. The noise might be hard to hear due to the hecticness of the event, but those who will notice it may appreciate our attention to detail. 

Though the globe will serve to be the centerpiece of our STEAM project, we also want to include an erasure poem. The original content of the erasure poem will be of the statement given by President Donald J. Trump on leaving the Paris Climate Accord. The statement can be found on the White House’s website (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-trump-paris-climate-accord/). The United States leaving the accord not only puts the planet at risk, but also harms our nation’s ability to adapt to greener and more efficient types of energy.

The  Federal Government will not be playing a supporting role in the move to a non-fossil fueled economy. This is in total contrast to what governments of all other countries plan to do and are already doing. The U.S is in a clear disadvantage when it comes to energy and the environment. Countries like France are heavily advancing footing in the nuclear energy sector and major polluters like India are thinking of ways to become more green. As the world moves forward, we are unfortunately falling behind. Thus, we want our erasure poem to show that. We want to dissect the speech to show its faults and effects on the country and the world. 

The erasure poem will most likely be on a poster paper and the globe will most likely sit on top of the paper. The erasure poem will surround the circumference of the globe but will not overlap with it.

How It Relates to the Themes and Readings of this Semester:

Our STEAM project relates to multiple themes and readings of this semester. Miwon Kwon’s One Place after Another is the primary reading that relates to our project. Her book highlights the three paradigms of public artwork: art in a space, art as a space, and new genre public art. The artwork we intend to create will mostly resonate with the new genre public art paradigm since it inherently has characteristics of activism and its purpose is to deliver a clear message to the audience. Our project also draws inspiration from the erasure poem posts we did on the blog.

Display at the STEAM Festival:

Better to just show a simple model (from our imagination):

Nothing is concrete yet and we are probably going to go through changes before reaching our end goal.

Materials:

• LED
  • Amazon
• Globe
  • Option 1
  • Option 2
• Poster
  • Staples
• Markers
• Pens
• Pencils

Erasure Poem:

Original:

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Monday Mornings ? ?: Christian Gonzalez

A post shared by NYC Decisive Moment (@nycdecisivemoment) on Oct 25, 2019 at 6:23pm PDT

Going class to class a piece of me breaks 

Going from floor to floor my heart aches

When will this day ever end?

When will I come home again?

Exhaustion pours out from every bone 

Let alone, my shaking legs that yearn for some rest 

I wish I could go back to kindergarten, where nap time was my favorite 

My life wasn’t as complicated, and I wish I had savored it 

I hope I can get some sleep tonight

I cannot take it anymore

Nightly darkest thoughts

spike my soul as they outpour

For now I can’t do much, I have to find a place to lie down.

I want to slay these demons, lay my head down for a rest.

Yes, let me forget about life for now

But this, no the world would never allow.

My eyes scurry from place to place, I can’t help thinking about the comfort of my youth

Need my eyes shut for a few minutes 

But these people have put a limit. 

It’s cyclical, physical, typical and surely despicable.

I call out, I shout into this void.

When will this day ever end?

When will I come home again?

These questions remain unanswered

Cause we all know it, this is our home, this is what we made of it.

Passage From Part One:

“Ultimately, what I am seeking in the photograph taken of me (“the intention” according to which I look at it) is Death: Death is the eidos of that Photograph. Hence, strangely, the only thing that I tolerate, that I like, that is familiar to me, when I am photographed, is the sound of the camera. For me, the Photographer’s organ is not his eye (which terrifies me) but his finger: what is linked to the trigger of the lens, to the metallic shifting of the plates (when the camera still has such things). I love these mechanical sounds in an almost voluptuous way, as if, in the Photograph, they were the very thing-and the only thing- to which my desire clings, their abrupt click breaking through the mortiferous layer of the Pose.” (Barthes 15)

The reason I chose this passage was because it offers an interesting insight to the process of objectification during a photograph. A photograph essentially objectifies the subject. For example a photograph of a person is pretty much a fragment of the true complexity of a human being. A photograph may fail to capture everything about the subject. Going back to the example of a human being, a picture of a person may fail to capture the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of that person. What Barthes does is relate the process of objectification to death. He calls death the eidos or distinctive expression of a photograph. He alludes to the fact that death and photographs are similar since they are both an immobile representation of the subject. Furthermore, the fact that the finger that is linked to the trigger of the lens, that causes these mechanical sounds, is the only source of “life”, is a very interesting idea presented by Barthes. What’s even more interesting is how he portrays the click to be so powerful that it breaks through the deathly/immobile pose of the subject. To me this passage seems crucial to Barthes overall argument which is that the essential element of photography is Death, because photographs always take place in the past, a time gone by. Hence, one can never truly identify with/recognize a photograph of one’s self/a person, because that self/person no longer exists as they were in the photograph. 

