First Impressions
When first looking at this piece I simply thought I had to look more closely to figure out what exactly the emblems were. Once I figured out that they were the emblems of the flags of Dominican Republic(D.R.) and the United States(U.S.) I had an immediate connection to the piece. I noticed how strange the texture of it was and thought that perhaps the grainy sandy material wasn’t the best choice as it was hard to see definitive figures without staring very closely at designs. I liked that it wasn’t as far-fetched as the other pieces in the exhibit that I thought were so abstract that it was hard to find meaning in them. And it had one of my other favorite elements art can have, simplicity. The contrast of the black and white place right next to each other, with a design with only one eye-catching piece, was just something I could appreciate without being distracted.
Analysis
When re-visiting the piece, I found a lot more than a personal connection. This time I read the blurb beside the piece. The most eye-catching piece of the blurb was that the prints were done using diamond dust. While at first, I thought it was difficult to see the differences in the side by side prints because of the diamond dust grainy quality, I realized it gave the piece more depth. Without obvious differences, the pieces seem a lot more similar. Just as the two countries are. The U.S. and the D.R. share a lot in their flags and the symbolism and the values. The piece is able to show contrast very clearly but also draw so much attention to the idea that the two nations are more similar than we believe. In addition, the diamond dust adds another layer of dimension to the titles of the prints The emblem of D.R. named “penumbra”, meaning semi-darkness or shadows, and that of the U.S. named “opaca”, meaning opaque. The semi-transparency of the diamond dust over the solid paper, had varying shadows not only in the glass covering the work but underneath each grain. The artist forced the observer to see a variety of shadows while looking at the work, not just the “penumbra”. Seeing yourself as a shadow makes you look at the pieces position on shadows and the object casting the shadow very differently. As the blurb describes it is the prints begun a greater discussion about the role the U.S. played in the Caribbean in intervening in many different countries government and economy. The D.R., and many island nations like it, became shadows of the U.S. having to just follow along. They lost a lot of their individuality and the U.S. figuratively does not let the light shine on them. Confronted with this piece I noticed that historical connection. But of course, it just isn’t that simple for me. As I looked at this piece more and more I saw how much I really did feel connected to it. But not for the means of shadow and cloud but for the similarities and differences aspect. I myself am a Dominican American and struggle with the conflicting identities that may Hispanic children face. There is a need to be American in this society, especially with the conflict that has arisen in recent years, and there is a want to cut ties to immigrant pasts and they can lead to repercussions that most wouldn’t want to deal with. But to lose your culture isn’t something that is easily done. I think that piece showed that it is more complex than just black and white, there is a thin layer that reflects and absorbs light over top. And sometimes white looks a lot like black and vice versa. It doesn’t present this contrast idea with the explanation of a “grey area” which is how we normally find solutions. But all of a sudden black and white have dimensions in their own respects. And that’s what I saw in this piece. A new layer of such common understanding.
