8 Second Observations:
Within the first eight seconds of observing this artwork, I immediately noticed the vibrant colors in contrast with the more run down looking buildings. The hotel is bright blue and the paint used to spell out the world “OUTRAGE” is bright purple, yet the house in the second picture and the last picture appear to be vacant and rundown. I also noticed the religious image on the wall of the house that’s for sale. The image seems to be very ornate, but the “for sale” sign shows the neglect and inability to sustain the home. Lastly, I noticed the women in her market, and the way that her business seems to be rundown as well.
10 Minute Observations:
After spending some time analyzing and observing this art, I noticed the fact that each image seemed to be showing the effect that the unstable economy has on the houses and businesses in Puerto Rico. The photos were all evocative in the way that they showed the abandonment of homes, the pleas and anger of the community’s inhabitants and the struggle that people re facing to keep their businesses going or to sell their homes. The plaque next to the images tells the viewer that the photographer wished to show that “for sale signs are ubiquitous, as are the signals of empty, abandoned homes.” (Miguel). These images are attempting to show people the devastating economic effects of funneling money into Puerto Rican tourism rather than residential towns, and the realities such as abandoned hotels, houses, and rundown businesses. In her essay, Coco Fusco mentions that art is perhaps the most effective didactic method when it comes to explaining the needs for justice, or to transform minds to realize the situations in various countries. This series of photographs is a perfect example of this. Sometimes it is difficult to explain just how rundown and abandoned a small neighborhood after the effects of economic crisis and neglect. The image of the word outrage painted on a fence has a much deeper emotional effect on its viewer than simply reading or listening to people lecture about the suffering in these communities. I think the artist was very specific and strategic in outing these images together. Each one shows a building, or a home that was obviously beautiful and inhabited at one point, but it now overgrown and abandoned. The Hotel in the bottom left image is a beautiful blue color, and the architecture is very traditional and stylistic, however there is an empty lot next to it, and its windows are now boarded up. This once beautiful building is now deteriorating, and the image evokes emotion and understanding in its viewer. The beautiful religious image on the side of a home that also has a very telling “for sale” sign on it also shows the way that previously beautiful family homes are empty and deteriorating as people can no longer afford to live in these neighborhoods. The power that all of these photos has on its viewer is a much more powerful didactic tool for showing the suffering that these small neighborhoods are facing due to the economic crisis in Puerto Rico, and prove Fusco’s point that art is the most effective way to teach the need for justice and change for neglected people and places.