Passage From Part Two:

“The Photograph does not call up the past (nothing Proustian in a photograph). The effect it produces upon me is not to restore what has been abolished (by time, by distance) but to attest that what I see has indeed existed. Now, this is a strictly scandalous effect. Always the Photograph astonishes me, with an astonishment which endures and renews itself, inexhaustibly…” (Barthes 82)

The reason I chose this passage was because it denotes what Barthes truly feels about photographs. He states that a photograph for him isn’t just something nostalgic. He expresses the idea that a photograph isn’t meant to restore the same feelings that one may have had during that photograph. He points out that photographs merely create certainty of the past. The event in the photo had to have occurred in real life in order for the photograph to exist at all. In photographs, there are no fictional stories. People can make up stories about the photograph through interpretation, but the image seen had to have physically happened in the past. As he goes on to state in the following passage, the essence of photography is the “that-has-been” (Barthes 85). To me this passage encapsulates Barthes opinion of photography. I feel like discussing this in class and analyzing his opinion and claims may be a great way to formulate our own ideas about photography.

One Question About Camera Lucida:

Roland Barthes argues that one of the essential elements of photography is death. Keeping this in mind, if we were to analyze/look at a picture of nature or “life” thriving, would elements of death still be present?

Picture (Benrubi Gallery – Hugh Holland):

No caption needed 😉

Contrary to the natural ambiance of Manhattan, West 26th Street (near The High Line) is a relatively peaceful area. Walking around, one may feel the tranquility in the air. It is almost as if you went down a rabbit hole and were exposed to the “other” side of Manhattan. A side rich in culture and beauty but, defined by the peculiar galleries and exhibits surrounding it. 

Stepping into the Fergus McCaffrey and Paula Cooper galleries, one is fascinated by the great differences in which artworks are presented. The Fergus McCaffrey gallery isn’t traditional in any sense. It strays away from the “white cube” setting of a gallery, as described by Brian O’Doherty. The Paula Cooper Gallery mimics the standards set by the “white cube” setting but has some dark undertones that give off an uneasy aura.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

When visiting the Fergus McCaffrey gallery, the photographs of Ishiuchi Miyako were on display. As mentioned, prior, the gallery wasn’t set up as a traditional “white cube”. It was rather colorful actually. Each section of the gallery had a differently painted wall. The colors of the walls were either black, dark blue, light blue, gray, and or pink. Lighting wise, not every photograph had a LED bulb pointed towards it. Some pieces utilized the natural light coming from the tall windows of the building instead. The placement of the works of art on the walls was also extremely peculiar. They weren’t totally aligned with one another. They were put up on the walls in an intentionally random manner.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako

The space affected the way I viewed individual artworks greatly. For example when I saw “From Yokosuka Third Position” c. 1981, hung upon a black wall I fell into a state of despair and emptiness. The photograph was of a large abandoned building. The windows of the building were boarded up, the structure was being chipped away slowly by nature, and refuse was surrounding it. What once may have been an area filled with frequent visitors was now vacant and noiseless. The black walls added to this feeling of desolation and despair. But, the one light shining upon the photograph gave off the idea that it was once a place loved by many. If the photograph was hung upon, say a white wall, I may have had a different initial impression. I would’ve thought the piece reflected the past, focusing on memorable memories made near the building. But the black wall just gave off a sense of immeasurable sadness.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako – “From Yokosuka Third Position” c. 1981

