The Grey Gallery at New York University— Look and Look Again
Siah Armajani, Prayer for the Sun, 1962
At first, I had not a single clue about what this painting meant. It seemed like a division of water and land, as one orb is blue and the other, brown. However, upon further inspection, Arabic characters can be seen within, perhaps distinguishing between two types of calligraphy.
I was blown away when I learned the actual meaning behind this piece. It represents the border between traditional Iranian art and contemporary Iranian art. I believe that the background is also blue because it tells the reader that that specific painting is contemporary.
William Pope.L, Eating the Wall Street Journal
This piece of performance art is radical, to say the least. It features a toilet mounted on a gigantic platform, surrounded by newspapers, milk jugs, and ketchup bottles. At first glance, I would be surprised if anyone knew what this piece meant.
Upon learning the true purpose of this piece, I was moved. Pope.L ingests the newspaper with the help of milk and ketchup, and regurgitates it onto the audience. Although disgusting, this work informs the victim (viewer) of the exploitation of the lower class. By ingesting the Wall Street Journal, Pope.L is fighting against them, and the regurgitation of the papers is symbolic of the purging of greed from his body.
