Shelby Charette

Visual Studies Seminar

Hammonds

October 25, 2015

Feldman Critique Over Father Martin Nguyen’s Exhibit

When looking at Nguyen’s artwork, one cannot help but be overwhelmed by the many faces staring back. His exhibit consisted of numerous close up pictures of faces only consisting of the head and hair, including nothing underneath the chin. They are posted in organized rows and columns, with a thin, white, subtle square around each portrait. Nguyen is trying to convey time using the faces in his work. In his language, there is no concept of time. There is no past, present, or future tense, therefore, time intrigues him and the use of faces shows an organic concept of time.

Their artwork is astoundingly bold in the visual sense. The background consists of a plain color scheme, including mainly a drab white or cream color, although contrast greatly against the faces, which are in color, and it contrasts,  making the faces stand out very rigidly against the modest background. The narrow and symmetrical columns and rows make the work all together more striking. His use of the rows could be seen as a suggestion of grouping, seeing parts instead of a whole, although that is up to the viewers interpretation. Altogether, his work is centered on balance, symmetry, and unity as a whole.

During my exploration in Nguyen’s work, I was enthralled and fascinated by his interpretation of time. He took a concept so over-looked by our society, and made it into a very subjective idea. It makes the viewer think about how precious and ultimately essential it is to our society. It controls our everyday lives, yet we think nothing of it.

When I looked at the piece, I ended up comparing it to the universe. The artwork made me feel very small and insignificant, as if my time on earth is nothing but a mere second in the span of the universe. It made me feel somewhat isolated and alone, as if I was the only one looking at his work, as if everyone in the room just disappeared. Throughout my viewing of the piece, I was bombarded with mixed emotions, such as peace, isolation, insecurity, and insignificance. Ultimately, it made me question the notion of time and how I view life all together.

The work itself is marvelous, although I would not go to such lengths as to hang it in my home. The work is more of a modern art statement, rather than a more reserved and pleasant to view piece of art that is made merely for aesthetic appeal. This kind of work in particular belongs in a large gallery, for many people to see and enjoy in a more contemplating and next-level type of thinking way.

Within the first glimpse of his work, I thought it was somewhat over-rated, and that his work was not all that impressive. Although, having some context of the overall idea behind the work proved to be very beneficial to me and ended up elucidating the idea of the material for me. Nguyen takes the complicated idea of time, and morphs it into a way for almost all people to comprehend. In my opinion, he successfully and exquisitely conveys his ideas through his medium. He created a simple, yet complex piece of art that enthralls all who views it.

He used an under-rated topic and made it into something grand, which is something not all people, or even some artists, can do. Most artists take a large idea, such as political issues, or history, and uses that to make art, and all he does is take the minuscule and broad topic of time, that not any person even ever contemplates, and creates a work of art that has a way of enthralling, engulfing, and crawling into the thoughts of every viewer, and plants the seed of thought and ultimately leads to the introspection and thought evolution of the viewer. The piece itself is very thought provoking.

To me, this is what art should consist of. Art should consist of theory, contemplation, understanding, complexity, simplicity, and many other elements that combine and conform together into one thought provoking statement. Art is a statement, and yes it can be used for large issues or statements, but what happens to the small ideas left behind, with nobody to question it? It becomes forgotten, and no longer seen as relevant. That is why I believe Nguyen’s piece was exemplary, because he took the most elementary topic, and made it into a large statement worth contemplating.