Another piece in the McCaffrey gallery by Miyako, that I viewed was called “Innocence”. It was a black/white photograph of an individual’s hand and wrist. It was a relatively small print and was hung up alone on a gray wall. Directly next to and across from the photograph were pink walls. The pink walls contrary to the gray one were filled with pictures. Seeing the lone photograph on the gray wall drew me in. I paused to view it and noticed a scar on the lower portion of the wrist. Continuing upwards, I saw what seemed to be a clenched fist slowly letting go. Maybe this signifies growth and acceptance. The photograph might’ve been a reflection on past mistakes. And those pasts mistakes are being “let go of” as the individual slowly unclenches its fists. If the walls were not different colors and the photograph wasn’t alone on the wall, I might’ve not paused to look at it. The way the space was set up affected me, by intriguing me into viewing the specific artwork. The contrast and differences between how the photographs were set up led me to view them. If the space wasn’t set up the way it was, I may have ignored or brushed off one of the most important pieces in the gallery.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako – “Innocence”

When visiting the Paula Cooper Gallery, the works of Christian Marclay were on display. When first going into the gallery I saw countless woodcuts. The woodcuts took the Japanese manga style and Western style of comic books and combined them together to create artworks of still and silent faces. The space itself mimicked the “white cube” setting but wasn’t fully lit. There was a mysterious darkness to the space.

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

When walking around I heard a faint noise coming from a dark room. In awe, I slowly walked into the room to experience the video attached below. 

Confused and in shock I quickly left the room and asked one of the employees of the Gallery some questions. I asked them about the artwork and what it meant. They explained to me that Marclay titled the exhibit “48 War Movies & Screams”. The video above, 48 War Movies (2019) is a single-channel video that collapses conflicts from the Civil War to Iraq into a horrifying aggregate spectacle of war. That is the video I walked into and heard all throughout the gallery. In response to this kaleidoscope of continuous conflict were a series of screaming faces frozen in perpetual terror. These are the large woodcuts that I saw all around the gallery. The traditional “white cube” setting had a new addition… sound. The creepy sound of the 48 War Movies video was heard all around the gallery and it reeled me in slowly to its origin. The setting affected me in a great way as I kind of became a detective for a while. Confused by the eerie noise, I was enticed into exploring the whole gallery. The journey I went on to find the origin of the eerie noise was a great way for me to explore the works of Marclay. The video was a clever addition to the gallery overall. 

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

All in all, gallery space affects the viewer in a great way. The color of the walls, the lighting, and the general atmosphere may change the way a viewer decodes and experiences artwork. As evident in the encounters I had with the specific artworks in the gallery, if even one detail of the space was changed, I may have viewed the piece in a different way. If the wall was white for “From Yokosuka Third Position” by Miyako, I may have felt a different way. If “Innocence” by Miyako was surrounded with other photographs I may have not noticed it. And lastly, if the 48 War Movies video wasn’t playing, giving off the eerie noise, I may have not explored the Paula Cooper Gallery meticulously in search for it. The way in which art is displayed truly affects how the viewer may perceive it. 

Danielle Mastrions, Riegelmann Boardwalk (Coney Island).

The ocean is beauty incarnate. It’s mysterious, captivating, and breathtaking. Yet, many often defile and wound it. Danielle Mastrions mural, on Riegelmann Boardwalk (Coney Island), represents this paradoxical relationship. The artwork was commissioned by the New York Aquarium and its purpose was to convey the effect of waste on animal life.

The mural is relatively large and is painted on the side of a building wall. The first half of the mural is of the front of a fish. The fish’s head is a blend of pink and orange. Furthermore, black stripes run vertically across its face, similar to the white stripes of a popular clownfish known to be Nemo. Close to the face are the fish’s dorsal and pectoral fins. The dorsal fins go from a blend between pink and orange to purely orange. Whereas the pectoral fins are a rich pink color. Moving further along are the vibrant and magnificent scales. They are almost like a rainbow as the colors transition from pink to purple, to a dark blue. The scales end at the center of the mural. Then a transition to the anatomy of the fish begins. The fish’s insides are filled with plastic. From bottles to random debris, the refuse is overwhelming. Some of the fish’s fin rays pierce through the plastic, barely sticking out. Continuing on to the end of the mural, the lower vertebrate and caudal fin are the only things that remain. Panning from left to right, you see a transition from beauty and awe to absolute horror and sadness. Much like the ocean, the fish is defiled and wounded. 

Around the fish are names of others creatures (Dolphins, Sea Turtles, Sea Birds, & Whales) enduring a similar fate. There are also water bubbles — that are scattered around the fish — with text inside. Some of the text contains actions people can take to prevent a similar tragedies that the fish suffered through, for example one bubble says “Recycle all plastic waste.” Other bubbles offer information, another says “A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade.” This mural fits the “new genre public art” paradigm that Miwon Kwon discusses in One Place after Another: Site Specific Art and Locational Identity. It was created to shed light on the social issue of littering. The mural is integral to the site as its on a boardwalk right next to the beach. The issue it highlights directly affects the surrounding environment and the life of innocent animals near beaches/bodies of water. The artwork also interacts with people passing through the site in a vital way. Firstly, anyone strolling through the boardwalk cannot simply ignore a mural of this magnitude. Additionally, the mural represents the harsh reality of what happens when individuals litter. The waste gets carried out into the ocean and is mistakenly consumed by aquatic and animal life. This leads to fatality or a slow and gruesome death. The artist’s identity doesn’t really matter in this mural. However, the funding body known as the New York Aquarium matters a great deal. The aquarium contains and takes care of a plethora of aquatic life, of course it will be concerned for the wellbeing of it in the ocean. Its involvement in the creation of the mural is justified, as they are trying to raise awareness about the harm of littering. 

Dan George, Brighton Beach Train Station.

A couple of minutes away from the mural is the Brighton Beach train station. The Manhattan bound side of the station is home to aluminum sculptures dispersed on the platform. The sculptures were created by Dan George and were commissioned by the MTA. The sculptures are abstract in nature but one can make them out to be dolphins. The shape of dolphins body are carved into the aluminum. The fins are relatively outlined but the body is relatively metaphysical. The sculptures have a supple appearance similar to the aluminum material that they are made of. The obvious purpose of the sculptures is to intrigue individuals, but due to the busy lifestyle of an average commuter many may see the piece as a decorative attachment on a dull subway platform. Contrary to the mural, the sculptures fit the “art as space” paradigm discussed by Miwon Kwon. The sculptures are abstract and modernist. They seem to serve no other purpose than just being plainly decorative. Though the art work is close to the ocean, it doesn’t have the same compelling connection that the mural did. Dolphins do reside in the ocean but they are rarely seen in Brighton Beach. Additionally, commuters rarely interact with the sculptures as their plain and abstract nature isn’t often understood or appreciated.

Dan George, Brighton Beach Train Station.

The mural on Riegelmann Boardwalk and the sculptures on the Brighton Beach train station both take inspiration from the surrounding site. Yet they are essentially the antithesis of one another. The mural is lively and colorful and the sculptures are dull and gray. One has a strong message of preventing littering and harm to animal life. But the other is just viewed as a decorative piece on a dirty subway platform. One engages the community, as its sheer size draws the individual to the captivating message being portrayed. And the other is often brushed off as its abstract meaning isn’t understood or appreciated. Although, the two works of art are mere minutes away from each other, but only one seems to capture the people’s eyes and attention.

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Information

• Artist: Unknown
• Period: Neo-Babylonian
• Date: ca. 604–562 B.C.
• Geography: Mesopotamia, Babylon. Modern Day Hillah (A City in Central Iraq)
• Culture: Babylonian
• Medium: Ceramic & Glaze

Analysis

The Striding Lion installation in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a ceramic and glaze infused artwork that has stayed relatively preserved for around 2 millennials. The lion appears very muscular and the cracks in the ceramic tiles add definition to the lion’s legs. The face of the lion has some anthropomorphic features as its eyes are large and seem human like. 

When first seeing the piece my eyes immediately went over to the mane. The mane is swept back across the lion’s heads and goes as far as the middle of its body. The lower part of the mane resembles a wing. The wing has an outline/bevel and is heavily emphasized in the piece. Mesopotamian and Bablyanonion culture/religion refers to a deity called Lamassu. Lamassu is a protective deity, often depicted as having a human head, the body of a bull or a lion, and bird wings. I’m assuming the unique mane was used to pay homage to Lamassu. Additionally, artwork of lions are used to signify/symbolize strength and were often found in royal palaces. Maybe this piece was created to signify the influence of the king of Babylon at the time, Nebuchadnezzar II.

At first glance of the lion I was in awe of its beauty and the unique style used to create the piece. The colors implemented compliment each other and the overall assertiveness that resonates from the lion adds a sense of elegance to the piece.